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Ilocano Interpreters

Professional Ilocano interpreting, virtual or in person, for the settings where getting it wrong has consequences — asylum interviews, hearings, attorney meetings, medical appointments and school meetings.

Ilocano is not Tagalog, and in Hawaii it is the Philippine language that matters most

Can a Tagalog interpreter cover an Ilocano speaker? Not reliably. Ilocano (Ilokano, Iloko) and Tagalog are both Philippine languages, but they sit in different branches: Glottolog places Ilocano in the Northern Luzon group and Tagalog in Central Philippine. Some Ilocano speakers are also fluent in Tagalog-based Filipino and some are not. Whether a particular client can give testimony in it is a question for the client, and "Filipino" on an intake form does not answer it.

In Hawaii, Ilocano is the default Philippine language rather than an exception. The Census Bureau counted about 54,000 Ilocano speakers in Hawaii in 2009–2013, about 61 percent of them speaking English less than very well. That is more Ilocano speakers than every other state combined. The University of Hawaii's Ilokano program estimates that about 90 percent of Hawaii's Filipino population is Ilokano or of Ilokano descent, and that about 4,500 Ilokanos settle in Hawaii as permanent residents each year.

Filipinos are Hawaii's second-largest race group: 383,200 people alone or in combination in 2020, 26.3 percent of the state, by the state economic development department's count. The heaviest concentrations are in Waipahu and Kalihi on Oahu. In the Census language table, the Honolulu metro area had about 36,300 Ilocano speakers, Maui about 8,700 and Hilo about 4,600.

Recent arrivals are who usually needs the interpreter

Ilocano speakers keep arriving in Hawaii as green-card holders, about 4,500 a year by the UH program's estimate. They deal with clinics, schools, landlords and employers while still learning English, and that is where most Ilocano interpreting happens. Hawaii's courts list Ilokano among their language access services, its state agencies publish notices in it, and two large Hawaii public high schools teach it, so in Hawaii an Ilocano request is routine rather than exotic.

For medical appointments in Hawaii, check first whether the hospital or clinic must provide the interpreter itself; most that receive federal funds must. Where we are useful is the private side: attorney meetings, declarations, real estate and family matters. In person is realistic on Oahu, Maui and Hawaii Island. Elsewhere, video is the practical option.

Outside Hawaii, and Ilocano as a bridge language for northern Luzon

On the mainland, the Census Bureau counted about 19,500 Ilocano speakers in California, 3,200 in Washington, 1,900 in Nevada and about 1,000 in Alaska. The largest metro communities were Los Angeles (about 3,000) and Seattle (about 2,800). Clients are more scattered there, and video is usually the way we staff it.

Ilocano is also the lingua franca of the northern Philippines. The UH program counts about 2 million second-language speakers, besides native speakers who make up about 11 percent of the Philippine population. A client whose first language is a smaller northern Luzon language may therefore be best served through Ilocano, or through relay between that language, Ilocano and English. We confirm whether we can staff a relay before you book.

Ilocano is a limited-availability language

There are comparatively few qualified Ilocano interpreters working in the United States, and the ones there are get booked. That is why Ilocano carries the 25–30% limited-availability rate, and why lead time matters more here than with a common language: a week is comfortable, two days is a gamble.

We would rather tell you that before you book a hearing date than after. If your date is fixed and close, say so when you enquire and we will tell you honestly whether we can staff it rather than accepting and hoping.

The standard-availability languages are: Spanish, Portuguese, French, Mandarin, Cantonese, Arabic, Russian, Korean, Vietnamese, Haitian Creole, Polish, Italian, German, Japanese, Hindi, Urdu, Persian, Turkish, Ukrainian, Tagalog, Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Tamil, Armenian, Greek, Hebrew, Romanian, Serbian, Bosnian, Somali and Nepali. Every other language we offer carries the 25–30% limited-availability rate, except the rare languages — Mam, K’iche’, Q’anjob’al, Tzotzil, Mixtec, Fuzhounese, Hakka, Hakha Chin, Kachin, Balochi, Bambara, Soninke, Tigre, Chaldean Neo-Aramaic and Assyrian Neo-Aramaic — which carry 75%. If a language is not on the standard list it is not because we cannot do it — it is because the pool of qualified interpreters in the United States is small enough that we will not promise a date without checking.

