{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-20-20-1703","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 20, § 20-1703","heading":"Application for certification - Examination - Certified","body":"methods of interpreting or translating.\n\nA. Every applicant who seeks to be examined for enrollment as a\n\ncertified or registered spoken language courtroom interpreter shall\n\nprove to the satisfaction of the State Board of Examiners of\n\nCourtroom Interpreters that he or she:\n\n1. Is of legal age;\n\n2. Meets the requisite standards of ethical fitness as\n\nestablished by the Board pursuant to the recommendation of the State\n\nEthics Commission; and\n\n3. Has at least a high school education or its equivalent.\n\nB. The Board shall promulgate rules establishing interpreter\n\ncredentialing standards and requiring the use of oral and written\n\ninterpreter examinations consistent with nationally recognized state\n\ncourt interpreter certification standards including but not limited\n\nto those developed through the National Center for State Courts\n\nlanguage access programs. Candidates shall be required to attend a\n\ntraining program approved by the Board, and shall be required to\n\nestablish their proficiency in English and in the foreign language\n\nthrough the written and oral examinations required by the Board.\n\n1. A candidate seeking to become a registered courtroom\n\ninterpreter shall:\n\na. complete a courtroom interpreter orientation program\n\nconducted or sponsored by the Board which shall\n\neducate the candidate about interpreting in the\n\nOklahoma courts, interpreter skills development,\n\ncourtroom procedure and decorum, legal terminology,\n\nmethods and modes of interpretation and interpreter\n\nethics and professionalism,\n\nb. successfully pass the court interpreter Written\n\nEnglish Examination approved by the Board with a score\n\nof eighty percent (80%) or better in order to\n\ndemonstrate the candidate's knowledge of three areas\n\ncentral to the work of a court interpreter (1) the\n\nEnglish language including language comprehension,\n\nvocabulary, synonyms, antonyms and idioms; (2) court-\n\nrelated terms and usage including legal terminology\n\nand court procedures; and (3) interpreter ethics and\n\nprofessional conduct,\n\nc. establish basic proficiency in the foreign language by\n\nsuccessfully passing either an oral proficiency\n\ninterview or a written translation examination for the\n\nforeign language being tested, as specified by the\n\nBoard, and\n\nd. agree in writing to be bound by the Code of\n\nProfessional Responsibility for Courtroom Interpreters\n\nin Oklahoma.\n\n2. A candidate seeking to become a certified courtroom\n\ninterpreter shall:\n\na. be currently enrolled as a registered courtroom\n\ninterpreter in this state in accordance with the\n\nBoard's rules and examination standards, and\n\nb. successfully pass the court interpreter oral\n\nexamination authorized by the Board for the language\n\nbeing certified with an overall score of seventy\n\npercent (70%) or better in each of the sections of the\n\nexam in order to demonstrate the candidate possesses\n\nthe requisite degree of skill and ability in all three\n\nmodes of interpreting: simultaneous interpreting,\n\nconsecutive interpreting and sight translation.\n\n3. The Board may adjust the examinations and the scores\n\nrequired to pass each of the interpreter examinations in this state\n\nin order to maintain equivalency with the nationally recognized\n\ninterpreter credentialing standards and maximize the reciprocity\n\nbetween Oklahoma's interpreter credentialing program and other state\n\nand national credentialing programs. For languages in which a\n\nrecognized three-part oral exam is unavailable, the Board may\n\nauthorize an abbreviated oral examination from the National Center\n\nfor State Courts, or other approved entity, if one is available. If\n\nno abbreviated oral examination is available, the Board may, at its\n\ndiscretion, recognize other oral proficiency examinations or\n\ninterviews on a per-language basis.\n\nC. An applicant who is academically dishonest when taking any\n\nauthorized examination is disqualified and may not take the\nal examination from the National Center\n\nfor State Courts, or other approved entity, if one is available. If\n\nno abbreviated oral examination is available, the Board may, at its\n\ndiscretion, recognize other oral proficiency examinations or\n\ninterviews on a per-language basis.\n\nC. An applicant who is academically dishonest when taking any\n\nauthorized examination is disqualified and may not take the\n\nexamination again until five (5) years have elapsed from the date of\n\nthe examination at which the applicant is disqualified.\n\nD. All applicants who satisfy the credentialing requirements\n\nset forth in this section and in the Board's rules and have\n\notherwise been found and approved by the Board to be fit and proper\n\npersons shall be recommended by the Board to the Supreme Court for\n\nofficial enrollment as certified or registered courtroom\n\ninterpreters. Any individual enrolled as a certified or registered\n\ncourtroom interpreter is qualified to engage in the translation of\n\nwritten text and the interpretation of spoken words in the courts of\n\nthis state.\n\nE. In district court proceedings, the court shall endeavor to\n\nobtain the services of a courtroom interpreter with the highest\n\navailable level of credential prior to accepting services of an\n\ninterpreter with lesser credential and skill, pursuant to the\n\nrequirements set forth in the Rules of the Supreme Court and Section\n\n1710 of this title.\n\nF. In determining whether an applicant meets the requisite\n\nstandards of ethical fitness as set forth in this section, the Board\n\nis authorized to conduct a criminal history record check including\n\nbut not limited to a criminal history record check through the\n\nOklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI), or a national\n\ncriminal history record check through the Federal Bureau of\n\nInvestigation (FBI) pursuant to Section 150.9 of Title 74 of the\n\nOklahoma Statutes or other applicable statute. This paragraph is\n\nspecifically intended to provide the statutory authority required by\n\nthe OSBI and FBI to provide criminal history background check\n\nservices and information to the Board for this purpose. Applicants\n\nshall furnish all releases, authorizations, fingerprints or other\n\nitems necessary to enable the Board to conduct the background check.\n\nThe Board shall charge the applicant a fee in an amount approved by\n\nthe Supreme Court for the background check.\n\nG. The Board may maintain a registry of certified interpreters\n\nfor the deaf and hard-of-hearing to serve as qualified legal\n\ninterpreters pursuant to the provisions of Section 2408 of Title 63\n\nof the Oklahoma Statutes. Applicants shall establish to the\n\nsatisfaction of the Board that they hold at least one of the sign\n\nlanguage interpreting credentials which the Board deems appropriate\n\nfor interpreting in the courts of this state, and shall satisfy the\n\nregistration requirements as set forth in the rules of the Board.","path":["OK Code","Title 20"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os20.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"634fd408ef91819ecd69864d1bb43246fbbf100df0d1f2b9a4882fc57e09f14c","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-20-20-1702","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-20-20-1704"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}