🚫NO, professional interpreters cannot "self-certify."

mike29224
Aug 29, 2025
1 min read

🚫NO, professional interpreters cannot "self-certify." Please don’t pretend to be; get accredited training instead.

FACT: Certification for professional interpreters is a formal process administered by independent bodies, not a personal declaration of competence.

The process is designed to verify that an interpreter meets or exceeds established professional standards through extensive training and rigorous examinations.

The difference between certification and a training certificate⁉️

It is important to distinguish between a "certification" and a "certificate" from a training program.

💠 A certificate is proof that an individual has completed a training course, such as a 40-hour accredited program. While this training is often a prerequisite for certification, the certificate itself does not make an interpreter certified.

💠 Certification, on the other hand, is a process overseen by an organization that requires candidates to pass standardized exams to demonstrate their skills.

The need for independent verification is why various professional bodies exist to certify interpreters in different fields. Some notable examples include:

💠 Medical Interpreters: National bodies like the Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters (CCHI) and the The National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters offer credentials after candidates pass written and oral exams.

💠 Legal Interpreters: Certification programs for court interpreters exist at both the national level through the National Center for State Courts and in individual states.

💠 American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreters: Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc. offers a national certification for ASL interpreters.

My name is Johnny, Certified Medical Interpreter (CMI-Spanish), and licensed Interpreter Instructor who loves to teach.