How to get certified: Oral examination

Eligibility

To be eligible to take the oral exam, individuals must have completed orientation training and passed the written examination. The oral test is the most important requirement for becoming a certified court interpreter. To pass the oral exam, interpreters must possess a mastery of the English language and the target language equivalent to a highly educated native speaker, and have a thorough understanding of legal concepts in both languages. In addition, interpreters must be extremely proficient in specialized cognitive skills required to interpret in sight, consecutive, and simultaneous modes, and be able to convey messages accurately, completely and promptly.

Available languages

A full oral examination is available in the following languages: Amharic, Arabic, Cantonese, Filipino (Tagalog), French, Haitian Creole, Hmong, Khmer, Korean, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Somali, Spanish, and Vietnamese. An abbreviated oral examination is available in the following languages: Bosnian-Serbian-Croatian (BSC) and Turkish.

Candidates who speak languages where no oral certification examination exists must take an Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) if one is available. Learn more about OPIs.

2023 Oral exam schedule (Fee: $375 for Wisconsin residents / $500 for out-of-state test candidates)

Location Date Registration/Fee Deadline
Waukesha Jun 9, 2023 May 5, 2023
Madison Dec 6, 2023 Nov 3, 2023
Waukesha Dec 7, 2023 Nov 3, 2023
Madison Dec 8, 2023 Nov 3, 2023

2024 Oral exam schedule (Fee: $375 for Wisconsin residents / $500 for out-of-state test candidates)

Location Date Registration/Fee Deadline
Madison Jun 7, 2024 May 10, 2024
Madison Dec 6, 2024 Nov 8, 2024

Registering for the oral examination

Test candidates must register for the oral test at least five weeks prior to the test date. To request a registration form please send an e-mail to Interpreter.info@wicourts.gov. Slots will be held on a first-come, first-serve basis, so early registration is recommended. Priority will be given to Wisconsin residents.

Exam fees

Wisconsin residents

Full exam Partial (re-take)
$375 $150 per section

Out-of-state residents

Full exam Partial (re-take)
$500 $175 per section

Reciprocity with other tests

Interpreters who have passed the Federal Court Interpreter Certification Examination (FCICE) may be exempt from taking the oral test and should inquire with our office about reciprocity.

Oral examination description

Sight translation: For this part of the exam, the candidate is asked to read a document written in English, while interpreting it aloud into the target language, and to read a document written in the target language, while interpreting it aloud in English. Each document is approximately 225 words in length. The candidate is given 6 minutes per document to review the content and perform the sight translation while being recorded.

Consecutive: During this segment of the exam, the candidate listens to a recording of an English-speaking attorney who is questioning a non-English speaking witness. The candidate must interpret aloud the English questions into the target language and the witness' answers into English while being recorded. The questions and answers are of various lengths ranging from one word to a maximum of 50 words. The candidate is given between 22-27 minutes (depending upon the language) to complete this portion of the test.

Simultaneous: With this part of the exam, the candidate listens to a recording in English of an attorney's opening statement or closing argument to a jury or judge. This passage is recorded at a speed of 120 words per minute and is approximately 900 words in length. The speech continues for about 7 to 10 minutes without stopping. While listening through headphones, the candidate simultaneously interprets aloud all statements into the target language while being recorded. This segment takes about 12 minutes total including instructions and equipment preparation.

Resources

Court interpreter oral exam overview (external link)

Self-assessment and study tools (external link)

For more information on eligibility and registration of the oral test, please contact Interpreter.info@wicourts.gov or call (608) 266-8635.

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