Licensed Court Interpreters

Orientation Course Requirements for Providers

The orientation course provides the basic knowledge, skills and abilities on all three major types of court interpreting; Sight, Consecutive and Simultaneous, to become a licensed court interpreter. The goal is for the candidate to achieve a high level of mastery of two languages, and specific performance skills in the modes of interpreting. The course is designed to help candidates deliver services in a manner faithful to all professional responsibilities and ethics, and court policies regarding court interpreting promulgated by the judiciary.

• Candidates should perform each type of interpreting skillfully enough to include everything that is said, preserve the tone and level of language of the speaker, neither changing nor adding anything to what is said.
• The course should provide information and discussion about what the profession requires to help students decide whether and how to proceed with the pursuit of a license as a court interpreter.

Applicants for approval of an orientation course must meet the requirements established in Rule 4.3(b)(1) of the JBCC Rules. The syllabus must also show that the course contains the following:

1. Modes of interpreting: sight, simultaneous and consecutive.
2. Protocol and skill exercises: sight, simultaneous and consecutive, group discussion and role playing.
3. Ethics: discussion and role playing concerning the Code of Professional Responsibility for Interpreters in the Judiciary.
4. Discussion of criminal procedure, cognates and legal terminology.
5. JBCC application process and new license designation requirements.

All orientation courses must be approved by the JBCC to be eligible to meet the pre-licensing orientation course requirement.

• The course must be at least 6 hours in length.
• The course must also follow the standardized curriculum located on the Rules and Resources page of our website.
• Approved orientation courses will be assigned a JBCC program number. 

The following information must be included the certificates of completion issued to attendees:

1. The JBCC assigned program number.
2. The name of the course provider.
3. The title of the course.
4. The date the attendee completed the course.
5. The number of hours completed by the attendee.
6. The signature of the course provider.

Providers seeking approval of their orientation course must meet the requirements of Rule 4.3 (b)(1) of the JBCC Rules.

Providers Applying for Orientation Course Approval

Pre-Certification Orientation Approval Form 

Orientation courses cannot be used for renewal purposes, they can only be used for initial certification purposes.

To apply for approval of an orientation course, you must submit the Pre-Certification Orientation Approval Form along with the appropriate documentation (i.e., course outline and speaker bios) to the address indicated on the form.

• Orientation course approval forms cannot be submitted via the online certification and licensing system.
• Applications will be reviewed to determine compliance with Commission's rules.
• Applicants will be notified of the determination via email.

Course outlines should only be a few pages, at most. The course outline must contain the following information:

• Describe course content (i.e., detailed description of each session of the program)
• Indicate the time allotted to each segment (i.e., the start and end time of each session of the program in quarter hours for in-person courses or listing each session duration using quarter hour increments for online courses). See examples below:
  • In-person course example: 8:00-8:15, 9:45-11:30, etc.
  • Online course example: .25 hrs., .50 hrs., .75, hrs., 1.0 hrs., 2.5 hrs., etc.
• The date and location of the course (i.e., city/state for in-person courses, or website for online courses)
• Any sessions in ethics must be identified on the outline as well.