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FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Can I get a CHI credential if I have the CoreCHI-Performance credential?

    If CoreCHI-P™ credential holders choose to obtain a bilingual CHI™ credential, they need to follow these steps:

    • submit an acceptable language proficiency for the Language Other Than English – Arabic, Mandarin or Spanish
    • take a bilingual CHI™ performance exam within 12 months of the date of passing the CoreCHI™ exam. Otherwise, they will need to take and pass the CoreCHI™ exam before taking a CHI™ exam.

    After receiving a CHI™ credential, they must comply with the renewal requirements for holders of multiple credentials. See more details at https://cchicertification.org/faq/corechi-and-chi-renewal/.

     

    A CoreCHI-P credential in Arabic, Mandarin and Spanish may only be obtained after passing the corresponding bilingual CHI™ performance exam. However, CHI™ credential holders do not need to earn a CoreCHI-P™ credential.

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  • Do the documents I send with my application need to be translated into English? Where can I have them translated?

    CCHI accepts translations done by any third party other than the applicant. If a translation is done by a freelance translator rather than an agency, the translation should be notarized, unless the freelance translator is ATA-certified and provides their certification number. CCHI may request a different translation version if our review identifies any issues with the submitted document. For further questions, contact our Registrar at apply@cchicertification.org.

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  • Do I need to reside in the United States / be a U.S. citizen to become certified?

    You do not need to be a U.S. citizen to be certified by CCHI or to become a medical interpreter in the U.S.  CCHI tests candidates regardless of their immigration status, but keep in mind that the CHI and EtoE performance exams can be taken only at Prometric testing centers in the United States and Canada.

    If you plan to be physically present to work in the U.S., you will be required either to have a work visa or a work permit, which CCHI cannot facilitate for you.

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  • Where can I find the First Credential Renewal Attestation?

    The “First Credential Renewal Attestation” is available here as a PDF file OR here as an MS Word file.

    See https://cchicertification.org/renewal-multiple-credentials/ for all multiple-credential renewal procedures.

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  • I hold the CoreCHI-Performance™ credential and practice in more than one LOTE (Language Other Than English). How do I renew my credentials?

    The following procedural rules apply to certificants who hold the CoreCHI-Performance™ credential and practice in more than one LOTE (Language Other Than English):

    a)      The proof of language proficiency (LP) in the second (or third, etc.) LOTE can be submitted only after the candidate passes the ETOE exam. The fee for adding any additional LOTE language proficiency to the CoreCHI-P credential is $30 (non-refundable, specified for 2023, subject to change). IMPORTANT: This does not apply to languages for which a CHI credential exists. A CoreCHI-P credential in Arabic, Mandarin and Spanish may only be obtained after passing the corresponding bilingual CHI™ performance exam.

    b)     Once the LP proof is accepted/verified by CCHI, CCHI issues a certificate with the second LOTE specified.

    c)      To renew the CoreCHI-P credential, the certificant will need to submit only one renewal application. However, during the first renewal cycle, within the first 12 months after the CoreCHI-P credential award, the certificant will need to perform some LOTE-specific CE activity. If a certificant has 2 (or more) LOTEs accepted/verified by CCHI, they have to complete this CE activity for each of the LOTEs within the same 12-month period and upload proof of completion for all LOTEs in one renewal application.

    d)     If requirement c) is not met for each LOTE, the renewal certificate is issued only in the LOTE for which the CE activity has been completed.

    e)     The fee for the CoreCHI-P credential renewal is the same as for any other credential renewal (see Fees). To maintain any additional LOTE during the renewal cycle, the certificant will pay a $30 fee per LOTE (specified for 2023, subject to change). If starting with the second renewal cycle, the additional LOTE fee is not paid, the certificate is issued only for the primary/first LOTE.

    See https://cchicertification.org/renewal-multiple-credentials/ for all multiple-credential renewal procedures.

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  • I hold multiple CHI™ credentials in different LOTEs (Languages Other Than English). How do I renew my credentials?

    The following procedural rules apply to certificants who hold multiple CHI™ credentials in different LOTEs (Languages Other Than English):

    a)      The same 32 CE hours and 40 work experience hours can be submitted for maintaining both credentials.

    b)     To align the expiration dates for both credentials and simplify the renewal process, the certificant will need to:

    • Submit the “first” (older) CHI renewal application first, with the full renewal application fee (see Fees).
    • Submit the second CHI renewal application within 30 days of submitting the first CHI renewal application. The second CHI renewal fee in this case is $30 (in 2023, subject to change as any fees).
    • For the second CHI renewal application, upload a statement that the first CHI credential renewal application has been submitted. See CCHI’s template “First Credential Renewal Attestation” available here as a PDF file OR here as an MS Word file.
    • Meeting the above requirements will reset the second CHI expiration date to the same expiration date as the first CHI credential, and the certificant will be on the same four-year renewal cycle for both.

    c)     If the certificant does not renew the first CHI credential but wishes to keep the second credential, they would have to upload all CE documentation to and pay the full renewal fee (see Fees) in the second CHI renewal application, and follow that credential renewal cycle.

    See https://cchicertification.org/renewal-multiple-credentials/ for all multiple-credential renewal procedures.

