Section 1515.50  Accepted Certificates

An applicant for a license as a sign language interpreter shall provide proof of a current and valid acceptable certificate.  Based upon the accepted certificate, a proficiency level, as determined under Section 1515.90, will be indicated on the license.

a)         Acceptable certificates for a provisional license include any of the following:

1)         Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment (EIPA) 3.5 or above and/or Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) certification based on EIPA evaluation;

2)         Interpreter Skills Assessment Screening (ISAS) Interpreting Level 1 or 2;

3)         Interpreter Skills Assessment Screening (ISAS) Transliterating Level 1 or 2;

4)         Missouri Interpreter Certification Novice or Apprentice;

5)         Illinois Board for Evaluation of Interpreters (BEI) Test of English Proficiency (TEP) or other state's BEI TEP;

6)         Deaf Interpreters, with a minimum of 8 contact hours of training on the NAD-RID Code of Professional Conduct, and/or a state accredited college or university course including the Code of Professional Conduct and 8 contact hours on the role and responsibilities of Certified Deaf Interpreter, both completed within 3 years prior to the date of application; or

7)         Until January 1, 2011, an interpreter who cannot provide any of the certificates required by this subsection (a), but who maintained a valid and unencumbered registration with the Commission on July 1, 2007 under the Interpreters for the Deaf Act [225 ILCS 442, repealed January 1, 2009].

b)         Acceptable certificates for a license with an intermediate proficiency level include any of the following:

1)         Interpreter Skills Assessment Screening (ISAS) Interpreting Level 3 or above;

2)         Interpreter Skills Assessment Screening (ISAS) Transliterating Level 3 or above;

3)         RID Interpretation Certificate (IC);

4)         RID Transliteration Certificate (TC);

5)         RID IC/TC;

6)         Testing Evaluation and Certification Unit Inc. (TECUnit);

7)         Missouri Interpreter Certification Intermediate;

8)         Illinois BEI or other state's BEI Intermediate Level;

9)         Deaf Interpreters with the required training under a provisional license and proof of passing a generalized knowledge based test provided by the Commission; or

10)       Licensure in other states based on qualifications similar to those listed in this subsection (b).

c)         Acceptable certificates for a license with an advanced proficiency level include any of the following:

1)         Interpreter Skills Assessment Screening (ISAS) Interpreting Level 4 or above and ISAS Transliterating Level 4 or above;

2)         RID-CI;

3)         RID-CT;

4)         National Interpreter Certification (NIC);

5)         National Association of the Deaf Certificate Level 3 or 4;

6)         Missouri Interpreter Certification Advanced;

7)         Illinois BEI or other state's BEI Advanced Level;

8)         Deaf Interpreters with the required training under a provisional license and proof of passing the RID-CDI knowledge based test; or

9)         Licensure in other states based on qualifications similar to those listed in this subsection (c).

d)         Acceptable certificates for a license with a master proficiency level include any of the following:

1)         RID-CI/CT;

2)         RID-Comprehensive Skills Certificate (CSC);

3)         RID-Master Comprehensive Skills Certificate (MCSC);

4)         RID-Reverse Skills Certificate (RSC);

5)         RID-Certified Deaf Interpreter (CDI);

6)         RID Specialist Certificate: Legal (SC:L) (applies to acceptance of legal assignments only under Section 1515.90);

7)         National Association of the Deaf Certificate Level 5;

8)         Missouri Interpreter Certificate Comprehensive;

9)         National Interpreter Certification (NIC) Advanced or Master;

10)         Illinois BEI or other state's BEI Master Level; or

11)         Licensure in other states based on qualifications similar to those listed in this subsection (d).

(Source:  Amended at 35 Ill. Reg. 4775, effective March 14, 2011)