Frequently Asked Questions

If we still have your details on our database, you would only need to complete the Annual Renewal Form, submitting all the documentation that conforms to our current registration criteria (including security clearance) and pay the annual fee plus the current reinstatement fee. Note that if it is some time since you last registered, our registration criteria may have changed and so you would need to ensure that you conform to our current entry requirements.

Registrants who are interpreting as court interpreters, police interpreters, interpreters in the Health Service or indeed any other public sector benefit from free access to a password-controlled area where they can manage their own details, called the Interpreter's Room. This is accessed via the red 'Login to your Account' button. Registrants will have received their login details when they registered with NRPSI or when they re-instated their registration. If you have not previously used this facility and cannot find your details, please click on 'Need help with Email Login/Password?' on the 'Login to your account' screen. Remember you can add comments like 'Court Interpreter' or 'Police Interpreter' or 'NHS Interpreter' or possibly your languages to ensure you have a greater chance of being picked up when web visitors are browsing for interpreters or interpreting specialists.

The registration with NRPSI is for 12 months and the date that you will have been informed is your lapsing date is the end of your registration period as a Registered Public Service Interpreter. However, the expiry date displayed on your Photo ID Card is a month later to help Registrants complete their renewal by ensuring that you still have a valid Photo ID Card in case, for example, there are postal delays in NRPSI receiving your renewal documents or in sending out your new Photo ID Card. Note that your renewal commences from the lapsing date of the previous year's registration, not from the expiry date on the Photo ID Card.

Yes we accept payment with most Credit or Debit cards except American Express or Diners via the NRPSI website. There is no longer an additional fee for paying by this method.

You need to successfully complete our registration process to become a Registrant and be listed on the online Register. Please go to the Information for interpreters section of this website for further information on how to become a professional practitioner in public sector interpreting as a Registered Public Service Interpreter.

In order to carry out searches on the NRPSI  database you first need to register as a Website User (note that if you are a Registered Interpreter, you will have been provided with log in details which allow you to search). There is no charge for this and we have designed the process to be as short as possible. First click on the red ‘Login to your Account’ button at top right of every page. On the box that opens, click in the line that starts ‘To register’ under ‘NRPSI Website user’. We ask you to complete your email address, salutation, first (at least two characters) and last names, the company or organisation you are carrying out searches on behalf of and at least the first part of the postcode of the organisation (we will need your full postcode if you need help to retrieve your login details). You are requested to 'Subscribe to newsletter' (ie email communications) so that we can inform you about developments at NRPSI and canvass your views on future directions. Click on ‘Register Now’ and an initial confirmation password will be sent to the email you provided. To log in enter your email address and confirmation password under NRPSI Website user (after clicking ‘Login to your Account’). You can now carry out searches.

The search engine is on the right-hand side of each page of the website. You search by selecting the language you require (with the drop-down list displayed, typing the first letter of the language required will take you straight to that part of the alphabetical list) and the postcode where the interpreter will be asked to carry out the work. If you are unsure of the postcode, there is a link to the free Royal Mail Postcode Finder service. There is an option to filter by security clearance held by the Registrant. The widest range of Registrants will result from leaving the selection at ‘Any Security Clearance’ which is recommended unless you have specific requirements such as working with children. The security clearances held by Registrants are visible on the online record. For information on how the results are ordered, visit the Searching the Register page. Searching is free but you need first to be registered as a Website User (or be a Registered Interpreter) and log in to carry out searches.

You can change your password to something more memorable than the automatically provided confirmation password at any stage by clicking on the yellow ‘My Account’ button at the top of the screen when you are logged in. The requirements of your password are: minimum 7 characters, use a combination of upper and lower case, only letters, numbers, full point, hyphen or underscore are permitted. All passwords are case-sensitive.

Using the National Register will give you access to interpreters who:

• Are qualified with relevant interpreting vocational qualifications and demonstrated evidenced experience
  
• Have agreed to abide by the Code of Professional Conduct
• Can be held accountable if they break that code

You can also use the National Register to check if the public service interpreter you have been provided with is registered; remember to see the QR code on the back of the ID card which is issued each year with an updated image, All access is free.

It does not cost anything to use the National Register to source a qualified, registered interpreter.

The Register is a dynamic database which changes every working day. There are around 1,700 interpreters listed offering about 100 languages.

Website Users are able to customise their access to the database by using this feature. On the search results list against each interpreter’s record there is a grey ‘open book’ symbol. Clicking on this will add that Registrant to your list of bookmarked interpreters. To view your list of bookmarked interpreters, click on the My Account button at the top of the screen. The second button on the left of the screen that results is ‘Bookmarked Interpreters’, which reveals your list of bookmarked Registrants and their basic details. Clicking on their Registration Number takes you to their record on the public NRPSI website. Note that if a Registrant’s record is changed, eg languages added or removed, the details shown in Bookmarked Interpreters will dynamically change accordingly. Similarly, if a Registrant comes off the Register for any reason, they will automatically disappear from all lists of Bookmarked Interpreters. The delete button deletes the Registrant from the bookmarked list.

