Certified Healthcare Interpreter™(CHI™)

The purpose of the CHI™ certification is to offer healthcare interpreters of the most common languages in the U.S. a valid national professional standard that assesses their core professional knowledge and bilingual interpreting skills needed to perform the duties of a healthcare interpreter. This certification assesses not only knowledge of healthcare interpreting but also language-specific (bilingual) skills in consecutive, simultaneous, and sight translation modes of interpreting and translation. CCHI is committed to developing new bilingual performance examinations in the future. The CCHI Certified Healthcare Interpreter™ must pass two examinations that include knowledge of healthcare interpreting (the CoreCHI™ exam) and a demonstration of interpreting skills in all modes of interpreting (a bilingual CHI™ exam). A CHI™ candidate will first take CCHI’s CoreCHI™ examination, an English multiple-choice exam. Once the candidate passes the CoreCHI™ examination, they become eligible to take the CHI™ examination, a bilingual performance exam that includes items testing skills in consecutive, simultaneous, and sight translation, as well as translation. The CHI™ exam must be passed within 12 months of passing the CoreCHI™ exam. Currently, CCHI offers CHI™ certification credentials in Spanish, Mandarin, and Arabic. Individuals who pass a bilingual CHI™ examination earn a language-specific CHI credential and are entitled to the corresponding marks as outlined in the Certification Marks section of the handbook. Interpreters practicing in more than one non-English language can pursue multiple bilingual CHI credentials if a bilingual CHI™ examination exists for their languages.