Testing and Certification Programs for Translators and Interpreters

Doctors have to pass their board exams before they can treat patients on their own and lawyers have to pass the state bar test before getting their law license, but what about translators and interpreters? Arguably, the art of translation and interpretation is a skill that may take decades to learn and perfect.
For medical interpreters, the way that the patients’ symptoms are explained to the doctor could mean the difference between a successful diagnosis and treatment for the patient, or utter failure on behalf of the doctor in understanding exactly what the problem is. Legal interpreters must be able to perfectly understand and relay messages with the utmost preciseness and accuracy between a client, lawyer, and in some cases between a defendant, prosecutor and a judge and jury.
In any situation, translators and interpreters are put in positions where they must choose the right words to say or write every day. The question is what are the certification programs available to test translators and interpreters in the United States today? There are ways to measure one’s ability and competency in the industry without first having to choose the wrong person for the job.
One of the most reliable ways to find qualified translators and interpreters that have the proper education, language skills and background knowledge is to partner with a translation agency. Translation agencies will typically be able to find translators and interpreters in a variety of languages who are qualified for specific jobs because of their experience and background knowledge on the specific industry.
For those who are interested in working for the Judicial Branch, there are testing programs that court interpreters need to go through in order to be certified. These are often slightly different in each state, but in general, they try to gage the aptitudes and capabilities of the interpreter to judge how they use their vocabulary and language skills to convey ideas.
In the medical interpretation field, the standards vary greatly from state to state. Currently, Colorado does not require that medical translation go through a certification program before practicing, but many agencies may still require some sort of sample work or testing upon hire.
Another resource to measure the ability of a translator or interpreter is to see if that person is certified by the American Translator’s Association, also known as the ATA. The ATA has tests which measure the usefulness, terminology and style, idiomatic writing, and language mechanics that the individual uses in the translation.
Translating and interpreting are skills that are in high demand and because of their important role in communication, it is vital to stay updated on the certification systems available in each industry.