A certified foreign language interpreter must be able to interpret simultaneously and consecutively and provide sight translation from English into the target language and from the target  language into English. An interpreter will be eligible for certification upon establishing to the satisfaction of the State Court Administrator that the individual has:

   (A) Reached the age of 19;

   (B) Had no past felony convictions or pending felony criminal charges. In addition, in the preceding 5 years had no misdemeanor convictions or pending charges manifesting a significant deficiency in honesty, trustworthiness, diligence, or reliability. Disposition of any felony charges less than 5 years in the past other than by acquittal or dismissal (e.g., pretrial diversion) shall be the basis for denial of certification. Disposition of misdemeanor charges manifesting a significant deficiency in honesty, trustworthiness, diligence, or reliability less than 5 years in the past other than by acquittal or dismissal (e.g., pretrial diversion) may be the basis for denial of certified interpreter status;

   (C) Completed the Nebraska Judicial Branch or other state or federal court interpreter orientation that satisfy the requirements of § 6-704(B);

   (D) Achieved a qualifying score of 80 percent or higher on a National Center for State Courts written examination administered by the Nebraska Judicial Branch or any member of the National Center for State Courts Language Access Services Section; and

   (E) Achieved a qualifying score of 70 percent or higher on each segment of the National Center for State Courts oral examination administered or approved by the Nebraska Judicial Branch as described in § 6-704(F). If an interpreter received a qualifying score of 70 percent on any of the three segments of a previous National Center for State Courts oral examination that was administered within the last 3 calendar years, the qualifying score shall be honored, and the applicant shall not be required to repeat that segment of a current examination.

   (F) In addition, any interpreter possessing a Federal Court Interpreter Certification or a Court Interpreter Certification from a member of the National Center for State Courts Language Access Services Section, formerly known as the Consortium for Language Access in the Courts, is recognized as a certified interpreter.

   (G) To maintain certified status, interpreters must comply with continuing education requirements as outlined in § 6-710. Failure to complete continuing education requirements shall be grounds for removal of the interpreter's name from the statewide register of interpreters.

[Originally numbered as] Rule 3(C)-(E) amended September 17, 2003. Renumbered and codified as § 6-704, effective July 18, 2008; § 6-704 renumbered to § 6-705 and amended October 21, 2009; § 6-705(G) adopted May 16, 2012, effective July 1, 2012; § 6-705(B) amended December 12, 2018; § 6-705, (A) and (C)-(F) amended April 14, 2021; § 6-705 amended June 12, 2024.