The Texas BEI court interpreter credential requires a qualifying BEI or RID certificate first, then the HHSC DHHS-approved written test (135 multiple-choice questions, two hours fifteen minutes, proctored by the Office of Court Administration) and, for hearing applicants, a six-part performance test scored on accuracy units plus delivery, adaptability, and fluency. Deaf applicants follow a separate training pathway and are exempt from the performance test.
What this credential covers
BEI Court Interpreter Certification is the Texas sign-language interpreting specialty. Hearing and Deaf applicants have different routes, both starting with a qualifying existing certificate.
Chapter 4 of the Texas BEI handbook sets out the court specialty for sign-language interpreters. Use that route's forms and eligibility rules when planning your application.
The credential is for American Sign Language–English interpreters and transliterators. BEI certification exists to confirm that working interpreters meet minimum proficiency standards for state-certified practice, and the court specialty adds legal settings on top of a general certificate.
Both tests sit on top of an existing general certification. You cannot attempt either court test as a first credential, which shapes your whole preparation path.
Official sources: Chapter 4, Court Interpreter Certification | BEI Forms and Handbooks, Texas HHS — Revision Notice 25-1; Effective Feb. 4, 2025; Study Guide for Board for Evaluation of Interpreters Court Interpreter Performance Test Candidates — Revised January 2025, Texas HHSC Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services
Who is eligible to test
Every applicant needs a qualifying BEI or RID certificate. Hearing applicants then pass the written test and the performance test. Deaf applicants complete approved training or mentoring hours, pass the written test, and are exempt from the performance test.
For hearing applicants, Chapter 4 requires holding at least one BEI certificate at Level III, IV, V, Level III, IV or V Intermediary, Advanced, Master, or Oral: Comprehensive, or one of the listed RID certifications such as the Comprehensive Skills Certificate, Certificate of Interpretation and Certificate of Transliteration, or National Interpreter Certification at the Advanced or Master level. You then pass the HHSC DHHS-approved court interpreter written test and the court performance test, in that order.
Deaf applicants meet the same prerequisite certificate requirement, but instead of the performance test they complete training or mentoring before the written test: at least 12 Continuing Education Units (120 clock hours) of HHSC DHHS-approved courtroom interpretation instruction, or at least 120 hours of practice mentored by an approved certified court interpreter, or a 120-hour combination. The performance test study guide states that deaf applicants seeking court certification are exempt from taking the court performance test. Keep the two pathways separate when you plan.
Documentary proof is required either way: certificate cards, CEU certificates or transcripts, and mentoring completion records where applicable. The handbook also includes accommodations for military service members, veterans, and military spouses, including an expedited certificate for spouses holding a substantially equivalent out-of-state license.
Keep your prerequisite certificate current and confirm the requirements for your individual route with HHSC DHHS before booking.
Official sources: Chapter 4, Court Interpreter Certification | BEI Forms and Handbooks, Texas HHS — Revision Notice 25-1; Effective Feb. 4, 2025; Study Guide for Board for Evaluation of Interpreters Court Interpreter Performance Test Candidates — Revised January 2025, Texas HHSC Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services
The written test: format, content, and application
The written test is a 135-question, four-option multiple-choice exam with a two-hour-fifteen-minute limit, proctored by the Office of Court Administration after HHSC DHHS approves your eligibility.
Application runs through two offices. You send HHSC DHHS Form 3901-1, the Code of Ethics form, photo ID, the administrative fee, and eligibility documents; you also register directly with the Office of Court Administration (OCA), which proctors the test. The handbook lists a $50 administrative fee payable to HHSC DHHS and a $50 registration/proctoring fee payable to OCA for the written test.
After HHSC DHHS confirms eligibility, OCA schedules your appointment, proctors the test, and reports results to you about 30 days later. You must then send your written test results to HHSC DHHS by email or fax, per the handbook.
Texas's handbook points candidates to the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) Court Interpreter Written Examination Overview for test information. That overview describes 135 multiple-choice questions, each with four choices, split into Part I (General Language Proficiency) and Part II (Court-Related Terms and Usage, and Ethics and Professional Conduct). Candidates get two hours and fifteen minutes, and the overview's published passing standard is 80 percent, meaning at least 108 of 135 items correct. Because the NCSC document is a national overview and administration practices vary by state, confirm the standard currently applied to Texas candidates with HHSC DHHS or OCA.
Content-wise, the exam measures three areas: written English vocabulary and idioms, court-related terminology and procedure with emphasis on criminal courts, and general ethical and professional-conduct knowledge for court interpreters.
Official sources: Chapter 4, Court Interpreter Certification | BEI Forms and Handbooks, Texas HHS — Revision Notice 25-1; Effective Feb. 4, 2025; Court Interpreter Written Examination: Overview, National Center for State Courts — Publication date July 2012, revised May 2020
Written question types, with a practice item
Part I drills vocabulary recognition through sentence completion, synonyms, antonyms, and idioms; Part II adds court terminology, event sequencing, professional conduct questions, and ethics scenarios.
