Translation Services in Arlington, VA

Language access rules in Virginia

Court interpreter program: Foreign Language Services (FLS) Division of the Office of the Executive Secretary, Supreme Court of Virginia, which administers the Judicial Council of Virginia's process for certifying foreign language court interpreters and maintains a public directory of certified court interpreters available for private assignments.
Court-certified languages: Certified status is available in 19 languages with a certification exam: Amharic, Arabic (Egyptian), Arabic (Levantine), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian, Cantonese, Filipino (Tagalog), French, Haitian Creole, Hmong, Khmer, Korean, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Turkish, and Vietnamese; interpreters in languages without an exam can earn qualified status.
The rule: Va. Code 19.2-164 requires appointment of an interpreter for a non-English-speaking accused in any criminal case, and for victims and witnesses unless the court finds one unnecessary, with compensation fixed under Judicial Council guidelines and paid from the state general fund; Va. Code 8.01-384.1:1 lets courts appoint interpreters for parties and witnesses in civil cases, and 19.2-164.1 requires interpreters for deaf persons in criminal cases.
School language access plans (effective July 1, 2027): Va. Code 22.1-4.4 requires every school board to adopt and post a language access plan that provides free oral interpretation and written translation for limited English proficient parents and translates all vital documents, such as enrollment forms, disciplinary notices, codes of conduct, IEP documents, and appeal-rights information, into the languages most commonly spoken by LEP parents in the division.
Qualified deaf interpreters for courts and agencies: Under Va. Code 51.5-113, a qualified interpreter for deaf or hard-of-hearing persons must hold a national certification recognized by the Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing, a current Virginia Quality Assurance Screening level, or an equivalent current credential from another state, and courts and state and local agencies with designated funds pay the interpreter's actual cost.
Civil case interpreter costs: Under Va. Code 8.01-384.1:1, civil court interpreters are paid from the state general fund to the extent of available appropriations, but the court may assess the fee against either party as part of the case costs.
Official language: Va. Code 1-511 designates English as the Commonwealth's official language but provides that, except as otherwise provided by law, no state agency or local government is required to provide, or prohibited from providing, written materials in other languages.
Statewide deaf interpreter service: Va. Code 51.5-113 authorizes the Virginia Department for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing to run a statewide interpreter service for courts, legislative bodies, and public and private agencies, keep lists of qualified interpreters, and charge fees for its quality assurance screening.

Sources

Languages spoken in Arlington

29.4% of Arlington residents age 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, and 9.8% speak English less than “very well.” Spanish leads, followed by Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese and Arabic.

Language spoken at home	Residents	Speak English less than “very well”
Spanish	28,118	10,512
Other Indo-European languages	9,683	2,141
Other languages	6,023	2,125
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese	4,511	1,762
Other Asian and Pacific Island languages	4,261	1,747
Arabic	3,462	1,183
Russian, Polish, and other Slavic	3,045	888

Spanish 28,11810,512 speak English less than “very well”
Other Indo-European languages 9,6832,141 speak English less than “very well”
Other languages 6,0232,125 speak English less than “very well”
Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese 4,5111,762 speak English less than “very well”
Other Asian and Pacific Island languages 4,2611,747 speak English less than “very well”
Arabic 3,4621,183 speak English less than “very well”
Russian, Polish, and other Slavic 3,045888 speak English less than “very well”

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

Detailed languages in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area

The Census Bureau publishes individual languages for metro areas, not for cities. These are the most-spoken languages other than English in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area.

Spanish900,618
Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)97,893
Amharic, Somali, or other Afro-Asiatic languages95,597
French (incl. Cajun)72,454
Yoruba, Twi, Igbo, or other languages of Western Africa66,725
Korean65,801
Vietnamese61,437
Arabic59,264

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, ACS 2024 1-year, table B16001, Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area.

Arlington by the numbers

Residents: 236,254
Speak a language other than English at home: 65,953 29.4%
Speak English less than “very well”: 21,947 9.8%
Limited-English households: 5,911 5.3%
Born outside the U.S.: 53,024 22.4%

Where Arlington 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.

El Salvador3,997
China, excluding Hong Kong and Taiwan3,573
Ethiopia3,185
India3,163
Bolivia2,575
Guatemala2,279
Korea1,682
Mexico1,670

Language services in Arlington

Arlington questions

What languages are spoken in Arlington?

29.4% of Arlington residents age 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, and 9.8% speak English less than “very well.” Spanish leads, followed by Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese and Arabic. The most common countries of birth among residents born abroad are El Salvador, China, excluding Hong Kong and Taiwan, and Ethiopia.

How many Arlington households have limited English?

5,911 of 112,027 households (5.3%), 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 Virginia?

Foreign Language Services (FLS) Division of the Office of the Executive Secretary, Supreme Court of Virginia, which administers the Judicial Council of Virginia's process for certifying foreign language court interpreters and maintains a public directory of certified court interpreters available for private assignments. Certified status is available in 19 languages with a certification exam: Amharic, Arabic (Egyptian), Arabic (Levantine), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian, Cantonese, Filipino (Tagalog), French, Haitian Creole, Hmong, Khmer, Korean, Mandarin, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Turkish, and Vietnamese; interpreters in languages without an exam can earn qualified status.

Do you provide on-site interpreters in Arlington?

Yes. We schedule interpreters in person in Arlington and across Virginia, 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 Arlington?

Yes. We staff conferences, conventions, trade shows, seminars, corporate training, and client meetings in Arlington 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.