Translation and interpreting services in Mobile

Language access rules in Alabama

Court interpreter program

Alabama Administrative Office of Courts (AOC) Foreign Language Interpreter Program (FLIP), run through the AOC Legal Division in Montgomery under the Policies and Procedures for Foreign Language Interpreters the AOC adopted in 2008; a separate AOC Sign Language Interpreter Program covers sign language interpreters, whom Alabama law provides in every state and municipal court.

Court-certified languages

FLIP credentials interpreters in five state-paid tiers (registered, conditionally approved, journeyman, certified, and certified master level) based on a written exam, orientation, and oral and sight-translation scores, and maintains separate registries for Spanish, languages other than Spanish, and American Sign Language; the Alabama Registry for Interpreters for the Deaf (ALRID) is responsible for certification and fee standards for sign language interpreters and supplies the AOC's registry of qualified sign language interpreters.

The rule

Ala. Code § 15-1-3, as amended by HB144 (2023), requires the court to appoint a qualified interpreter in criminal, protection from abuse, and juvenile proceedings when due process requires one, with fees set by a schedule the Administrative Director of Courts establishes and, for district, circuit, and appellate court appointments, paid through the state Comptroller from a State General Fund account (the court may still tax interpreter costs to the parties), and lets the AOC certify interpreters by examination; Ala. Code §§ 12-21-130 et seq. provide sign language interpreters in every state and municipal court.

Court interpreter privilege and oath

Under Ala. Code § 15-1-3(b)-(c), an appointed court interpreter must swear to render a true and clear interpretation, and communications between the interpreter and the person served are confidential on the same basis as attorney-client communications.

Licensed sign language interpreters

Ala. Code § 34-16-5 requires anyone who provides interpreting or transliterating services for pay in Alabama to hold an annual license or permit from the Alabama Licensure Board for Interpreters and Transliterators, backed by a board-approved national certification and continuing education, unless exempt under § 34-16-7.

School meal program language access

The Alabama State Department of Education's Child Nutrition Programs policy (approved December 2025) requires the state agency, sponsors, and local sites to take reasonable steps to give people with limited English proficiency meaningful access, including timely, competent language services at no cost; states that children should not serve as interpreters; requires a qualified translator to review any machine-translated document; and requires school food authorities to record and track offers of free language assistance.

Official language

Amendment 509 to the Alabama Constitution, now Section 36.01 of the Official Recompilation, makes English the official language of the State of Alabama.

Interpreter licensing board

The Alabama Licensure Board for Interpreters and Transliterators administers interpreter licensure under Ala. Code Title 34, Chapter 16, and Ala. Admin. Code r. 488-X-1-.06 applies the annual license requirement to anyone who mentors, models, or provides paid interpreting in a public, private, educational, or charitable setting.