Standards
Schools
EIPA 3.5 or above in the grade level which the interpreter is working for K-12 setting
Courts
The Court Administrator and the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, or AOPC, was charged with the establishment and administration of the Interpreter Certification Program, or ICP. The program's main goal is to create a statewide roster of qualified and certified interpreters and assist the 60 judicial districts to implement and effectively manage strategies to provide interpreting services. The ICP qualifies sign language interpreters and spoken language interpreters. Interpreters working in PA courts must be AOPC certified.
State Agencies
MCSC, CSC, CI, CT, CDI, NIC, NIC Advanced, NIC Master, NAD IV, or NAD V.
Medical
MCSC, CSC, CI, CT, CDI, NIC, NIC Advanced, NIC Master, NAD IV, or NAD V.
All Venues
MCSC, CSC, CI, CT, CDI, NIC, NIC Advanced, NIC Master, NAD IV, or NAD V.
None Required
Off
Licensure
No, but the state requires registration and to register you must have national certification (MCSC, CSC, CI, CT, CDI, NIC, NIC Advanced, NIC Master, NAD IV, or NAD V).
Governing Body
The Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing oversees Act 57.
Website(s)
Fee(s)
Registration $100. Biennial renewal of existing registration $100. Surcharge for late renewal of biennial registration. $50. Reactivation following suspension. $100. Registration card replacement. $10. Provisional Registration: $50.
Board
PA has an Advisory Council for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing which advises the entire state; state agencies and non-state agencies. It is not ODHH’s Council. The Council has no power or authority over the interpreter laws. It is comprised of 17 members. The members are not paid for their council work; however they are reimbursed for hotel, travel (mileage, parking and tolls) and subsistence, in accordance with the CommonwealthÍs reimbursement policy.
Qualifications
For state registration: the applicant is 18 years of age or older, has passed the examination required by subsection, has paid applicable fees, possesses the general fitness, competence and reliability sufficient to satisfy the office that the applicant is worthy of State registration.
CEUs
Ed. Interpreters: minimum of 20 hours of staff development activities relating to interpreting or transliterating services annually.
Provisional Registration: at least 20 hours or 2 CEUs of professional development in the professional studies content area via RID’s Associate Continuing Education Tracking (ACET) program.
Provisional Registration: at least 20 hours or 2 CEUs of professional development in the professional studies content area via RID’s Associate Continuing Education Tracking (ACET) program.
Special Provisions
For the provisional registration: 18 years of age. Applicants who satisfy the following criteria may apply for provisional registration: (1)Graduated within five years of the date of application from an Interpreter Education Program (IEP) with an associate degree or higher from an accredited institution of higher education (2)Passed the NAD-RID National Interpreter Certification (NIC) Knowledge test or the Certified Deaf Interpreter (CDI) written test (3)Eligible to take and pass the appropriate Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf performance test within 5 years of the date of the results letter. Provisionally registered interpreters: cannot work in a legal setting, can work in a mental health setting, only if he/she is accompanied by a qualified (state-registered) sign language interpreter or transliterator, can work in a physician’s office, if the patient is informed that the interpreter is provisionally registered and agrees to use the services of a provisionally registered interpreter, and cannot interpret in a critical care or emergency setting. Provisional Registration is issued for one year and can be renewed twice consecutively if the provisional registered interpreter provides proof of completion of at least 20 hours or 2 CEUs of professional development in the professional studies content area via RID’s Associate Continuing Education Tracking (ACET) program.
Penalties
The Department may impose disciplinary or corrective measures or levy administrative fines of up to $500 on a registrant for doing one or more of the following: obtaining a State registration or renewal of a registration through fraud, deceit or misrepresentation, being convicted of a felony or a crime in this Commonwealth or other jurisdiction relating to the provision of interpreter or transliterator services, being the subject of a disciplinary or other administrative action taken against this registration, certificate or license to provide interpreting or transliterating services in another state by a government agency, committing fraud, gross negligence or misconduct relating to the provision of interpreting or transliterating services as determined by the office, and engaging in any other misconduct relating to the provision of interpreting or transliterating services as determined by the office.