Below is information on how to become a certified medical interpreter in the United States. The information in this post is current at the time of the post. For more updated information, please visit the organizations’ official websites or links in the post.
Table of Contents
- Who certify Medical Interpreters?
- What languages can you get certified in?
- How do I get certified?
- What are the eligibility requirements to get certified as medical/healthcare interpreters?
- How much does it cost to get certified as medical/healthcare interpreters?
- When do the certificates expire?
- How much is renewal fee?
- What are the requirements for renewal of CCHI and NBCMI certificates?
Who certify Medical Interpreters?
The National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters (NBCMI) offers certification for medical interpreters.
The Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters (CCHI) offers certification for healthcare interpreters. Their CoreCHI certifications are accredited by National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA).
What languages can you get certified in?
At the time of this post, the National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters offers Certified Medical Interpreter (CMI) certification in Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Russian, Korean, and Vietnamese. They also offer Hub-CMI credential for other languages. Learn more about the difference between Hub-CMI and CMI here.
The Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters offers Certified Healthcare Interpreter (CHI) certification in Spanish, Arabic, and Mandarin. For other languages, they offer CoreCHI certification.
How do I get certified?
To get certified by NBCMI and CCHI, you need to:
- Register and show proof that you meet the requirements.
- Pass written and oral exams.
What are the eligibility requirements to get certified as medical/healthcare interpreters?
Both CCHI and NBCMI require candidates to:
- be at least 18 years old
- have high school education or GED.
- have completed 40 hours of medical/healthcare interpreter training.
- demonstrate proficiency in English and the language for which you seek certification.
Once you have met those requirements, you can register to take the written and oral exams and get certified.
For more information regarding eligibility requirements from NBCMI and CCHI, please see below:
NBCMI
- CMI Spanish prerequisites: https://www.certifiedmedicalinterpreters.org/prerequisites-spanish
- CMI Mandarin prerequisites: https://www.certifiedmedicalinterpreters.org/prerequisites-mandarin
- CMI Cantonese prerequisites: https://www.certifiedmedicalinterpreters.org/prerequisites-cantonese
- CMI Russian prerequisites: https://www.certifiedmedicalinterpreters.org/prerequisites-russian
- CMI Korean prerequisites: https://www.certifiedmedicalinterpreters.org/prerequisites-korean
- CMI Vietnamese prerequisites: https://www.certifiedmedicalinterpreters.org/prerequisites-vietnamese
- Hub-CMI All other languages: https://www.certifiedmedicalinterpreters.org/hub-cmi-all-other-languages
CCHI
Prerequisites for all languages: https://cchicertification.org/certifications/eligibility/
How much does it cost to get certified as medical/healthcare interpreters?
To get certified by NBCMI, it costs $35 to register for CMI and $175 for the written exam. That should get you a Hub-CMI.
If your target language is not one of the six languages in the CMI program, you have the option to renew Hub-CMI every 4 years.
If your target language is one of the six languages in the CMI program, you will have 2 years from the day the Hub-CMI is granted to take the oral exam. The Hub-CMI in this case is not renewable.
NBCMI oral exam costs $275.
To get certified by CCHI, it costs $35 for application fee, $175 for CoreCHI exam fee and $275 for CHI exam fee (oral).
The above fees are current at the time of this post. For more updated fees and more information, visit:
- NBCMI: https://www.certifiedmedicalinterpreters.org/overview
- CCHI: https://cchicertification.org/certifications/preparing/
When do the certificates expire?
NBCMI Hub-CMI certificates expire after 4 years with option to renew if the target language is not one of the six languages they offer CMI certification. If the target language is one of the six languages they offer CMI certification, Hub-CMI expires after 2 years with no option to renew.
NBCMI CMI certificates are valid for 5 years. After that, you have the option to renew.
CCHI certificates expire after 4 years with option to renew.
How much is renewal fee?
Renewal fee for certificates from both CCHI and NBCMI is $300.
What are the requirements for renewal of CCHI and NBCMI certificates?
Renewal requirements for NBCMI
- Hub-CMI certificates: https://www.certifiedmedicalinterpreters.org/hub-cmi-renewal
- CMI certificates: https://www.certifiedmedicalinterpreters.org/get-recertified
Renewal requirements for CCHI certificates: https://cchicertification.org/renew-certification/renewal-process/