The Fundamentals of Interpreting exam is a computer-based test of 120 multiple-choice questions, half presented in written English and half in ASL, covering four domains: pre-commitment, pre-encounter, encounter, and post-encounter activities. Prepare by studying each domain's example tasks from CASLI's official content outline, building fluency in both languages because you cannot choose an item's language, and confirming eligibility, fees, and retake rules on casli.org before you request an exam.
Where the Fundamentals exam fits
CASLI administers the exams that RID uses for its national certification programs, the Certified Deaf Interpreter (CDI) and the National Interpreter Certification (NIC). Fundamentals of Interpreting is one part of the knowledge exam; passing it alone is not certification.
CASLI, the Center for the Assessment of Sign Language Interpretation, develops and delivers the exams; RID, the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, sets the certification requirements and uses CASLI's results as one component. To earn certification, you must meet RID's eligibility requirements and pass both a knowledge exam and a performance exam.
The knowledge exam has two parts: this Fundamentals of Interpreting exam and a separate case-studies exam on Ethical Decision Making and Cultural Responsiveness, which presents eight scenarios in ASL. A separate performance exam, with versions specific to Deaf interpreters and to hearing ASL-English interpreters, completes the set. Each is administered and scored separately.
CASLI describes its exams as pass/fail measures of minimum competency for typical, non-specialized settings. They are not diagnostic: you will not receive feedback on strengths and weaknesses, so build your own feedback loop into your preparation.
- Knowledge part 1: Fundamentals of Interpreting — 120 multiple-choice questions (this guide).
- Knowledge part 2: Ethics and Cultural Responsiveness — eight case studies presented in ASL.
- Performance exam: separate constructed-response assessment, scored separately.
- Certification: RID grants it after you meet its eligibility requirements and pass the required exams.
Official sources: About CASLI Exams – Center for Assessment of Sign Language Interpreters; CASLI Exam Content Outline and Preparation Guide (V10.1.20) — Pages 1–3 of 8 rendered; For CDI Candidates – Center for Assessment of Sign Language Interpreters — Page updated August 4, 2026
Format: 120 bilingual multiple-choice questions
The exam is computer-based with 120 selected-response items: 60 in written English with English answer choices, and 60 in ASL with ASL answer choices. You cannot choose a preferred language for any item.
CASLI's CDI candidates page, which describes the Generalist Knowledge Exam taken by both Deaf and hearing candidates, states the split plainly: sixty questions in written English, sixty in ASL, and no option to select a language of preference. You are expected to comprehend every item in both languages.
The content outline emphasizes applied interpreting tasks. Use those tasks to assess whether your materials help you make and explain relevant decisions.
The retrieved pages do not state the session length or a passing score. Confirm both, along with scheduling details, on casli.org before you book.
The outline also states baseline expectations the exam assumes: accurately transferring messages between source and target languages — which include ASL, spoken English, English-like signing or transliteration, and sight translation — for subject matter ordinary consumers would understand, and working at a technical level of discourse when needed.
Official sources: CASLI Exam Content Outline and Preparation Guide (V10.1.20) — Pages 1–3 of 8 rendered; For CDI Candidates – Center for Assessment of Sign Language Interpreters — Page updated August 4, 2026
The four tested domains
The official content outline organizes the exam into four domains: pre-commitment activities, pre-encounter activities, the encounter, and post-encounter activities. Each domain lists example tasks that are explicitly not all-inclusive.
| Domain | Official example tasks |
|---|---|
| I. Pre-commitment | Gather assignment information (logistics, scope, intent); determine participants' interpreting needs; assess environmental and paralinguistic factors and personal limitations; decide whether additional interpreters, including CDIs, are needed |
| II. Pre-encounter | Research the subject matter; assess and mitigate environmental aspects; find visual aids and resources; plan protocols and logistics with team interpreters |
| III. The Encounter | Facilitate the interpreted event: choose interpreting approaches, manage registers, use elicitation techniques and interaction controls |
| IV. Post-encounter | Seek feedback and debrief; handle invoicing and record keeping; follow document retention rules; know safety protocols such as OSHA and CPS; manage vicarious trauma and burnout |
Official sources: CASLI Exam Content Outline and Preparation Guide (V10.1.20) — Pages 1–3 of 8 rendered
Eligibility and retake rules
Both Deaf and hearing candidates take the knowledge exam. Check the RID certification route and CASLI candidate requirements that apply to you.
The CDI candidate page lists an audiogram requirement for that route and states that its former 40-hour training requirement ended on June 17, 2021. Do not apply CDI-specific audiogram requirements to hearing candidates pursuing NIC certification.
If you fail the knowledge exam, CASLI's page states you become eligible to retake it three months from the date you took it. If you pass one portion and fail the other, you retake only the portion you failed.
