There are five ways that you may gain department recognition as an interpreter or translator without taking the department's certification examinations.

(1) If you are certified as an interpreter by either the Washington state administrative office of the courts or the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, the department will recognize you as a social services interpreter without requiring you to take its social service interpreter examination. However, you must formally submit a written request for recognition, a photocopy of your valid official certificate, and a copy of official record attesting to your completion of the required minimum DSHS interpreter/translator orientation and interpreter/translator professional ethics trainings to the entity you contract with for your language services.

(2) If you are certified as an interpreter by either the Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters (CCHI) or the National Board of Certification for the Medical Interpreters (NBCMI), the department will recognize you as a medical interpreter without requiring you to take its medical interpreter examination. However, you must formally submit a written request for recognition, a photocopy of your valid official certificate, and a copy of official record attesting to your completion of the required minimum DSHS interpreter/translator orientation and interpreter/translator professional ethics trainings to the entity you contract with for your language services.

(3) If you are certified as a translator by the American Translators Association (ATA), the department will recognize you as a translator without requiring you to take its translator examination. However, you must formally submit a written request for recognition, a photocopy of your valid official certificate, and a copy of official record attesting to your completion of the required minimum DSHS interpreter/translator orientation and interpreter/translator professional ethics trainings to the entity you contract with for your language services.

(4) If you are certified as an interpreter or translator by another state or U.S. territory or another country that is comparable to DSHS certification and based upon similar requirements, the department may recognize your certification. In your written request for DSHS recognition, you must submit a photocopy of your valid official certificate and a copy of the official examination manual containing descriptions of the test development process, the scope of the examination, the knowledge and skills to be evaluated, the test validation approach and related statistics, the evaluation criteria, and the passing benchmark. Your request must be submitted to LTC. LTC will evaluate all requests on a case-by-case basis. If LTC determines that your certification meets DSHS certification requirements, a recognition letter will be issued to you, which you will submit with your written request and a copy of your valid official certificate, and a copy of the official record attesting to your completion of the required minimum DSHS interpreter/translator orientation and interpreter/translator professional ethics trainings to the entity you contract with for your language services.

(5) If you are certified as an interpreter or translator by a nonprofit organization that uses a credible certification program and is recognized by the department, the department may recognize your certification. In your written request for DSHS recognition, you must submit a photocopy of your valid official certificate and a copy of the official examination manual containing descriptions of the test development process, the scope of the examination, the knowledge and skills to be evaluated, the test validation approach and related statistics, the evaluation criteria, and the passing benchmark. Your request must be submitted to LTC. LTC will evaluate all requests on a case-by-case basis. If LTC determines that your certification meets DSHS certification requirements, a recognition letter will be issued to you, which you will submit with your written request and a copy of your valid official certificate, and a copy of official record attesting to your completion of the required minimum DSHS interpreter/translator orientation and interpreter/translator professional ethics trainings to the entity you contract with for your language services.

(6) DSHS does not recognize any academic interpreter/translator degrees/certificates or training courses as substitutes for its certification/authorization examination requirements.