How are legal interpreters certified in Minnesota?
Interpreters who want to become certified legal interpreters must first apply to be on the State Roster. The “Roster” refers to the statewide list of interpreters who have gone to the ethics training, passed an ethics test in English, and have attended a court interpreter’s orientation program. Once an interpreter has attained status on the roster, they are then eligible to take the certification exam offered by the National Center for State Courts, consortium of State Court Interpreter Programs in Virginia, administered through local State Interpreter Programs such as the State of MN. Currently, the certification exam is only offered in the following languages: Hmong, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese. The certification exam is a highly valid test that is very difficult to pass. The exam consists of three parts; sight translation, consecutive interpreting and simultaneous interpreting. The courts are able to utilize both rostered and certified interpreters, although the use of certifie