By video, by phone or in person

Virtual interpreting runs on Zoom, Google Meet or Microsoft Teams, or over the telephone. It is quicker to arrange, costs less and carries no travel charge, and it suits appointments, calls and most meetings.

In person is what venues with their own rules tend to expect, and the right choice when documents are being signed or several people are speaking at once. Tell us the platform, or the city and the venue, when you send the request.

Where interpretation is used

The settings differ in what they demand of the interpreter, which is worth saying because they are frequently priced as though they were the same work:

• Asylum and immigration interviews. USCIS asylum interviews require the applicant to bring an interpreter, and the interview can be rescheduled if the interpreter does not appear or is not competent — which makes this the setting where getting it right matters most.
• Attorney–client meetings and declarations. Preparing testimony, taking a statement, going through documents.
• Depositions and hearings. Where the record is being made and accuracy is examined afterwards.
• Medical appointments. Note that hospitals receiving federal funding generally must provide language assistance themselves, so ask before you hire.
• School meetings. IEP meetings and parent conferences — districts also have their own obligations here.
• Business meetings and signings, such as real estate closings.

Each setting has its own page — who has to provide the interpreter, what the meeting asks of one and what it costs: see interpreters by setting.

What it costs

Rates are per interpreter, per hour, and billed from the scheduled start time rather than from when everyone actually arrives.

• Virtual — $80 per hour, one-hour minimum. Zoom, Google Meet, Teams or telephone.
• In person — $110 per hour, two-hour minimum.
• Limited-availability languages — add 25–30%. Which languages those are is listed below rather than left vague.
• Rare languages — add 75%: $140 per hour virtual and $192.50 per hour in person. These are the languages with only a handful of qualified interpreters in the United States, listed below.
• Travel for in-person work — $0.70 per mile from the interpreter's location.

How the travel charge works out

Travel is charged at $0.70 per mile from the interpreter's location, which means you can work it out rather than wait for a quote: a 20-mile round trip is $14, a 60-mile round trip is $42, a 150-mile round trip is $105. There is no separate call-out fee on top.

We will not pretend to know in advance where the interpreter will be coming from — that depends on the language, the date and the venue. What we do is confirm the interpreter and the exact travel figure before you book, so it is never a surprise on the invoice. Virtual assignments carry no travel charge at all, which is one reason most of what we do is virtual.

How booking an interpreter works

• You send the request with the form below: the language, the setting, the format, the date and how long it should last.
• We confirm before you commit: the interpreter, the exact price and the travel figure if there is one. We reply within minutes, four business hours at most, and no payment is taken at this stage.
• You confirm, and the interpreter is booked for your date.

What we will tell you before you book

Two things, both of which occasionally cost us the booking. Whether the venue supplies its own interpreter. Immigration court provides one. Hospitals receiving federal funding generally must provide language assistance. School districts have obligations of their own. If yours does, you should not be paying us — ask them first.

And whether we can actually staff your date. For a limited-availability or rare language on short notice the honest answer is sometimes no, and we would rather say it than accept a booking we cannot fill. Interpretation is not translation: see certified translation at $24.95 per page if what you need is a document rendered in writing.

What to have ready

The more of this comes in the first message, the fewer exchanges before you have a price:

• The language, the date, the start time and how long it should run.
• Virtual or in person: the platform, or the city and the venue.
• The setting and the subject matter.
• How many people need interpreting for.
• Any credential the venue requires of the interpreter.

Request an interpreter

Tell us the date, the language and the setting and we will come back with the interpreter, the exact price and the travel figure if there is one — before you commit to anything.

Sources

The facts on this page about the language and its speakers in the United States were checked against these sources on October 28, 2026.

• US Census Bureau — Detailed Languages Spoken at Home and Ability to Speak English, 2009–2013 (October 2015)
• University of Hawaii at Manoa — Ilokano Language and Literature Program, About
• Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism — Filipino Population in Hawaii: 2020 (December 2025)
• Hawaii State Judiciary — Court Interpreters and language access services
• Glottolog 5.3 — Iloko (ilok1237), Northern Luzon; compare Tagalog, Central Philippine

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