Court Interpreter Continuing Education Resources

Pursuant to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 42, registered and certified interpreters are required to renew their credentials every three years. In addition to completing a renewal application form and paying any required fees, the interpreters are required to provide documentation of 18 hours, of approved continuing education (CE) credits received during the three-year period.

• A minimum of 12 of the 18 hours must consist of foreign language or interpreting skills training.
  
• A maximum of 6 hours of online course instruction can be counted towards meeting the 12 hour foreign language/interpreting skills requirement.
• A maximum of 3 hours of online course instruction can be counted towards general credit.

The Administrative Office of the Courts has approved the following educational seminar(s) for interpreters to attend and receive CE credits.

• April 14-19, 2010 from 6-8 p.m. Eastern time: "Translation and Interpreting in the Health Care Setting: Overcoming Language Barriers to Provide the Highest Quality of Care for All Patients". ETSU Stanton-Gerber Hall, Quillen VA Medical Center Campus, Johnson City, TN. Click here for registration information. This program has been approved by the Tennessee Court Interpreter Program for 2 foreign language CEU's.
• Any interpreting, translation or foreign language conference sessions, trainings or workshops offered by TAPIT (Tennessee Association of Professional Interpreters and Translators) will receive foreign language credit or general credit when the content is pertinent but not language specific. For additional information regarding programs, please contact that office at http://www.tapit.org
• Any foreign language, legal interpretation, medical interpretation or translation class offered by any university for foreign language credit hours. A syllabus of the course must be provided to the AOC prior to taking the course so that it can be reviewed to determine the number and type of continuing education hours it can be awarded.
• The Agnese Haury Institute, Medical Interpreter Training Insitute, Translation Workshops, and Training for the FCICE exam through the National Center for Interpretation in Tucson, Arizona have been approved. For more information, visit nci.arizona.edu. For potential credit hours awarded, please contact the AOC.
• Any foreign language, legal interpretation, or medical interpretation classes offered by the Tennessee Foreign Language Institute. For additional information regarding class schedules and fees, please contact that office at (615) 741-7579 or by e-mail: its@foreign languages.org or consult the office’s website at www.foreignlanguages.org.
• Any continuing legal education (CLE) seminars offered by the Knoxville Bar Association. The available seminars are posted on the KBA's website (www.knoxbar.org). Certified and registered interpreters will be offered a member rate for extended seminars and a non-member rate for lunch-and-learn seminars. Interpreters can register and pay for seminars on-line through the KBA's website.
• Any continuing legal education (CLE) seminars offered by the Tennessee Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (TACDL) other than the annual death penalty seminar.   The available seminars are posted on TACDL’s website at www.tacdl.com, and a discounted registration fee will be available to Tennessee’s certified and registered interpreters.   To register for a seminar, contact Executive Director Barbara Short at (615) 259-2105 or barbara.short@tacdl.com.   
• Any continuing legal education (CLE) seminars offered by the Chattanooga Bar Association. The available seminars are posted on the CBA's website at www.chattbar.org, and a discounted registration fee will be available to Tennessee's certified and registered interpreters. To register for a seminar, contact the CBA at (423) 756-3222 or register on-line through the CBA's website.
• Any on-site continuing legal education (CLE) seminars offered by the Tennessee Association for Justice (or TNAJ, formerly the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association). The available seminars are posted on the TNAJ's website at www.tnaj.org/tn/. A discounted registration fee will be available to Tennessee's certified and registered interpreters. Interpreters can register and pay for seminars on-line through the TNAJ's website. The reduced registration fee will be listed under the "credentialed interpreter" category.
• Any continuing legal education (CLE) seminars offered by the Memphis Bar Association. The available seminars are posted on the MBA's website at www.memphisbar.org. To register for a seminar, click on the "Register for CLE" tab, select a seminar, and follow the registration directions. If you are a certified or registered interpreter, you will be eligible for a discounted registration fee. Choose the "non-attorney or no CLE credit needed" option on the registration form if that option is available. The AOC will NOT grant continuing education credits for on-line courses, which are listed under the "online CLE" tab. If you have any questions, contact the MBA at (901) 527-3573.
• Any continuing legal education (CLE) seminars offered by the Nashville Bar Association. The available seminars are posted on the NBA's website at www.nashbar.org. Certified and registered interpreters will be offered a member rate. Interpreters who wish to pay by credit card can register for the seminars by printing the registration form from the NBA's website and faxing it to that organization at (615) 255-3026. Interpreters who wish to pay by check can send the registration form and a check (made payable to NBA) to the Nashville Bar Association at 315 Union Street, Ste. 800, Nashville, TN 37201. In addition to faxing/sending the registration form, you must fax/send a copy of the letter designating you as a registered or certified interpreter.

In an effort to provide all individuals with equal access to the judicial system, the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) created the Court Interpreter Credentialing Program. The program’s purpose is to provide the Tennessee Judicial System with skilled interpreters that accurately and effectively interpret for a witness or party who speaks or understands little or no English. The interpreter program tests each interpreter’s ability to understand English terminology and accurately interpret into the spoken language by those with limited English proficiency. Interpreters are also sometimes responsible for translating written documents, often of a legal nature, from English into the target language and from the target language into English.

Due to the influx of multiple nationalities to our state, the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) is currently looking for people interested in becoming interpreters, in particular, those that speak Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese, Arabic and Somali languages, among others.

As the population of Tennessee becomes more diverse, interpreters are greatly needed to provide services for the judicial system. The Administrative Office of the Courts is currently seeking interpreters for all languages, especially Korean and Vietnamese.  

We encourage and invite everyone that speaks a foreign language to become familiar with the court interpreter program. Your assistance is very much needed. Click here for our brochure.