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Interpreters in Houston, TX

Yes: we book interpreters in Houston by video at $80 an hour (one-hour minimum) or in person at $110 an hour (two-hour minimum), plus $0.70 per mile of travel, confirmed before you pay. The three Houston immigration courts provide the interpreter for the hearing, and Harris County's criminal and juvenile courts provide one for everyone who needs it; its civil and family courts provide one on request to parties found indigent. Texas law counts a deposition as a court proceeding, so a court-appointed Spanish interpreter in Harris County must be a licensed court interpreter.

Texas counts a deposition as a court proceeding, and Harris County is large enough for the license rule

Texas Government Code chapter 57 defines "court proceeding" to include an arraignment, deposition, mediation or court-ordered arbitration (sec. 57.001(7)). When a party files a motion, or a witness asks, in a civil or criminal proceeding, the court must appoint a licensed court interpreter for someone who can hear but does not understand or speak English (sec. 57.002(a)). In a county of 50,000 or more, the court may appoint an unlicensed spoken-language interpreter only if the language is not Spanish and it finds there is no licensed court interpreter within 75 miles; that person must be qualified by the court as an expert, be at least 18 and not be a party (sec. 57.002(d)–(e)). The city of Houston alone counts 2,222,083 residents aged five and over (ACS B16001), so Harris County courts are on the licensed side of that line.

For a Houston deposition this means: if the interpreter is to be appointed under chapter 57, ask for a Texas licensed court interpreter. Tell us so when you request; we confirm before you book whether we can staff it, and the interpreter's name and credentials are sent once the booking is paid. Meetings with clients, witness preparation for the immigration courts on Jefferson Street, Greenspoint Park Drive and S. Gessner Road, and USCIS interviews on Gears Road carry no license requirement.

Harris County civil courts provide interpreters only for indigent parties

The Harris County District Courts and County Courts at Law described the division themselves when they adopted an expanded Language Access Plan in December 2024: the criminal and juvenile district courts and county criminal courts already provide interpreters for all who come before them and cannot speak English fluently, while in the civil and family district courts and county civil courts interpreters are provided on request to people found indigent. The expansion is subject to funding from Commissioners Court (Harris County courts). State law also spares a party who files a statement of inability to afford court costs from paying for an interpreter the court appoints (sec. 57.002(g)).

So a party who is not indigent in a Harris County civil or family case may need to arrange the interpreter, and should ask the court coordinator first. That, and depositions, mediations and attorney meetings, is where Houston clients book us.

Vietnamese, Chinese and West African languages follow Spanish in Houston

Of 2,222,083 Houstonians aged five and over, 1,159,742 speak only English at home and 836,997 speak Spanish (ACS B16001). Chinese (32,237) and Vietnamese (31,572) are next, then the Census group for Yoruba, Twi, Igbo and other West African languages (23,811), French, Arabic, Urdu, Tagalog and Persian.

Spanish, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Arabic and Urdu are standard-rate: a two-hour interview in person is $220, and a three-hour deposition with a 30-mile round trip is $330 plus $21 travel, $351. Yoruba and Igbo carry the limited-availability surcharge of 25–30%, $137.50 to $143 an hour in person.

Languages spoken at home in Houston

The most common languages other than English, from the U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 2024 1-year, table B16001 (language spoken at home, population 5 years and over), Houston city, Texas. A language that links has its own page on what to get right when booking an interpreter for it.

Where interpreters are needed in Houston, and who provides them

Some of these places must provide the interpreter themselves, and then you should not be paying for one. Where that is so, the official page is linked.

What an 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.

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.

Sources

What this page says about Houston was checked against these sources on October 29, 2026. Rules change; the source is always the authority.

• U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 2024 1-year, B16001, Houston city (read from the table-based summary file, acsdt1y2024-b16001.dat)
• EOIR — Houston - Jefferson Street Immigration Court
• EOIR — Immigration Court Practice Manual, chapter 3.10, Interpreters
• USCIS — Field Office Locator (Houston Field Office)
• USCIS Policy Manual — Volume 7, Part A, Chapter 5, Interview Guidelines
• Texas Legislature — Government Code chapter 57, Bilingual and Interpreter Services (secs. 57.001, 57.002)
• Harris County District and County Courts — Language Access Plan signing ceremony press release (December 18, 2024)
• Harris Health — Interpretation Services
• Houston ISD — Board Meetings: Interpretation Services
• Harris Health — Notice of nondiscrimination (free language services)

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