The NCSC overview lists the section types explicitly: sentence completion and synonyms-in-context in Part I; court-flavored sentence completion, court-related questions, sequence items, professional conduct questions, and ethical scenarios in Part II. Each section has its own instruction, such as choosing the option closest in meaning, opposite in meaning, or the best course of action.
Practicing in these exact formats matters more than memorizing word lists, because the instructions change how you should read each item. Try the practice item below, which follows the synonyms-in-context format with original content.
Practice item
Choose the word or phrase closest in meaning to the underlined word: "The defense attorney asked the judge to mitigate the sentence because her client had no prior record and had completed a treatment program." A. announce B. postpone C. lessen D. record
Show answer
C. lessen
"Mitigate" means to make something less severe. A request to mitigate a sentence is a request to reduce its harshness, which "lessen" captures directly. "Postpone" changes timing rather than severity, "announce" describes delivery of a decision without changing it, and "record" names the client's history but does not describe changing the sentence. On synonyms-in-context items, eliminate options that are topically related but do not preserve the meaning of the sentence as a whole.
Official sources: Court Interpreter Written Examination: Overview, National Center for State Courts — Publication date July 2012, revised May 2020
The performance test: six parts, four task types
The performance test has six parts: two bidirectional consecutive sections, two simultaneous English-to-ASL sections, one simultaneous ASL-to-English section, and one written-English-to-ASL sight translation.
The study guide identifies three modes drawn from a job analysis of Texas court interpreting: consecutive interpreting of a two-person dialogue, simultaneous interpreting, and sight translation of a written English document into ASL. Consecutive parts alternate between spoken English and ASL with timed pauses after each turn; you may take notes during the consecutive portions. Sight translation has no recorded stimulus: you read a short written English document and render it into ASL for a monolingual ASL user, with seven minutes total to prepare and deliver, and the proctor will instruct you to begin if you have not started within two minutes.
The recorded interpreting parts include an introduction, an unscored warm-up and preparation instructions. Follow the prompts, including "Listen Now," "Watch Now" and "Interpret Now" in consecutive tasks. Sight translation uses a written source and its own preparation-and-delivery instructions. Do not assume that every part follows the same timing.
| Part | Task | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| A | Consecutive interpreting | English to ASL and ASL to English |
| B | Simultaneous interpreting | English to ASL |
| C | Simultaneous interpreting | English to ASL |
| D | Simultaneous interpreting | ASL to English |
| E | Consecutive interpreting | English to ASL and ASL to English |
| F | Sight translation | English to ASL |
Test day rules and results
Arrive at least 30 minutes early with only photo ID and your confirmation letter; arriving more than 15 minutes late forfeits the test and fees. Results come within 90 days, and unsuccessful candidates wait six months to retake.
Test day logistics are strict. You must arrive at least 30 minutes before your scheduled appointment, bring only photo identification and the confirmation letter, and leave phones, bags, and other personal items secured outside the testing room. Water is provided.
Before testing, you sign a commitment to confidentiality statement covering test topics, vocabulary, signs, and the identity of people in the materials. Breaching it, cheating, or compromising test integrity can lead to a denied application or a suspended or revoked certificate. You state a candidate code number for the recording, and you can stand or sit while interpreting.
For the performance test application, Chapter 4 requires Form 3901-3 and the Code of Ethics form mailed with your ID, certificate card, and the designated fee at least 60 calendar days before your requested test date. Appointments are first come, first served, and a submitted application does not guarantee your preferred day or location.
HHSC DHHS reports performance test results within 90 days; candidates who pass are added to the certified court interpreter database and receive a certificate and card. Unsuccessful candidates must wait six months from the test date, submit a new application and fee, and meet all eligibility requirements again. The notification letter includes feedback and training guidance for the retake.
Official sources: Chapter 4, Court Interpreter Certification | BEI Forms and Handbooks, Texas HHS — Revision Notice 25-1; Effective Feb. 4, 2025; Study Guide for Board for Evaluation of Interpreters Court Interpreter Performance Test Candidates — Revised January 2025, Texas HHSC Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services
How the performance test is scored
Raters score Interpreting Proficiency objectively by counting Objective Scoring Units you render appropriately, then rate delivery, adaptability, and pronunciation/fluency on three-point holistic scales.
Objective Scoring Units are significant words, phrases, and clauses identified through the test's job analysis: specialized terminology, register variation, rhetorical features, grammar, and ASL-specific features such as classifiers, non-manual markers, fingerspelling accuracy, and use of sign space. Raters judge whether each unit's full meaning survives, not whether you matched literal wording; a maintained glossary of acceptable and unacceptable renditions guides them, and consensus-rated novel renditions get added to it.
The three subjective dimensions are delivery (pacing, coherence, composure), adaptability (handling changes and challenges in the text without overrelying on circumlocution), and pronunciation/fluency (clear phonology and sign production without hesitation that interferes with meaning). Each is scored 1 to 3, where 1 fails expectations and 3 exceeds them.
