Orientation Workshops, Written Exams for NV Court Interpreter Certification / Registration

by NITA Administrator ~ December 9, 2009

As is the case in many states throughout the USA, the formal credentialing process that is required to become a Certified or Registered Court Interpreter in the State of Nevada has several successive steps. The Court Interpreter Program that manages and oversees this process, as part of the Administrative Office of the Courts of the Nevada Supreme Court, has implemented a yearly schedule for this purpose.

The “Orientation Workshop” is the first required step for the Nevada Court Interpreter Certification/Registration. The workshop is followed immediately by a written examination. Subsequently, and as applicable at this moment to prospective court interpreters in the Spanish language only: upon successful completion of the written exam (i.e. meeting or exceeding a passing rate of 80%) an oral examination must be taken and passed. That oral exam is scheduled once a year. More simplified, this process involves these steps:

• Attending and completing an orientation workshop;
• Passing a written examination;
• Passing an oral examination (at this moment, Spanish <> English only);
• Completing 40 hours of court observation;
• Meeting certain other requirements (e.g. clearing a background check);
• Submitting a request for certification or registration (depending on the language pair);
• Finally, and upon meeting all requirements: appointment as either Certified or Registered Court Interpreter.

Obviously, any and all fees as applicable and established for each step, must be submitted also.

We have included the dates for the upcoming orientation workshops in January 2010 in our Calendar of Events; please consult it for the applicable dates, as separate workshops have been scheduled for Southern Nevada (held in Las Vegas) and Northern Nevada (held in Reno). However, there’s one date that is of greater importance for those interested in the workshop and written exam: the registration deadline is December 18. Please ensure that you have submitted your registration and applicable payment before that date, or you’ll have to wait for another year!

If your results of the written exam are unsatisfactory, there will be a retake opportunity, provided during the summer of 2010; however, as this is only a retake of the written exam, there will be no orientation workshop given at that time. In other words: if you do not register now you’ll have to wait another year, until January of 2011, when the next orientation workshop is held.

For more information, please refer to the pertinent Court Interpreter Program webpage, where you can also find and download the registration form.