The testing cycle runs five years, starting when you pass the knowledge exam. Within it, you must submit eligibility documentation, pay for, and schedule the performance exam. Confirm all current requirements on casli.org, since policies change.
These details come from CASLI's CDI candidates page. If you are a hearing candidate pursuing NIC certification, your eligibility is set through RID's requirements and CASLI's NIC candidate pages; this guide's retrieved sources do not state those specifics, so verify them directly with CASLI and RID.
Official sources: For CDI Candidates – Center for Assessment of Sign Language Interpreters — Page updated August 4, 2026
Exam fees from October 1, 2026
CASLI announced exam fee increases effective October 1, 2026, the first adjustment since January 2023. Exams requested on or before September 30, 2026 keep the current fee during the 30-day purchase period; requests from October 1 onward use the new fees.
The announcement does not list the new dollar amounts, so check CASLI's fee page for current figures before you request an exam. To request one, you log into your CASLI account and submit the Exam Request Form.
CASLI also names financial-assistance options in the announcement: the RID Scholarship Program, RID state-affiliated chapters, state and local organizations, and interpreting agencies that may have funds available.
Official sources: NEW CASLI Exam Rates – Effective October 1, 2026 — Published August 27, 2026
Choosing preparation materials
Judge any resource against the four official domains and the bilingual format, not against older exam versions or the credential generally.
Older NIC knowledge-exam preparation books and materials predate the current Generalist exams, which CASLI built from its Job Task Analyses. A resource is useful to the extent it helps you practice the outline's example tasks: gathering assignment information, planning pre-encounter work, making in-the-moment facilitation decisions, and handling post-encounter duties.
Because half the items are in ASL with ASL answer choices, your ASL comprehension of academic and professional content matters as much as your English. Materials that only present content in written English will not exercise that skill; ASL video or discussion-based resources will, provided they address the four domains.
Keep the three assessments separate in your planning. The Fundamentals exam is selected-response; the Ethics and Cultural Responsiveness exam uses eight ASL case narratives with written-English options; the performance exam assesses actual interpreting. A book that prepares you for one does not automatically prepare you for the others.
This is preparation advice, not an official requirement. CASLI's own preparation guidance directs candidates to do their due diligence on content and context, and its site links the content outline and reference materials for each exam.
Official sources: CASLI Exam Content Outline and Preparation Guide (V10.1.20) — Pages 1–3 of 8 rendered; For CDI Candidates – Center for Assessment of Sign Language Interpreters — Page updated August 4, 2026
Practice: a pre-commitment information check
Work a realistic assignment request against the official pre-commitment tasks, then compare your list to the model answer.
Pre-commitment questions ask what you would need to know and decide before accepting an engagement. The exercise below gives you a request with only partial information; a complete pre-commitment review means identifying what is missing, not just reacting to what is stated.
Practice exercise
An organizer asks you to interpret a 45-minute museum orientation on Saturday morning. The group will move between a lobby and two galleries. Five visitors and a volunteer guide are expected, but their language and communication needs are not specified. Before accepting, organize the information you would request under these supplied outline tasks: encounter logistics and purpose, participants’ interpreting needs, environmental and personal factors, and possible additional interpreters.
Show model answer
Ask about the exact timing, route, purpose and planned materials; each participant’s language and communication needs; lighting, sightlines and movement between rooms; your subject familiarity and any conflicts or limitations; and whether another interpreter is needed for the participants and assignment.
This original exercise practices information-gathering against the named pre-commitment tasks. The request does not supply enough detail to choose an interpreting arrangement or decide whether a team is needed. Your answer should identify the missing information, rather than assume a communication preference or staffing rule.
Official sources: CASLI Exam Content Outline and Preparation Guide (V10.1.20) — Pages 1–3 of 8 rendered
Next steps
Confirm the administrative facts on casli.org, study the outline domain by domain, and practice bilingual comprehension alongside the applied tasks.
Use written practice to review concepts and arrange separate ASL comprehension practice with appropriate resources. Confirm your CDI or NIC requirements and the current fees before requesting an exam.
- Read the official content outline; note the four domains and their example tasks.
- Identify your route: CDI (audiogram and CDI requirements apply) or NIC (check RID and CASLI's NIC pages).
- Build ASL comprehension of professional content; you cannot choose an item's language.
- Practice one pre-commitment information check per week on new scenarios you write yourself.
- Verify current fees and the 30-day purchase-period rule before requesting an exam.
Official sources: CASLI Exam Content Outline and Preparation Guide (V10.1.20) — Pages 1–3 of 8 rendered; For CDI Candidates – Center for Assessment of Sign Language Interpreters — Page updated August 4, 2026; NEW CASLI Exam Rates – Effective October 1, 2026 — Published August 27, 2026
Official sources
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