The study guide's conservation rules drive both scoring systems: conserve the intent, tone, and language level of the source; do not clean up or improve the source; render slang or colloquial language as slang or colloquial language; and interpret in the first person where the text clearly calls for it, so "My name is John Stevens" stays first person. Test these rules on the exercise below.
Practice item
Assumption for this exercise: during the sight translation part, your printed source is a witness statement containing the sentence, "The guy told me he bolted out the back when the sirens started." Under the criteria stated in the BEI performance test study guide, which approach is correct? A. Render the sentence with equivalent casual wording, keeping the narrator's first-person framing. B. Upgrade the wording to formal English because the document is part of a legal file. C. Omit the casual expressions because they carry no legal content. D. Summarize the sentence to save time within the seven-minute limit.
Show answer
A
The study guide instructs candidates to conserve the register and tone of the source: colloquial or slang language should be rendered in colloquial or slang language, the source should not be cleaned up or improved, and messages clearly in the first person should stay in the first person. Option B reverses the register rule; option C omits meaning that raters count; option D substitutes a summary for a complete rendition, which the guide advises against. Note the limits of a paper exercise: choosing the right approach here does not assess your signed production, which only recorded practice and the test itself can measure.
Study priorities for both tests
Split your time between recognition work for the written exam and recorded live practice for the performance exam, using the official study suggestions rather than generic schedules.
For the written test, the NCSC overview suggests broad English reading, reviewing synonyms, antonyms, and idioms, studying legal terms from legal dictionaries and court glossaries, observing real proceedings, and reading your state's code of professional responsibility plus court interpreting literature. These are recommendations, not requirements, but they map directly onto the two exam parts.
For the performance test, the study guide recommends recording yourself on its sample scripts before reading the marked copies, then reviewing your rendition against the Objective Scoring Units: did you render each unit without omitting meaning, was your rendition complete, was terminology appropriate rather than a described concept, and what else could convey the same idea? Because ASL-to-English scripts cannot be printed, the guide suggests having a colleague record ASL versions of the samples or other legal scenarios for practice sources.
The Texas handbook also signals content priorities through its training requirements for deaf applicants' approved instruction: 16 clock hours on criminal law process, 16 on civil law process, 8 on legal terminology, and 8 on ethical practices for court interpreters. Whichever pathway you use, those four areas tell you where legal-content study pays off. All candidates also sign the Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility form at application and renewal, so read that document itself, not just summaries.
The study guide is explicit that it familiarizes you with format and criteria but does not substitute for interpreting proficiency built through academic preparation and professional experience. Treat any fixed week-by-week plan as personal structure, not as an official expectation.
Official sources: Chapter 4, Court Interpreter Certification | BEI Forms and Handbooks, Texas HHS — Revision Notice 25-1; Effective Feb. 4, 2025; Study Guide for Board for Evaluation of Interpreters Court Interpreter Performance Test Candidates — Revised January 2025, Texas HHSC Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services; Court Interpreter Written Examination: Overview, National Center for State Courts — Publication date July 2012, revised May 2020
Keeping your prerequisite and court certificates current
Record renewal and recertification dates once certified, and keep the prerequisite credential active.
The handbook provides annual renewal and five-year recertification rules. Check the requirements for the combination of certificates you hold; general-plus-court and court-only holders have different continuing-education arrangements.
Official sources: Chapter 4, Court Interpreter Certification | BEI Forms and Handbooks, Texas HHS — Revision Notice 25-1; Effective Feb. 4, 2025
Next steps before you register
Confirm your prerequisite certificate qualifies, download the official written test overview and performance test study guide, and verify current fees and scheduling with HHSC DHHS before mailing anything.
Work through this checklist in order. Requirements come from the BEI handbook (Revision Notice 25-1, effective February 4, 2025) and the January 2025 study guide, but administrative details can change, so verify them against current issuer postings.
If anything in the checklist fails, resolve it before paying fees: the written test can only be taken by applicants HHSC DHHS has confirmed eligible, and performance test appointments are first come, first served.
- Confirm you hold a qualifying BEI or RID certificate and that it will not expire mid-process
- If you are a deaf applicant, secure your approved training, mentoring, or combined 120 hours and the supporting documents
- Download the Court Interpreter Written Test Overview and the Study Guide for BEI Court Interpreter Performance Test Candidates
- Complete Forms 3901-1 and 3901-2 with fee and eligibility documents for HHSC DHHS, and register separately with OCA for the written test
- For the hearing-applicant route, pass the written test, send results to HHSC DHHS, then apply for performance at least 60 days before the target date
- Plan renewal dates now: annual renewal before expiration and five-year recertification CEUs
Official sources: Chapter 4, Court Interpreter Certification | BEI Forms and Handbooks, Texas HHS — Revision Notice 25-1; Effective Feb. 4, 2025; Study Guide for Board for Evaluation of Interpreters Court Interpreter Performance Test Candidates — Revised January 2025, Texas HHSC Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services; Court Interpreter Written Examination: Overview, National Center for State Courts — Publication date July 2012, revised May 2020
Official sources
Key facts checked against official Texas HHS and NCSC documents: