CCHI certifications are valid for four (4) years. As long as the certificant meets our certification renewal requirements and submits their online renewal application on time, the individual will not need to retake CCHI’s examinations. If the certificant does not submit their renewal application before expiration of the credential, they will be automatically removed from CCHI’s National Registry of Certified Interpreters, and will need to retest.
Review the CCHI Certification Renewal Handbook carefully. For a brief overview, see CCHI’s Renewal At a Glance card or CCHI_Renewal_Guide2023.
Because CCHI starts the CoreCHI™ certification sunsetting on January 1, 2025, renewal of this credential will follow a special schedule. Click here to learn more.
If you have any questions, contact us at renewal@cchicertification.org.
Collect documentation that you worked a minimum of 40 hours as an interpreter in healthcare settings
Collect documentation that you completed a minimum of 32 CE hours related to healthcare interpreting. See special requirement for CoreCHI-Performance certificants.
must be submitted every 4 years, 30-90 days before the expiration date. The renewal fee is $300.
All CoreCHI™ or CHI™ certificants must complete continuing education to maintain their certification. The continuing education requirement is 32 actual hours (classroom or contact) during the four-year period for which the individual’s certification is valid. To ensure that certificants pursue continuing education in a consistent manner and with the goal to maintain or improve their job performance, the following conditions must be met regarding these 32 CE hours:
CCHI accepts CE topics that are beyond-beginner level of complexity AND address the essential body of knowledge that serves as the context for the healthcare interpreting profession and align with one or more of the knowledge, skills and abilities needed for competent performance of the job of the healthcare interpreter. Keep in mind, that for topics in Written Translation only 8 hours are accepted (the subject matter of such written translation topics is limited to healthcare, medical, legal, and healthcare/auto insurance subject areas; written translation topics could be performance-based or not).
By “continuing education,” we mean learning in an instructor-led (feedback-offered) environment, including online self-paced modules, when such learning results in a document issued by an instructor, organization, organizer, etc. verifying completion of the activity (i.e., self-attestations are NOT accepted). The following activities are not accepted as CE by CCHI:
Distribution of Topics
CCHI acknowledges that interpreting skills require continuous practice to be maintained at an adequate level. Therefore, each certificant is required to obtain a minimum of 4 (four) CE hours in any performance based (skill-building) training every four years.
CCHI recommends that each certificant develops a personal CE plan to target the areas of knowledge and performance in which they need improvement. Certificants are not allowed to take the same CE course in the same four-year cycle (“same” means the course with the same title, delivered by the same instructor(s), and of the same duration as the course submitted for CE credit in the current four-year cycle).
CCHI accepts various types of continuing education programs that are delivered at any venue – classroom, online (as webinars or online training modules), conference sessions, or workshops.
Learn about the Continuing Education Accreditation Program (CEAP) and CEAP-accredited CE courses – click here.
If a certificant is a trainer or instructor and is asking for CE credits for training they deliver, they must meet the following requirements:
Important:
CCHI guarantees acceptance of appropriately furnished proof of CE only for CEAP-accredited CE courses because such courses have undergone a thorough review process and meet CCHI’s renewal criteria. However, CCHI does not require that certificants complete only CEAP-accredited CE courses.
CCHI will accept all CE courses that meet CCHI’s requirements for continuing education as described here as long as sufficient information for the evaluation is provided by the certificant. It is the responsibility of the certificant to provide information about a CE course that is sufficient for CCHI to make an evaluation as to whether the course meets CCHI’s CE requirements. The information needed for the evaluation may include, but is not limited to, the course description, agenda, syllabus, student handouts, etc. This information may be required in addition to the document verifying the certificant’s completion of the course (i.e. certificate of attendance/completion, badge, etc.), especially if the title of the course does not indicate a specific subject matter or the level of complexity (i.e. continuing education vs. beginner-level/basic training).
