Texas Judicial

Branch

Licensed Court Interpreters

Procedures & Fees 

Your registration application and payment must be submitted online by the established dates shown below.

Before the Exam

  1. Applicants register for the exam with the JBCC by the established deadline date. This means that your completed paperwork must be submitted online by close of business on that date. If there are any insufficiencies with your paperwork, you will be notified via email. Insufficiencies must be resolved by the established exam deadline date; otherwise, you will not be able to take the exam.
    • Applicants will not be registered for the exam until they have completed all requirements listed on the Initial Licensure page of our website prior to applying to test.
  2. You will receive confirmation that you've been registered for the exam, as well as the date, time, and location of the exam, via email. Any questions regarding your registration must be submitted to courtinterpreters@txcourts.gov.

Applying for the Exam

  • Applications submitted unaccompanied by payment will not be processed.
  • Exam registrations submitted without an application for certification on file will not be processed.
    • To apply online, please go to the online certification and licensing system on our home page.

First-Time Applicants (i.e., those who have not applied with us before):

  • Create your online profile following the instructions in section I of the pdf Guide to Using the Online System in the Online System Resources section of our website.
  • Go to your profile home page and click the Apply for Exam link on the What Do You Want to Do menu. Follow the instructions accordingly from there.

First-Time applicants must submit the following items in the order shown below:

  1. Application for Licensure and application fee, accompanied by 
    • An uploaded copy of your pre-Orientation Course Completion Certificate to your online application, and
    • An uploaded copy of your fingerprinting receipt (after you've been fingerprinted) to your online application.
  2. The Exam Registration Form (with the exam fee), only after all items in #1 have been submitted.

Existing Applicants (i.e., those who have applied with us before):
Login to your online profile and click the Apply for Exam link on the What Do You Want to Do menu of your home page. Follow the instructions accordingly from there.

You must apply for the exam via our online licensing and certification system. To apply online, please go to the online certification and licensing system on our home page.

Oral Exam Applicants and Applicants re-taking the Written Exam:

You must qualify to take the oral exam prior to applying (i.e., have already passed the written exam).

Submit the items below: 

  1. Exam Registration Form (with the exam fee).

Applicants taking Oral exam to Upgrade to Master level, and those seeking to Add a language to their license:

Submit the items below prior to taking the oral exam: 

  1. Exam Registration Form.
  2. Pay the exam fee.
    • In the Additional Information section, select 'Upgrade License' as reason for testing.
    • In the Additional Information section, select 'Adding a Language' as reason for testing.

Submit the items below only after passing the oral exam to upgrade from a Basic license to a Master license: 

  1. General Fee Remittance Form.
  2. Pay the upgrade fee.

Submit the items below only after passing the oral exam to add a language to your existing license: 

  1. Change of Endorsement Form.
  2. Pay the add language fee.

ASL Exam Applicants

Those registering to test via the Board for Evaluation of Interpreters (BEI):

  • Must not complete the Application for Licensure,
  • Must not complete the JBCC background check process.
  • They must submit the exam registration form for the written exam via our online licensing system.
  • They must pay the written exam fee via the online licensing system 

License Upgrade and Adding a Language

If you wish to upgrade your license from Basic to Master, you must complete the General Fee Remittance form via the online certification and licensing system located on the home page of our website, after you have passed the oral exam examination at the master level. 

If you wish to add a language, you must complete the General Fee Remittance form via the online certification and licensing system located on the home page of our website, after you have passed the oral exam in the language you wish to add to your license.  

Fees

All fees are non-refundable. However, if you have a fee dispute you must submit it to courtinterpreters@txcourts.gov for resolution.

  • Oral Exam Fee: $300.00
  • Written Exam Fee: $100.00
  • Written Exam Regrade Fee: $35.00
  • Acceptable forms of payment:  Credit Card or Debit Card