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Preparing

Preparing for your certification

The next step in the process is to learn about the application and testing logistics. You will receive an email from CCHI confirming your eligibility and providing instructions on how to schedule your examination within two weeks after your application is submitted.

Reviewing the CCHI Candidate’s Examination Handbook will help you understand the whole process. But first, take a moment to understand the examinations we offer.

We offer three certification credentials

  • CoreCHI™

    Core Certification Healthcare Interpreter™

    Certification of an interpreter’s core knowledge about healthcare interpreting. The foundation every interpreter needs regardless of the language(s) in which they interpret. Accredited by NCCA.
    Languages of interpreting: Any

    $40 Application Fee

    $191Exam Fee

  • CoreCHI-Performance™

    Core Certification Healthcare Interpreter-Performance™

    Certification of a healthcare interpreter’s performance skills in monolingual format via the English-to-English (ETOE™) Interpreting exam.
    Languages of interpreting: Any

    Passing of CoreCHI exam required

    $302 Exam Fee

  • CHI™

    Certified Healthcare Interpreter™

    Certification of a healthcare interpreter’s performance skills in bilingual format. The CHI™-Spanish certification is accredited by NCCA.

    Languages of interpreting: Spanish, Arabic, and Mandarin

    Passing of CoreCHI exam required

    $302 Exam Fee

Follow our easy steps

  • Step 1

    Submit your application online, including all the documentations required to prove your eligibility.

  • Step 2

    Schedule and take - within 6 months of your application approval - the CoreCHI™ exam, available year-round.

    More about CoreCHI™

  • Step 3

    Schedule and take the ETOE™ or CHI™ exam within one year of passing the CoreCHI™ exam*. These exams are administered quarterly.
    *In 2024, all current CoreCHI certificants are eligible to take the ETOE™ exam.

    More about ETOE™ More about CHI™

  • How to Apply

    CCHI has an online application process that requires an applicant to create a Profile (account). This Profile remains active as long as the interpreter moves through the certification process and, subsequently, renews their certification. CCHI requires applicants to upload documentation that evidences their eligibility in an electronic format (as a pdf or jpg file) in the application.

    View the How to Apply PowerPoint (with detailed screenshots of the application ) or listen to the recording of the webinar “#GetCertified with CCHI” (02/23/18).

    If you have any questions about your application, contact us by email at apply@cchicertification.org. When necessary, our staff then will schedule a phone call with you.

    Also, review the overall certification process.

    Download

  • Test Content Outlines and Exams Information

    Bellow are the current test blueprints used to create the CoreCHI™ and CHI™ exams (based on the 2022 Job Task Analysis Study):

    CoreCHI™ Exam – Knowledge Exam, Managing Healthcare Interpreter Functions 

    Professional Responsibility and Interpreter Ethics (23% of the exam)
    Managing the Interpreting Encounter (24%)
    Healthcare Terminology (25%)
    U. S. Health Systems (13%)
    Cultural Responsiveness (15%)

     

    CHI™ Exam – Bilingual Performance Exams, Interpreting in Healthcare Settings

    Interpret Consecutively (70%)
    Interpret Simultaneously (17%)
    Sight Translate a Written Message(11%)
    Translate a Written Message (2%)

     

    ETOE™ Exam – Monolingual Performance Exam (English-to-English), Cognitive Interpreting Skills, Healthcare Settings

    Listening Comprehension (14%)
    Shadowing (13%)
    Memory Capacity (24%)
    Restate the Meaning (21%)
    Equivalence of Meaning (19%)
    Reading Comprehension (9%)

     

    CCHI updates the exam content domains and weightings based on the job task analysis study which is conducted every 6-7 years. Candidates will be informed in advance of any changes to the exam content domains and/or weightings.

    Visit our Additional Resources webpage for more information.

    Additional Resources Study Checklist

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Select your place on the certification path

  • Certification Process

    New to CCHI certification? Or in the process of application or testing?

    Start here

  • Certification Renewal

    Already certified? Make sure you know how to maintain your certification.

    Learn more

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