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Haitian Creole Interpreters for Medical Appointments
A hospital or clinic that receives federal financial assistance must give you a qualified Haitian Creole interpreter free when you need one, and cannot make you bring or pay for your own (45 CFR 92.201). Ask them first. Where that does not apply, or when you are the provider, eVerbary books Haitian Creole interpreters at $80 an hour by video or phone and $110 in person, with a quote within minutes.
Video, phone or in person
Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams or a phone call, or an interpreter at the venue.
From $80 an hour
Virtual $80 an hour with a one-hour minimum; in person $110 with a two-hour minimum.
Quote within minutes
We reply within minutes, four business hours at most, with the interpreter, the exact price and any travel, before you book. Asking costs nothing.
Your rights as a patient come first
Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act applies to any "covered entity", which the rule defines as a recipient of federal financial assistance, the Department of Health and Human Services, and entities set up under title I of the ACA (45 CFR 92.4). It requires reasonable steps to give each person with limited English proficiency meaningful access, including companions, and the language help must be free, accurate, timely and private (45 CFR 92.201).
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act has long barred national-origin discrimination in federally funded programs (45 CFR 80.3), so this is not a new idea. In practice:
- The provider must offer a qualified interpreter when one is required, in person or by a remote service.
- It must not require you to provide your own interpreter or to pay for one.
- It must not rely on your child to interpret, except as a temporary measure in an emergency until a qualified interpreter arrives.
- It may use an adult who came with you only in an emergency, or if you ask for that privately with a qualified interpreter present, the adult agrees, and the request is documented.
Say that you need Haitian Creole when you book, not on arrival, and ask the office how it will be provided. If a covered provider refuses, the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services enforces the rule.
When a clinic or a family books us
A provider that must supply an interpreter does not have to employ one. It can buy the service for a given appointment: a clinic or practice covering a visit, a surgery consult, a discharge meeting or a therapy series.
Families book us in fewer cases: a practice that receives no federal assistance, a private consultation or second opinion they pay for themselves, a meeting about an older parent's care outside the appointment itself, or a talk with a home-care agency. If you are not sure which applies, ask the provider first. Paying for something they owe you would be a waste of your money.
Where Haitian Creole speakers live
About 1,041,231 people in the United States speak Haitian Creole at home, and 454,970 of them speak English less than "very well", according to the U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 1-year estimates, table B16001 (the table's label is "Haitian"; population 5 years and over). The states with the most speakers:
| State | Speak Haitian Creole at home | Of those, speak English less than "very well" |
|---|---|---|
| Florida | 512,329 | 227,439 |
| New York | 160,537 | 68,898 |
| Massachusetts | 86,961 | 38,499 |
| New Jersey | 60,303 | 25,867 |
| Pennsylvania | 29,320 | 13,692 |
| Georgia | 26,911 | 9,043 |
| Connecticut | 25,199 | 9,522 |
| Maryland | 16,844 | 4,678 |
| Indiana | 16,124 | 11,004 |
These are survey estimates with margins of error, which the Census table publishes.
Haitian Creole is on our standard-availability list, which means we can normally staff it within the week, including in person in most metropolitan areas. We confirm the interpreter for your date and city before you book. See Haitian Creole interpreters for the other settings.
What to tell us for a medical appointment
Beyond the date and the time, these make for a better match. Is it a single visit or a series? Is the subject one with its own vocabulary, such as oncology, maternity or mental health? Should the interpreter be a woman or a man, if that matters to the patient? Does the facility have its own credential or badging requirement? Anything you tell us is used only to arrange the booking; do not send medical records in the request.
What it costs
Rates are per interpreter, per hour, and billed from the scheduled start time rather than from when everyone actually arrives. Every rate with worked examples, and what the federal courts pay their own interpreters, is on what an interpreter costs.
- 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.
What a Haitian Creole interpreter costs, worked out
These are the published rates multiplied out: $80 an hour by video or phone, $110 an hour in person, $0.70 a mile of travel.
| Booking | How it is worked out | Total |
|---|---|---|
| One-hour video or phone call | 1 hour × $80 | $80 |
| Two-hour video interview | 2 hours × $80 | $160 |
| Two-hour meeting in person, 20-mile round trip | 2 hours × $110 + 20 miles × $0.70 | $234 |
| Three-hour deposition or closing in person, 40-mile round trip | 3 hours × $110 + 40 miles × $0.70 | $358 |
| Full day in person (six hours), two interpreters in relay | 2 interpreters × 6 hours × $110 | $1,320 plus travel |
The quote confirms the interpreter, the exact travel figure and the total before you book; nothing is charged until you confirm.
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.
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.
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 pay, and the interpreter is booked for your date. The interpreter's name and credentials are sent to you once the booking is paid.
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. We confirm before you book whether we can staff it; the interpreter's name and credentials follow once the booking is paid.
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.
Thank you — we have your request
We will reply within minutes, four business hours at most, with the interpreter, the exact price and the travel figure if there is one, before you commit to anything.
Sources
What this page says about the rules was checked against these official sources on October 31, 2026. Rules change; the source is always the authority.
- eCFR: 45 CFR 92.201, meaningful access for individuals with limited English proficiency
- eCFR: 45 CFR 92.4, definitions
- eCFR: 45 CFR 80.3, Title VI discrimination prohibited
- U.S. Census Bureau: ACS 2024 1-year, table B16001, national and state
Frequently asked questions
Does a hospital have to provide a Haitian Creole interpreter?
If it receives federal financial assistance, yes, when one is needed for meaningful access, and free of charge. It cannot require you to bring your own or to pay for one (45 CFR 92.201). Ask for one when you book the appointment.
Can my child or a relative interpret at the doctor's?
A covered provider must not rely on a minor child, except briefly in an emergency, and may rely on an accompanying adult only in the narrow cases the rule lists, such as when you ask for it privately with a qualified interpreter present (45 CFR 92.201(e)).
Who books a Haitian Creole medical interpreter from eVerbary?
Clinics, hospitals and practices that need to cover an appointment, and patients or families whose provider is not required to supply one, or who want someone of their own at a meeting. If your provider has to supply one, ask them first.
How much does it cost?
$80 an hour by video or phone with a one-hour minimum, and $110 an hour in person with a two-hour minimum, plus $0.70 per mile. Haitian Creole has no availability surcharge. A two-hour appointment in person with a 20-mile round trip is $234.
Are your interpreters medically certified?
Tell us the credential the hospital or clinic requires when you request, and we confirm before you book whether we can staff it. The interpreter's name and credentials are sent once the booking is paid.
Is the price per person or per interpreter?
Per interpreter, per hour, billed from the scheduled start time. One interpreter covers a meeting; a full-day hearing may need two working in relay.
What if the venue provides its own interpreter?
Then you should not be paying us. Immigration court provides one, and hospitals and school districts frequently must. Ask them first.
Can I see the interpreter's credentials before I pay?
Tell us the credential the venue or the other side requires when you request, and we confirm before you book whether we can staff it. The interpreter's name and credentials are sent once the booking is paid.
How is travel charged?
$0.70 per mile from the interpreter's location — a 20-mile round trip is $14. We confirm the exact figure before you book, and virtual assignments carry none.
Need a Haitian Creole interpreter for an appointment?
Tell us the date, the place and the kind of visit, and we will confirm the interpreter and the exact price.