Translation and interpreting services in Baton Rouge

Language access rules in Louisiana

Court interpreter program

Louisiana Supreme Court Office of Language Access (OLA), which trains, tests, and credentials court interpreters, maintains the Louisiana Court Interpreter Registry, and publishes the judiciary's Language Access Plan and bench card.

Court-certified languages

OLA recognizes certified (highest), registered (intermediate), and uncredentialed interpreters; registered status requires orientation, an 80% score on the NCSC written English exam, an oral proficiency interview, and 8 hours of courtroom observation, and certification requires at least 6 months as a registered interpreter and a score of at least 70% on each section of the NCSC oral exam. The Registry lists certified interpreters in Arabic, French, Haitian Creole, Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese, and registered interpreters in 26 languages, including ASL, Amharic, Cantonese, Dari, Farsi, and Ukrainian.

The rule

La. Code Crim. Proc. art. 25.1 (as amended by Acts 2024, No. 32) requires the court to appoint an interpreter under the Code of Evidence and Supreme Court rules for a party or witness found to be limited English proficient or deaf, paid from the appropriate court fund; the Supreme Court bench card cites La. Code Evid. arts. 604 and 604.1, La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 192.2, and Supreme Court Rule Part G, Section 14 for free interpreters in all civil and criminal proceedings.

Court interpreter selection and requests

Louisiana's bench card tells courts to seek a Supreme Court certified interpreter first and a registered one second, never to let family members or friends interpret inside the courtroom or the LEP person's attorney interpret for the court, and to have interpreter requests reach the local language access coordinator at least 10 business days before the proceeding or as soon as it is calendared, whichever comes first.

Out-of-court interpreting is the lawyer's cost

The judiciary does not provide or fund interpreting for private counsel's out-of-court communication, including interviews, investigations, and case preparation, and encourages counsel to retain a Supreme Court certified or registered interpreter directly.

Deaf and hard of hearing interpreters (R.S. 46:2364)

La. R.S. 46:2364 requires a qualified interpreter/transliterator for deaf or hard-of-hearing participants in judicial and quasi-judicial proceedings, hearings of state and local departments, boards, licensing authorities, commissions, and agencies, legislative committee testimony, and arrest interrogations, and a statement made to law enforcement without one may be used against the person only if the court finds a valid waiver.

Sign language interpreter standards

Under Act 128 of 2022 and La. R.S. 46:2353, the Louisiana Commission for the Deaf sets minimum qualification standards for sign language interpreters and keeps the Louisiana Interpreter Registry; the rule, effective on publication May 20, 2026, applies to community settings including medical and to PreK-12 schools, with court and legal standards expected in fall 2026.

Linguistic heritage in the constitution

Article XII, Section 4 of the Louisiana Constitution recognizes the right of the people to preserve, foster, and promote their historic linguistic and cultural origins.

French language agency

La. R.S. 25:651 creates the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana (CODOFIL) in the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, domiciled in Lafayette, with French as its official working language and a mandate to expand French immersion schools and approve Louisiana French terms for highway signs.