Translation and interpreting services in Tampa

Language access rules in Florida

Court interpreter program

Florida Office of the State Courts Administrator (OSCA), Court Interpreter Program Office, which registers and designates spoken language court interpreters, administers their written and oral examinations, and receives attorneys' declarations for unregistered interpreters under the Rules for Certification and Regulation of Spoken Language Court Interpreters.

Court-certified languages

Full certification exams are offered in Amharic, Arabic, Cantonese, Filipino (Tagalog), French, Haitian Creole, Hmong, Khmer, Korean, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese, with abbreviated exams in Bosnian/Serbian/Croatian and Turkish; interpreters in other languages can earn the Language Skilled designation through oral proficiency interviews, and a Provisionally Approved designation and Registered status sit below these.

The rule

Fla. R. Gen. Prac. & Jud. Admin. 2.560 requires the court to appoint an interpreter in any criminal or juvenile delinquency proceeding where the accused, a juvenile's parent or guardian, or the victim cannot understand or has limited understanding of English, and in other proceedings where a non-English-speaking litigant cannot understand the proceedings, a fundamental interest is at stake, and no alternative to an interpreter exists; Fla. Stat. § 90.6063 requires a qualified interpreter in all judicial proceedings where a deaf person is a party, juror, or witness.

Order of preference for interpreters

Rule 2.560(f) directs courts to appoint certified and Language Skilled interpreters first, then Provisionally Approved interpreters, and allows an interpreter who is merely registered with OSCA, or not registered at all, only after a good-cause finding that no designated interpreter is available after diligent search and an on-the-record determination that the interpreter is competent.

Interpreters retained by attorneys

Rule 2.565 requires attorneys and self-represented litigants who retain an interpreter for a court or court-related proceeding to use a certified, Language Skilled, or Provisionally Approved interpreter whenever possible, and to file a verified written declaration with OSCA before using an unregistered interpreter.

State-funded court interpreters

Fla. Stat. § 29.004(5) lists court foreign language and sign language interpreters and translators essential to constitutional requirements as an element of the state courts system funded from state revenues.

Deaf interpreter qualifications

Fla. Stat. § 90.6063 defines a qualified interpreter for deaf people as one certified by the National Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf or the Florida Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, or otherwise qualified by the appointing authority.

Official language

Article II, Section 9 of the Florida Constitution, adopted by initiative in 1988, declares English the official language of the State of Florida.

Refugee program

The Florida Department of Children and Families describes the state's refugee program as the largest in the nation, receiving more than 5,000 refugees, asylees, and Cuban/Haitian entrants a year, resettled primarily in Miami-Dade County with significant populations in Hillsborough, Broward, Duval, Palm Beach, Orange, Lee, and Collier counties.

Interpreter renewal requirements

Certified and Language Skilled interpreters renew every two years by completing 16 hours of continuing interpreting education, including 2 ethics credits, and 20 law-related interpreting assignments or fewer assignments totaling at least 40 hours.