Courts and agencies seeking law-trained interpreters should look for the most highly qualified person using certified interpreters first whenever available.
Foreign language interpreters Certified: Certified interpreters have met all the Director of State Courts’ requirements in Wisconsin, including passing an oral examination and written test. This level of interpreter should be the first choice for court interpreting.
Provisional: Provisional interpreters have met all the Director of State Courts’ requirements in Wisconsin, and have passed both the multiple choice portion and translation portion of the written test but not the oral examination. Provisional interpreters are eligible to take the oral examination.
Trainee: Trainee interpreters have met all the Director of State Courts’ requirements in Wisconsin, and have passed either the multiple choice portion or translation portion of the written test but not the oral examination. Trainee interpreters are eligible to take the oral examination.
American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreters Certified: Certified interpreters have met all the Director of State Courts’ requirements in Wisconsin, and includes holding of a special Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) legal certification, such as an SC:L, CLIP or CLIP-R. This level of interpreter should be the first choice for court interpreting.
Provisional: Provisional interpreters have met all the court's requirements in Wisconsin, and includes holding a level of certification from RID or the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), such as RID CSC, RID CI/CT, RID NIC, or NAD 4 or 5. Interpreters holding one of these generalist certificates may be used in legal proceedings if a legally certified interpreter cannot be located.
For more detailed information on certification levels with the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc., see http://www.rid.org/expl.html. (external link)
Interpreting and translating agencies Agencies providing interpreting and translating services often provide interpreters in a variety of languages. Some agencies have in-house training programs to improve interpreter skills. However, interpreters provided by agencies are not necessarily legally trained or certified, so it is important to make a careful inquiry into their qualifications.
Telephone and video interpreting Telephone and video interpreting services are available commercially. Remote interpreter services can be a good choice when a rare language is needed, when a certified interpreter cannot be found locally, or when the hearing must be held before an interpreter can get there. Telephone and video interpreting is allowed by statute for proceedings other than trial. Interpreters used by commercial services are not necessarily legally trained or certified, so it is important to make a careful inquiry into their qualifications and administer an oath before proceeding. Best practices and recommendations for using remote interpreters effectively are available here.
