How To Become An Official Court Interpreter: What It Is and Career Path

What is an official court interpreter and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The average official court interpreter salary is $44,166. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an business major. It usually takes 2-4 years of experience to become an official court interpreter. Official court interpreters with a Certified Medical Interpreter - Spanish (CMI) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 20% and produce 14,000 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreOfficial Court InterpreterUS Average

Salary

3.5

Avg. Salary $44,166

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.1

Growth rate 20%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.25%

Asian 20.82%

Black or African American 7.25%

Hispanic or Latino 27.46%

Unknown 4.58%

White 39.64%

Gender

female 62.75%

male 37.25%

Age - 40

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 40

Stress level

6.1

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.0

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

10.0

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an official court interpreter

Explore official court interpreter education requirements

Most common official court interpreter degrees

Bachelor's

69.4 %

Master's

16.7 %

Doctorate

8.3 %

Start to develop specific official court interpreter skills

Skills	Percentages
Interpretation Services	100.00%

Complete relevant official court interpreter training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New official court interpreters learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an official court interpreter based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real official court interpreter resumes.

Research official court interpreter duties and responsibilities

Use EMR software to manage patient records and files; reinforce and uphold patient confidentiality as required by HIPAA and clinic.
Provide a translation service primarily for thesis and abstracts and informal interviews/meetings in English/Portuguese language on as and when require basis.
Interpret in court trials, depositions, administrative hearings and arbitrations.

Prepare your official court interpreter resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your official court interpreter resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an official court interpreter resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable official court interpreter resume templates

Build a professional official court interpreter resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your official court interpreter resume.