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FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

  • 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).

    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)      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).
    • 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 provedures.

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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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  • I’m CoreCHI™ certified, or work in a language other than Spanish/Arabic/Mandarin. Is the CoreCHI-Performance™ Certification mandatory for me?

    All CoreCHI certificants qualify to take the ETOE exam and earn the CoreCHI-P certification. At this time, transitioning to the CoreCHI-P certification is voluntary. Starting in 2025, this transition will become mandatory, and the CoreCHI certificants will have to earn the CoreCHI-P certification within 1-2 years.

     

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  • What is tested on the ETOE™ performance exam? What are the exam specifications?

    CCHI’s ETOE performance exam (oral exam) tests certain cognitive skills required for healthcare interpreting in a monolingual (English-to-English) format. It consists of 22 scored items in the following sections:

    1. Listening Comprehension – one (1) audio item
    2. Shadowing – one (1) audio item
    3. Memory Capacity – eight (8) audio items
    4. Restate the Meaning – seven (7) audio items
    5. Equivalence of Meaning – four (4) text items
    6. Reading Comprehension – one (1) text, between 170-220 words long, with three (3) questions based on it
    7. Speaking Skills in the Language Other Than English – one (1) unscored item; candidates need to describe the image in their LOTE. (ASL interpreters will be describing the image in English.)

    For more information, you can review the ETOE Exam Specifications or watch this webinar explaining the ETOE exam content. A free practice test is available here.

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  • What is CCHI’s Refund Policy?

    All CCHI certificants, applicants, and candidates must comply with this Refund Policy. Submitting an application online constitutes understanding of and agreement to follow this Policy.

    1.       Examination Fees

    You may receive an exam fee refund ONLY IF your eligibility to take the corresponding exam has not expired, AND:

    • you have not scheduled your exam appointment yet, OR
    • if you have cancelled your exam appointment with Prometric, CCHI’s testing vendor. (Please be aware a $25 cancellation/rescheduling fee paid to Prometric will not be refunded.)

    After you have taken the examination, OR if you missed your exam appointment, NO refunds will be granted.

    Requests for a refund must be received prior to the end of your exam eligibility period:

    • For the CoreCHI™ exam – 6 (six) months from the date of the application approval;
    • For a CHI™ exam – 12 (twelve) months from the date of passing the CoreCHI exam.

    CCHI does not grant refunds after that date (i.e., after the end of your eligibility).

    CCHI charges a processing fee of $12 on all refunds. This amount is subject to change without notice.

    To request a refund, you must contact CCHI via email at info@cchicertification.org.

    To apply for a future exam after cancelling and receiving a refund, you must pay full costs.

    2.       Application Fees

    Application fees are non-refundable.

    CCHI does NOT refund the following processing fees for:

    • Initial application
    • Renewal application

    Reversing transaction charges in connection with payment of these fees without requesting a refund constitutes non-compliance with this policy and may incur disciplinary actions.

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