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Interpreters for Independent Medical Exams
An independent medical exam is ordered by someone other than the patient — an insurer, an employer, a court or a disability agency — and the examiner's report can decide benefits or a case. When the person examined does not speak English, every answer in that report passed through an interpreter. Who must provide that interpreter depends on who ordered the exam.
Who ordered it decides
Social Security and California workers' comp put the interpreter on the agency or the claims administrator.
Everything said, exactly
The report quotes the examinee; hedges, pain words and "I don't know" have to survive interpreting.
From $110 in person
In person $110 an hour with a two-hour minimum; video $80 an hour for telehealth exams.
Who provides the interpreter depends on who ordered the exam
Social Security disability exams. For a consultative examination, if the claimant is not fluent in English, the state disability determination services should arrange for an interpreter and pay for it (POMS DI 39542.235). The DDS provides interpreters free of charge, pays only for interpreters it provides, and where the claimant brings an unapproved interpreter, the official interpretation is the DDS interpreter's (POMS DI 23040.001). If this is your exam, do not hire us; tell the DDS you need an interpreter.
California workers' compensation. The claims administrator pays a certified or provisionally certified interpreter, on the employee's request, for an exam the employee attends at the request of the claims administrator, the administrative director or the appeals board, for medical treatment appointments, and for medical-legal evaluations whose report is payable (8 CCR 9795.3(a)). The Division of Workers' Compensation says interpreters at medical appointments and medical-legal exams must hold one of the credentials it lists (DWC FAQ). Tell us the credential when you request; we confirm whether we can staff it before you book. Other states set their own rules — in New York, for example, the Board says the insurer may require an IME on at least seven business days' notice and the worker may bring someone along (NY WCB).
Personal injury cases. In federal court, an order for a Rule 35 exam must specify its time, place, manner, conditions and scope (FRCP 35), so whether an interpreter attends, and who supplies one, is settled in the order or the parties' agreement; state courts have their own rules. That is where we are most often booked: by the defense firm or the IME scheduling company arranging the exam, or by the plaintiff's attorney when the agreement lets the examinee bring an interpreter.
What an exam asks of an interpreter
The history comes first: how the injury happened, prior injuries and treatment, work duties, what the person can and cannot do now. Then the physical exam, which is a run of short commands and quick questions — bend forward, push against my hand, does this hurt more here or here — where the interpreter has to keep pace with the examiner's hands. Psychological and neuropsychological exams add questionnaires and test items, many of which cannot be interpreted on the fly without changing what they measure; ask the examiner how they handle that before the day.
The words that matter most are the smallest. Pain is described differently from language to language — burning, pricking, an electric current, heaviness — and the interpreter renders the examinee's word, not the nearest English cliché. Hedges such as "sometimes," "I think" or "I don't remember exactly" have to come through, because the report will treat a confident answer and an unsure one differently, and an inconsistency between the history and earlier records can be used to question the examinee's credibility.
What goes wrong
- A relative interprets. They often witnessed the injury or live with its consequences, and they answer for the examinee. An examiner's report built on that history is open to challenge by either side.
- A phone interpreter for a physical exam. "Here," "this side" and a pointed finger cannot be interpreted by someone who cannot see; use video at minimum, and in person when the exam is hands-on.
- The examinee is taken for an ally. Examinees sometimes ask the interpreter for advice or complain to them about the case. The interpreter renders that too; everyone should know it at the start.
- Forms handed over in the waiting room. Intake questionnaires and pain diagrams read aloud by the interpreter are sight translation; they take time, and the scheduled hour does not include it unless you plan for it.
- The exam starts late. Interpreting is billed from the scheduled start, and examiners run behind; book enough time for the wait.
Running the exam through an interpreter
- Introduce the interpreter's role at the start: they interpret everything said in the room, in the first person, and add nothing of their own.
- Name the body part as well as pointing, so the record and the interpreter both have it.
- One question at a time, especially in the history: compound questions get partial answers.
- Let the examinee answer in their own language, even if they speak some English; switching mid-answer is where details are lost.
- Record the interpreter's name and the language in the report, so anyone reading it later knows how the history was taken.
Booking an IME interpreter
Most exams are in person: $110 an hour per interpreter with a two-hour minimum, so an exam with history, physical and forms that takes two hours is $220, and one that runs to three hours is $330, plus travel at $0.70 per mile from the interpreter's location — a 40-mile round trip is $28. A telehealth exam with the interpreter on video is $80 an hour with a one-hour minimum and no travel. A limited-availability language adds 25–30%, and lead time matters more for it.
Send with the request: who ordered the exam and under what program (state workers' comp, Social Security, a personal injury case), any credential the program or the agreement requires, the examinee's language and country of origin, the examiner's address and the scheduled time, the expected length, and any forms that will need to be read aloud. If the IME report later needs to be translated for the examinee or a foreign court, that is a separate written service.
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.
Languages
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. If a language is not on that 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.
Each language has its own page on what to watch for — dialects, names, dates, who the speakers usually are: see interpreters by language.
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.
- 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 the same business day, and no payment is taken at this stage.
- You confirm, and the interpreter is booked for your date.
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.
Thank you — we have your request
We will reply the same business day 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 21, 2026. Rules change; the source is always the authority.
- Social Security Administration — POMS DI 39542.235, Conducting the Consultative Examination (DDS)
- Social Security Administration — POMS DI 23040.001, DDS: Interpreters for Individuals with Limited English Proficiency (08/01/2023)
- California Code of Regulations, Title 8, § 9795.3 — Fees for Interpreter Services (Division of Workers' Compensation)
- California Division of Workers' Compensation — Answers to frequently asked questions about interpreter certification
- New York State Workers' Compensation Board — Health Care: Independent medical examination (IME)
- Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 35 — Physical and Mental Examinations (Legal Information Institute text)
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to pay for an interpreter at my IME?
Often not. For a Social Security consultative exam the DDS arranges and pays for the interpreter (POMS DI 39542.235). In California workers' comp the claims administrator pays for an interpreter at exams it requests (8 CCR 9795.3). In a personal injury case it depends on the exam order or the parties' agreement.
Can a family member interpret at my IME?
It is a poor idea for either side, and some programs limit it: for Social Security exams, if the claimant's own interpreter is not approved, the official interpretation is that of the DDS interpreter (POMS DI 23040.001).
What credential does California require for an interpreter at a medical-legal exam?
The DWC lists the accepted credentials for medical appointments and medical-legal exams (DWC interpreter FAQ). Tell us which one you need when you request, and we confirm whether we can staff it before you book.
Can an IME be interpreted by video?
Yes for telehealth exams and history-only interviews, at $80 an hour. For a hands-on physical exam, an interpreter in the room is better: pointing and positioning do not carry well over a screen, and a phone is worse.
Can you translate the IME report?
Yes, as a separate written service quoted per page. See medical records translation and expert report translation.
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.
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 an interpreter?
Tell us the date, the language and the setting and we will confirm the interpreter and the exact price.