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  • I hold both CHI™ and CoreCHI-Performance™ credentials with the same LOTE (Language Other Than English). How do I renew my credentials?

    The following procedural rules apply to certificants who hold both CHI™ and CoreCHI-Performance™ credentials with the same LOTE (Language Other Than English):

    a)      If a CHI certificant is awarded the CoreCHI-P credential, they can only have the CoreCHI-P credential active as long as their CHI certification is active. In other words, failure to renew the CHI certification will result in automatic termination of the CoreCHI-P credential.

    b)     The same 32 CE hours and 40 work experience hours can be submitted for renewal of both credentials.

    c)      The CoreCHI-P credential dates may be aligned to the CHI credential dates only (not vice versa). To align the expiration dates for the two credentials and simplify the renewal process, the certificant will need to:

    • Submit the CHI renewal application first, with the full renewal application fee (see Fees).
    • Submit the CoreCHI-P renewal application within 30 days of submitting the CHI renewal application. The CoreCHI-P renewal fee in this case is $30 (in 2023, subject to change). The CoreCHI-P renewal dates will then match the CHI credential dates.
    • For the CoreCHI-P renewal application, upload a statement that the CHI credential renewal application has been submitted. See CCHI’s template “First Credential Renewal Attestation” available here as a PDF file OR here as an MS Word file.

    Meeting the above requirements will reset the CoreCHI-P expiration date to the same expiration date as the CHI credential, and the certificant will be on the same four-year renewal cycle for both.

    See https://cchicertification.org/renewal-multiple-credentials/ for all multiple-credential renewal procedures.

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  • I hold both CHI™ and CoreCHI-Performance™ credentials with different Languages Other Than English (LOTEs). How do I renew my credentials?

    The following procedural rules apply to certificants who hold both CHI™ and CoreCHI-Performance™ credentials with different Languages Other Than English (LOTEs):

    a)      The same 32 CE hours and 40 work experience hours can be submitted for renewal of both credentials.

    b)     To align the expiration dates for 2 credentials and simplify the renewal process, the certificant will need to:

    • Fulfill the LOTE-specific CE requirement within the first 12 months after the date of the CoreCHI-Performance credential award OR before the expiration of their CHI credential, whichever is sooner.  The certificate for completing this CE requirement (issued by CCHI) must be uploaded to the CoreCHI-P renewal application.
    • Submit the CHI renewal application (assuming it is an older one) first, with the full renewal application fee (see Fees).
    • Submit the CoreCHI-P renewal application within 30 days of submitting the CHI renewal application. The CoreCHI-P renewal fee in this case is $30 (in 2023, subject to change).
    • For the CoreCHI-P renewal application, upload a statement that the CHI credential renewal application has been submitted. See CCHI’s template “First Credential Renewal Attestation” available here as a PDF file OR here as an MS Word file.

    Meeting the above requirements will reset the CoreCHI-P expiration date to the same expiration date as the CHI credential, and the certificant will be on the same four-year renewal cycle for both.

    c)     If the certificant does not renew the CHI credential but wishes to keep the CoreCHI-P credential, they would have to upload all CE documentation and pay the full renewal fee in the CoreCHI-P renewal application, and follow the CoreCHI-P renewal cycle in the future.

    See https://cchicertification.org/renewal-multiple-credentials/ for all multiple-credential renewal procedures.

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  • Can I take the CCHI certification exams outside the United States?

    CCHI now administers the CoreCHI™ written exam in two modalities: at a physical test center OR online. Eligible interpreters may therefore obtain CoreCHI certification from outside the United States.

    However, CCHI does not offer the ETOE™ exam or CHI™ language-specific performance exams remotely due to the nature and specific parameters (e.g. audio capture, allowing note taking) of those exams. All candidates who need to take the ETOE™ exam or a CHI™ language-specific performance exam must do so at a physical test center of the Prometric network in the U.S. or Canada.

    If you are considering taking the CoreCHI™ (“written”) certification exam online, please visit our online testing info page.

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  • Is the ETOE™ exam replacing the CHI™ oral certification exams or future language-specific exams?

    No! CCHI recognizes that the most effective and direct way to evaluate interpreting skills is through a bilingual oral performance exam like the CHI exams, which test all interpreting modes. However, creating and maintaining such exams is very resource-intensive, as it requires a certain number of pilot test takers, subject matter experts, and qualified raters of a specific language to be continuously available. For many languages, this is currently unfeasible. That’s why CCHI explored how the same skills could be evaluated in a different way by conducting the EtoE Interpreter Testing Study in 2020, where interpreters took a monolingual ETOE exam and a bilingual CHI exam, and their results were compared. The study provided us with a scientific foundation for a new approach to evaluating interpreting skills. If you are interested in the details, please read the summary report here (it contains the link to the full report, too).

    Therefore, the new monolingual ETOE exam is not intended as a replacement for bilingual exams. It is an opportunity to test the skills of interpreters of any language in a more efficient way, and it closes the gap for languages where performance certification has not been available until this moment. While we are excited to launch this universal skills-based exam, we will also continue to develop bilingual exams in the order that makes the most sense from a feasibility/sustainability standpoint. In fact, the ETOE exam may help point us in the right direction, as it will give us a clearer idea of which languages are most represented among U.S. interpreters who want a higher-tier certification.

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