Before I broach this topic, it is important to note that the ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act), does not require national certification for an interpreter to be deemed qualified. You can read more here: www.ada.gov/effective-comm.htm.
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Qualified vs Certified, is a common interrogatory among clients and consumers. Certification is a benchmark to inform those that would hire Sign Language Interpreters, that they have met the minimum requirement necessary to effectively communicate in both ASL and English. In some States it is a law that Sign Language Interpreters be licensed by the State in which they provide services and/or have received National Certification (read more here: https://rid.org/about-rid/). You can check your State’s local laws and inquire with the Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing to ensure you are fulfilling accessibility needs according to local requirements.

How can an interpreter be qualified and not certified? Just as no two individuals are the same, no two interpreters are qualified in the same way, or for the same assignments. Most interpreters will remain generalists by building a general, but generous knowledge base in a wide variety of settings. Some interpreters will study and train to work in a particular niche of the field such as Legal, Medical, Theater, Educational and Science. Some will stick closely to one type of interpreting, and never branch out. Some interpreters speak/know other languages, working exclusively with second and third-language users, and so on.

Each interpreter in each bucket is not only certified, but qualified for what they do, however if you were to take one interpreter from bucket one and put them into bucket three, although they are still certified, they may not be qualified for the work.

This does not imply that interpreters cannot be cross-trained or become skilled in a multitude of spaces, which is the case, as the vast majority remain generalists, however, it sheds light on the reality of our work. It’s an essential dialogue to increase knowledge around the functionality of individual practitioners in specific spaces and why understanding certified vs qualified is a key factor. Although qualified, we are not qualified in the same way or for the same work.

Ideally your interpreter will be certified AND qualified.