Translation Services in Rochester, NY

Languages spoken in Rochester

19.1% of Rochester residents age 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, and 8.6% speak English less than “very well.” Spanish leads, followed by Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese and French, Haitian Creole, or Cajun.

Language spoken at home	Residents	Speak English less than “very well”
Spanish	26,054	11,261
Other Indo-European languages	2,372	986
Other languages	2,060	998
Other Asian and Pacific Island languages	1,634	n/a
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	1,279	789
French, Haitian Creole, or Cajun	1,199	437
Russian, Polish, and other Slavic	1,115	499

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates for Rochester city (tables C16001, C16002, B05002, B05006) (opens in a new tab). Figures with a wide margin of error are not shown.

Language access rules in New York

Court interpreter program: New York State Unified Court System, Office of Court Administration, which under Judiciary Law § 391 must collect, and publish on its website, data on limited English proficient litigants, the language assistance services provided, and the number of interpreter personnel employed by the courts, by court, county, and language.
Court-certified languages: For deaf and hard of hearing court users, Judiciary Law § 390 requires interpreters certified by a recognized national or New York State credentialing authority approved by the Chief Administrator of the Courts; for spoken languages, Judiciary Law Article 12 provides for official court interpreters and lets a court appoint a temporary interpreter, who files the constitutional oath of office, when no unemployed official interpreter is available.
The rule: Judiciary Law § 390 requires the court in all instances to appoint a certified qualified interpreter whenever a deaf or hard of hearing person is a party, witness, juror, or prospective juror in a legal proceeding of any nature, and for deaf or hard of hearing crime victims in criminal actions in state-funded courts, with fees charged to the state (justice courts pay as provided by earlier law); Judiciary Law § 386 lets the county judge and district attorney appoint a county court interpreter (except in New York, Kings, and Queens counties and counties governed by special acts), and § 387 provides for temporary court-appointed interpreters.
Statewide language access law (Executive Law § 202-a): Every New York State agency that provides direct public services must translate all vital documents into the twelve most common non-English languages spoken by limited English proficient New Yorkers (and up to four more with Office of General Services approval), provide interpretation in each person's primary language, designate a language access coordinator, and publish a language access plan updated every two years.
Pharmacy interpretation and translation (Education Law § 6829): Every pharmacy that is part of a group of eight or more under common ownership in New York must provide free, competent oral interpretation and translation of prescription labels, warning labels, and other written material for limited English proficient customers in the region's pharmacy primary languages, and post notice of the right at each prescription counter.
Court language data (Judiciary Law § 391): The Office of Court Administration must collect data on limited English proficient litigants in all courts except town and village courts, including each litigant's primary language, the language assistance services provided, and the number of interpreter personnel by court, county, and language.
Vital document definition: Executive Law § 202-a defines a vital document as any paper or digital document containing information critical for obtaining agency services or benefits or otherwise required to be completed by law, and makes the Office of General Services responsible for enforcing compliance and publishing an annual compliance report.
Pharmacy language thresholds: Under Education Law § 6829, a pharmacy primary language is one spoken by at least one percent of a region's population under U.S. Census data, capped at seven languages per region, and the services may be provided by pharmacy staff or a third-party contractor without being in person.

Sources

Rochester by the numbers

Residents: 208,772
Speak a language other than English at home: 37,609 19.1%
Speak English less than “very well”: 16,886 8.6%
Limited-English households: 5,679 6.1%
Born outside the U.S.: 17,057 8.2%

Where Rochester residents born abroad come from

Countries of birth point to the languages behind the Census groups above, and to the documents (birth certificates, diplomas, court records) that arrive for translation.

Dominican Republic1,668
Jamaica1,267
China, excluding Hong Kong and Taiwan1,100
Cuba916
Somalia433
Canada429
Mexico414

Detailed languages in Monroe County, New York

The Census Bureau publishes individual languages for counties, not for cities. These are the most-spoken languages other than English in Monroe County, New York.

Spanish45,248
Nepali, Marathi, or other Indic languages4,708
Amharic, Somali, or other Afro-Asiatic languages4,476
Italian4,454
Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)4,291
Ukrainian or other Slavic languages4,179
Arabic3,325
French (incl. Cajun)2,118

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, ACS 2024 1-year, table B16001, Monroe County, New York.

Language services in Rochester

Rochester questions

What languages are spoken in Rochester?

19.1% of Rochester residents age 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, and 8.6% speak English less than “very well.” Spanish leads, followed by Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese and French, Haitian Creole, or Cajun. The most common countries of birth among residents born abroad are Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and China, excluding Hong Kong and Taiwan.

How many Rochester households have limited English?

5,679 of 93,261 households (6.1%), according to the Census Bureau: households in which no one age 14 or older speaks only English or speaks English “very well.” These are the households most likely to need an interpreter or translated documents.

How are court interpreters credentialed in New York?

New York State Unified Court System, Office of Court Administration, which under Judiciary Law § 391 must collect, and publish on its website, data on limited English proficient litigants, the language assistance services provided, and the number of interpreter personnel employed by the courts, by court, county, and language. For deaf and hard of hearing court users, Judiciary Law § 390 requires interpreters certified by a recognized national or New York State credentialing authority approved by the Chief Administrator of the Courts; for spoken languages, Judiciary Law Article 12 provides for official court interpreters and lets a court appoint a temporary interpreter, who files the constitutional oath of office, when no unemployed official interpreter is available.

Do you provide on-site interpreters in Rochester?

Yes. We schedule interpreters in person in Rochester and across New York, and by phone and video nationwide, in 250+ languages including Spanish and ASL. Book less common languages as early as you can.

Do you provide conference and meeting interpreters in Rochester?

Yes. We staff conferences, conventions, trade shows, seminars, corporate training, and client meetings in Rochester with simultaneous or consecutive interpreters. For simultaneous interpreting, our own technicians deliver, run, and strike the booths, transmitters, and receivers, shipped from our own inventory.