Interpreter Services

From Afghani to Zulu, King County Superior Court's Office of Interpreter Services (OIS) obtains interpreters for more than 100 different languages to assist non-English speakers with court matters. OIS has offices in all three of the Superior Court's facilities.

Types of Assistance

Interpreters assist litigants during attorney-client consultations and arraignments, hearings, trials, and other court events. They also interpret for deaf jurors, classes for parents and truant youth, and appointments with court personnel.

In most cases, OIS does not assist with child abuse and neglect cases. The Department of Social and Health Services coordinates interpreter services for these cases.

Making an Appointment

• Litigants seeking an interpreter can leave a message 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 206-296-9358.
  
• Allow at least 24 hours to schedule an appointment with a foreign spoken language interpreter and at least one week with an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter.

The following information is needed to schedule an appointment. Please speak slowly and clearly when leaving a message.

• Caller's Name
• Caller’s Telephone Number
• Litigant’s Name (the person who needs the interpreter)
• Litigant’s Telephone Number
• Nine-Digit Superior Court Case Number
• Language Needed
• Date of Event
• Time and Length of Event
• Judge’s Name or Location of Event
• Attorney’s Name and Telephone Number (if applicable)

Fees

Services are free for clients with a public defender and for ASL interpretation. In other cases, interpreters can assist with completing forms to determine if a litigant qualifies for free or reduced fee services.

Quality Assurance

In accordance with state law, OIS strives to provide only court certified interpreters in the languages listed below, and carefully screened and qualified interpreters in all other languages, or when no court certified interpreter is available:

Arabic

Cambodian

Cantonese

Korean

Lao

Mandarin

Russian

Spanish

Somali

Vietnamese

OIS provides orientation for interpreters and education for judges, attorneys, and court personnel about procedures for obtaining and utilizing interpreters. The program has been cited as a national model and clearinghouse for interpreter-related information.

Office Locations

King County Courthouse 516 3rd Avenue Room C-701 Seattle, WA 98104

Regional Justice Center 401 N. 4th Avenue Room GO243 Kent, WA 98032

Juvenile Court 1211 E. Alder 3rd Floor Seattle, WA 98122

Information for Interpreters

Forms for Interpreters
Form	MS Word	PDF
KCSC Interpreter Invoice
KCSC Juror Interpreter Invoice
KCSC Interpreter Information Record (Note: Prospective interpreters should complete this form and mail it to OIS.)
KCSC Interpreter Payment Procedures

Other Resources

General Rule 11.1 - Purpose and Scope of Interpreter Commission
General Rule 11.2 - Code of Conduct for Court Interpreters
General Rule 11.3 - Telephonic Interpretation
RCW 2.42 - Interpreters in Legal Proceedings
RCW 2.43 - Interpreters for Non-English Speaking Persons
Washington AOC - Certified Court Interpreters Webpage
Learn about Interpreter Services from King County TV (streaming video from KCTV website)