State of Arizona Requirements

Licensure: Yes

Registration: Yes

Regulation: Yes

Legal, General, and Provisional

Licensure Information

General License

Hearing interpreters: NAD III, IV, or V; RID CI, CSC, CT, IC, MCSC, RSC, SC:L, SC:PA, or TC; NIC Certified, Advanced, or Master; or BEI Levels III, IV, or V, Basic, Advanced, Master, Trilingual Advanced, Trilingual Master, CIC, or other certification deemed appropriate by the Commission;

Deaf interpreters: RID CDI, CLIP-R, or SC:L; BEI Intermediary Level III or V, CDI, or other certification deemed appropriate by the Commission; or Oral interpreters: RID OIC or OTC, BEI OC:B or OC:C, or other certification deemed appropriate by the Commission.

Legal License

Legal Class A: RID SC:L, BEI CIC

Legal Class C: NIC Certified, Advanced, or Master, NAD III, IV, or V, CI, CT, or CSC, or BEI Levels IV or V, Advanced, Master,
Trilingual Advanced or Master is required; plus 10,000 hours of paid interpreting from initial certification as a certified interpreter and plus 50 hours of legal training

Class D: RID CDI, CLIP-R, OIC, or OTC or BEI OC:B, OC:C, Intermediary Levels III or V, or CDI is required;500 hours of paid interpreting as a certified interpreter plus 50 hours of legal training

Provisional License

Provisional Class A or D: Education: 40 hours of ITP/IPP or RID/NAD/BEI approved workshops; Examination: Pass RID/BEI/NAD Written examination; Experience: 24 hours of interpreting for Class A and 40 hours of interpreting for Class D.

Provisional Class B or C: Education: 80 hours of ITP/IPP or RID/NAD/BEI approved workshops; Examination: Pass RID/BEI/NAD written examintation; Experience: Class B: EIPA 4.0 score, or ACCI certification, or state-issued certification or certificate of competency in good standing; Class C: 80 hours of interpreting.

20-Day Short-Term Registration: proof of current and valid RID/BEI/NAD certification or license from another state’s interpreter licensing authority

Annual renewal required from date of issuance to expiration date (one year)

Provisional: $25 initial with $25 renewal upon annual expiration.

Legal and General: $125 initial with $50 renewal upon annual expiration A provisional license is limited to five years in the interpreter’s lifetime 20-day short-term registration is free and can only register two times in the interpreter’s lifetime and up to 20 days in a year.

Additional Information

A person not licensed shall not falsely identify themselves as a licensed interpreter, practice as an interpreter, or use another person’s license. Violation is a Class 2 misdemeanor (up to four months in jail / up to $750 fine for individual persons or up to a $10,000 fine for enterprises).

Number of Commission Members: 14

Term Limits: Three-year terms with no more than two (2) consecutive terms.

14 Commissioners appointed by the Governor oversee the work of ACDHH:

  • Four Deaf representatives
  • Four Hard of Hearing representatives
  • One parent of a Deaf or Hard of Hearing child
  • One member who is a licensed sign language interpreter
  • One licensed hearing aid dispenser
  • One clinical audiologist representative
  • One representative from the Arizona Department of Economic Security
  • One representative from the Arizona Schools for the Deaf and Blind