CCHI defines performance-based (PB) training as training aimed to improve the healthcare interpreter’s skills in the three interpreting modes – consecutive, simultaneous and sight translation, and translation. PB courses must include instructor-led practice (with feedback offered) in those modes of interpreting or translation (in-person or online). Ethics, cultural awareness or terminology-only courses are not considered PB in this context.
CCHI acknowledges that interpreting skills require continuous practice to be maintained at an adequate level. Therefore, each certificant is required to obtain a minimum of 4 (four) CE hours in any performance-based (skill-building) training every four years.
Performance-Based Training:
Non-Performance-Based Training – 28 CE hours maximum allowed in a four-year cycle, in any combination:
Courses that include activities when participants discuss issues, provide their input, participate in behavioral roleplays, etc., but do not actually practice interpreting/translation, are considered general CE (i.e., they are not considered PB in the context of CCHI’s guidelines).
CoreCHI-Performance™ certificants are required to complete a minimum of 1 performance-based (PB) CE hour (out of 4 PB CE hours required) in the LOTE of their verified proficiency(s) within the first year of the initial CoreCHI-P™ credential award (CoreCHI-P™ certificants of 2023 have to complete this requirement by November 1, 2024.)
Keep in mind that interpreting (or translating a document) in itself or preparing for an interpreting assignment is not considered to be continuing education.
All CE activities must be instructor-led (feedback-offered) either in an in-person or online format. Online courses do not need to have a human instructor but must be structured in a way that allows the student to practice the three modes of interpreting and receive some feedback or model interpretation of assignments. The same applies to the online translation courses.
Important:
CCHI guarantees acceptance of appropriately furnished proof of CE only for CEAP-accredited CE courses because such courses have undergone a thorough review process and meet CCHI’s renewal criteria. However, CCHI does not require that certificants complete only CEAP-accredited CE courses.
CCHI will accept all CE courses that meet CCHI’s requirements for continuing education as described in the section above as long as sufficient information for the evaluation is provided by the certificant. It is the responsibility of the certificant to provide information about a CE course that is sufficient for CCHI to make an evaluation as to whether the course meets CCHI’s CE requirements. The information needed for the evaluation may include, but is not limited to, the course description, agenda, syllabus, student handouts, etc. This information may be required in addition to the document verifying the certificant’s completion of the course (i.e. certificate of attendance/completion, badge, etc.), especially if the title of the course does not indicate a specific subject matter or the level of complexity (i.e. continuing education vs. beginner-level/basic training).
CCHI is committed to ensuring that CoreCHI-Performance™ certificants maintain or improve their proficiency in their LOTE (Language Other Than English, i.e., the language listed on the certificate). CoreCHI-P™ certificants are required to complete a minimum of 1 performance-based (PB) CE hour (out of 4 PB CE hours required) in the LOTE of their verified proficiency(s) within the first year of the initial CoreCHI-P credential award. CoreCHI-P certificants of 2023 have to complete this requirement by November 1, 2024.
CCHI defines PB continuing education (CE) as courses that include instructor-led practice (with feedback offered) in consecutive, simultaneous and sight translation modes of interpreting or in translation.
CCHI requires interpreters of spoken languages to complete the online Exercise in Language Proficiency Evaluation* to meet the 1-hour LOTE-specific training requirement. This Exercise is provided by CCHI free of charge at https://cchiinterpreters.org/. This Exercise consists of the following:
* Details about the Exercise in Language Proficiency Evaluation are provided to certificants directly.
CoreCHI-P™ certificants who are ASL interpreters may meet this requirement by completing a minimum of 1 hour of a PB CE course in ASL from any training organization (out of 4 PB CE hours required, i.e., the other 3 PB CE hours may be language-neutral).
CCHI recognizes that one of the important tasks of a certified healthcare interpreter is to pursue professional growth and development on an ongoing basis. This is achieved not only by completing continuing education programs but also through involvement in professional organizations, research, and professional publications. CCHI encourages our certificants to be actively engaged in the profession. To this effect, as of January 30, 2018, the following changes to our Certification Renewal policy take effect:
CCHI certificants are allowed, as an option, to submit non-instructional continuing education (CE) equal to up to 8 hours (points) per each four-year cycle towards their certification renewal requirements.
Non-instructional CE activities are defined as “activities that support the healthcare interpreting profession through volunteerism, leadership and research.”
The following categories of non-instructional activities are accepted as CE for CCHI certification renewal:
1. Professional Engagement:
a) Membership in a professional organization – 0.5 points per year, maximum 2 points
b) Volunteering related to healthcare interpreting – 1 point per year, maximum 4 points
2. Leadership and Recognition:
a) Serving on the volunteer Board of a professional organization of healthcare interpreters or with healthcare interpreters as a significant segment of membership – 4 points per year, maximum 8 points
b) Receiving a professional award related to healthcare interpreting – 2 points per award, maximum 4 points
3. Research and Publications related to the healthcare interpreting profession – 4 points per year, maximum 8 points
Interpreters may hold more than one CCHI credential. To maintain each certification active, certificants must submit a renewal application for each of their credentials every four years.
However, since the CE requirements are the same for any credential, CCHI offers streamlined procedures for renewal of the certificant’s second or third, etc., credential.
Also, the renewal application fee for each additional credential is $30.
For more information, click the button below.
The CEAP Registry is a listing of accredited CE programs. Interpreters do not need to create an account at the CEAP Portal. For interpreters, the portal functions as a search engine.
Educators, trainers, and organizations need to create an account if they wish to submit their training program/event for CEAP accreditation.
To search the Registry, select appropriate values in the drop-down lists of various fields and click the “Filter” button. Make sure to click the “Clear” button when you start another search.
CCHI guarantees acceptance of appropriately furnished proof of CE only for CEAP-accredited CE courses because such courses have undergone a thorough review process and meet CCHI’s renewal criteria. However, CCHI does not require that certificants complete only CEAP-accredited CE courses.
We also provide online self-paced CE training modules based on recordings of our webinars. These modules are available on our special online training portal. When you visit the portal for the first time, you need to create a free account. Keep in mind that this account is not linked to your CCHI Profile (that houses all your applications and is located at https://cchi.learningbuilder.com), so save the username and password for the portal.
To access any CE training module, click on its title. Some modules are free (you’ll need to enter the enrollment key provided in the description to launch them). Others are offered at an affordable fee that you pay via a PayPal checkout (you do not need to have a PayPal account, you may use a credit/debit card).
To help our certificants meet the CE requirements, CCHI offers free live CE webinars annually. We invite guest speakers, renowned interpreter educators from across the U.S., to present at our webinars. Visit our webinar page frequently for updates.
The Polices below document appropriate use of CCHI’s Marks and Designations:
If you have questions about these guidelines, or if you become aware of any unauthorized use of any CCHI’s mark, you can send an e-mail to CCHI to info@cchicertification.org. Please include a copy or screenshot of unauthorized use with the e-mail.
Review the Guide to the Use of the CoreCHI™ Mark by clicking here. It is not to be used by interpreters working in languages for which the CHI™ certification exists (not for Arabic, Mandarin, Spanish).
Review the Guide to the Use of the CoreCHI-Performance™ Mark by clicking here. Pay special attention to how certificants may specify their primary language of verified language proficiency.
Review the Guide to the Use of the CHI™ Mark by clicking here. It applies to interpreters working in languages for which the CHI™ oral performance examination exists (Arabic, Mandarin, Spanish).
In brief:
Any CCHI-certified interpreter, whose certification is current, may purchase a CCHI Certified Interpreter Photo ID Badge.
At the time of ordering the badge, your certification expiration date must be more than 3 months ahead.
Most interpreter conferences accredit their sessions with CEAP. See the listing of annual conferences and plan accordingly. Don’t forget that you can also earn 1 non-instructional CE hour by volunteering at a conference!