Your on-line profile can be viewed and amended via the Interpreter's Room. To access, click on the red 'Login to your Account' button in the top right-hand corner of the screen and enter your log in details (user ID and password). You are able to change your contact details, indicate when you are available and add a short bio under the Website profile. This is a part of the NRPSI website where you can maximise your visibility on the web by adding terms such as 'interpreter', 'interpreting', 'court interpreter' or 'public service interpreter' and also note any other specialities such as languages, 'criminal justice system', or other type of public sector interpreting speciality, as well as mentioning your specific vocational interpreting or language qualifications again in this specific bio section. You can check whether your registration details are up-to-date, add any special public service interpreting CPDs and also contact NRPSI if necessary, view the minutes of the Board of Directors' meetings and keep track of your registration requirements.

We accept Faster Payments by online banking which are usually free for the customer if carried out online from their own bank account. Our bank details appear in the Interpreter's Room, or contact registration@nrpsi.org.uk.

Please send us a written explanation why you have been unable to upgrade in the required time frame. We will then make a decision taking account of all the facts available.

For the information about fees please visit the following web page: Fees.

Cheques should be made payable to NRPSI Ltd.

The National Register is for UK-based interpreters and we are unable to register interpreters who live abroad.

Please refer to the Registration page for Entry Criteria.

It depends on the language you wish to be registered for. If there is a Public Service Interpreting (PSI) qualification available which conforms to NRPSI's requirements in that language, then you need to obtain the qualification. However, if there is no PSI qualification available, you may be eligible to register under the Rare Language category.

The two most popular qualifications are the Diploma in Public Service Interpreting (DPSI) and the Diploma in Police Interpreting (DPI - formerly called the Metropolitan Police Test or Met Test). But we may find other qualifications acceptable. Check our Qualifications and courses page first and contact us if you think you may have suitable qualifications but are not sure.

Qualifications that you have obtained abroad should meet our Qualifications and Experience Criteria for Entry. All certificates and syllabi must be accompanied by a certified translation into English so that we can assess whether they are acceptable.

For the information on security clearances please check the document:
Security clearance information sheet.

Offences, including motoring offences, committed by interpreters (both existing Registrants and new applicants) are viewed seriously and may affect NRPSI's decision on fitness to practise and therefore registration. You will need to complete the application form and supply information about the caution/conviction. Your application, including your security clearance letter will be reviewed to determine if it is acceptable based on the information provided. We also recommend that you provide a statement clarifying the circumstances of the conviction. Please note that all security clearance letters are treated as confidential.

All interpreters are required to renew their listing on an annual basis. Therefore if you joined the National Register in March you will need to renew your registration before 1st March next year.

Registrants should email registration@nrpsi.org.uk with changes to their postal address. Other contact details can be amended by the Registrant in the Interpreter's Room and for security reasons will be validated by NRPSI before they are made available via the public Register.

We do not charge for the first replacement. A small charge would be made for a second replacement Photo ID Card (replacement lanyards and badge holders can also be provided for a small fee).

The National Register's role is to maintain a register of properly qualified and experienced Public Service Interpreters. The National Register cannot guarantee employment or a steady source of income.

As long as we have been provided with all the necessary documents it should take approximately two to three weeks to deal with your application. If any relevant documents are missing the process may take longer.

You can upgrade at any time of the year (once you have met the requirements for full status). Please send your request in writing with the requisite materials (i.e. proof of PSI experience or evidence that you have passed a PSI qualification).

Complaints are managed by our Professional Standards Department (PSD@nrpsi.org.uk). Our complaint procedure is transparent, and therefore we will keep you informed of progress at each stage.We will send you a copy of the complaint and ask you to comment on the information and evidence provided by the person making the complaint. You may also be asked to provide additional information that we need. The Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) will determine whether the breach of the Code of Conduct took place. They may refer the case to the Disciplinary Committee (DC) if they conclude that the Code was breached.

The Disciplinary Committee will invite you to a hearing and will make its decision based on all available evidence, any mitigating circumstances and their own expertise. We will let you know the committee's decision within 5 working days of the hearing.

If you believe the procedure for reaching the decision has not been followed correctly or you can provide new evidence you may make an appeal. The decision of the Appeals Committee is final.

Complaints are managed by our Professional Standards Department (PSD@nrpsi.org.uk). We will review the information you have provided against the Code of Conduct and we will decide if your complaint should be progressed or not.

We will ask the Registrant, about whom you are making the complaint, to comment on your evidence. A copy of the Registrant's comments will be sent to you. You may be asked to provide additional information. Then the complete file will be sent to the Professional Conduct Committee (PCC) to determine whether a breach of the Code occurred.

The PCC has the right to issue an advice, a warning or to refer the case to the Disciplinary Committee (DC). The DC will consider all the evidence provided and make its decision at the face to face hearing to which you will be invited. We will let you (and the Registrant) know the committee's decision within 5 working days of the hearing.

Receiving complaints is one of the ways we make sure the services provided by registered interpreters meet the required standards. All complaints must be made in writing. Our Complaint Form guides you to make sure you provide all the information we need to process your complaint. You must submit your complaint to us no more than six months after the incident. If there is a valid cause for a delay in submitting your complaint you must provide a written explanation.

Sometimes you might feel that the interpreting service provided by a registered interpreter falls below the required standard. Often the best way to resolve these problems is to tell the interpreter at the time so they can modify the service they are offering. All registered interpreters are used to acting on constructive feedback and will welcome your comments.

If you fail to resolve the issue directly you can make a complaint about perceived interpreting or interpreter behaviour. The NRPSIDisciplinary procedure is free and all complaints are treated seriously. You will need to provide evidence the interpreter has breached at least one section of the Code of Professional Conduct.