New Jersey Judiciary Language Services

This page provides information for individuals who are interested in becoming court interpreters in New Jersey. It includes steps for qualification, registration, and resources for interpreters to improve their skills and find opportunities for work. Pursuant to a statewide directive issued by the New Jersey Judiciary, a court interpreter should be assigned to proceedings in Superior Court and Tax Court for any LEP person.1

Accordingly, persons are eligible to enter the program if they reside in or near enough to New Jersey to provide interpreting services to New Jersey's courts on a regular basis, or if they are in the process of moving to New Jersey and intend to regularly work as a court interpreter in New Jersey. The Justice Department announced today that it has reached an agreement with the New Jersey Judiciary to provide comprehensive language assistance services to limited English proficient (LEP) individuals. The New Jersey Judiciary provides court interpreting services to ensure all people, including persons with limited English prociency (LEP) and persons who are deaf or hard of hearing, have equal access to court proceedings, programs, and services.

This guide synthesizes critical information from the New Jersey Judiciarys policies, standards, and procedures related to court interpreting, language access, and professional ethics. The Judiciary's Language Access Plan ensures equal access to court services for individuals with limited English proficiency or hearing impairments. Qualified interpreters are mandated, funded by the Judiciary, with specific guidelines for sign language and telephone interpreting.

This Directive included a Language Access Plan that consolidated all of the New Jersey Judiciary's existing language access standards and policies and set out how to provide and improve language access services for all court users in proceedings, programs, and services. This Registry includes approved and registered individual court interpreters who reside in or near enough to New Jersey to provide interpreting services to New Jersey's courts on a regular basis. Persons who reside a great distancefrom New Jersey are generally ineligible.

The aim of this directory is to facilitate communication (1) among the primary court managers who oversee the administration of interpreting services; (2) between those court managers and freelance contract interpreters; and (3) between the court-going public and those managers.