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Interpreters for International Delegations and Official Visits
A visiting minister, a provincial governor's trade mission, a group of foreign mayors or a ministry of health team touring hospitals spends one or several days in meetings, tours, meals and speeches, in a language the hosts do not speak. Here is when the State Department already supplies the interpreters, who books them otherwise, what a visit asks of one, and what a program costs.
Ask the program first
State Department high-level visits and most of its exchange groups come with interpreters.
Consecutive at the table
Formal meetings, speeches and toasts are consecutive; tours are whispered.
$5,280 for a three-day visit
Two interpreters in person, 9 to 5 for three days, at $110 an hour, plus travel.
If the visit is a State Department program, the interpreter is usually already arranged
For the State Department's official visits and high-level meetings, its Office of Language Services makes the arrangements for official interpreters, assigning them from its own staff, its roster of contractors or qualified department personnel (6 FAM 1531). And most foreign participants in the State Department's International Visitor Leadership Program are accompanied by interpreters or English language officers contracted through that office, who accompany the group during its program in the U.S. If your organization is hosting an IVLP group or a meeting arranged by a federal agency, ask the program agency or the local community organization arranging its visit what language support comes with the group before you book anyone; you should not be paying us for an interpreter who is already on the program.
Everything else is arranged by the host. That covers most visits: a foreign city's delegation hosted by your mayor's office, a provincial trade mission visiting a state economic development agency, a foreign ministry team visiting a hospital system or a utility, a university hosting a rector and deans, a company receiving a customer's or a government's delegation, a sister-city exchange. In those cases the host usually books the interpreter, unless the delegation travels with its own — and even then many hosts want their own interpreter, who answers to them and can be briefed privately.
What an official visit asks of an interpreter
The formal parts are consecutive: opening remarks, an exchange across the table, a speech, a toast, the signing of a memorandum of understanding. Each speaker says a few sentences, pauses, and the interpreter renders them in full. When the delegation arrives with its own interpreter, a common arrangement is for each interpreter to render their own side's principal into the other language; agree on that with the delegation's organizers before the first meeting so the two interpreters are not competing for the floor. During presentations and tours, the interpreter switches to whispering beside one or two principals; for a group of ten walking through a port or a plant, whispering does not reach everyone, and a portable tour-guide system with a transmitter and receivers is needed. That equipment is not among our services; the venue or an AV company supplies it.
The vocabulary is institutional. Titles and forms of address — Minister, Vice Governor, Excellency, Rector — need to be right every time. Government structures do not map: a US county, a state agency, a special district or a council-manager city has no exact equivalent in most countries, and a visitor who hears "the county" rendered as "the province" leaves with the wrong idea of who decides what. The interpreter needs the names, titles and roles of everyone in each meeting, with pronunciations, and a one-line note on what each host agency does.
Planning the program around the interpreter
- Send the full program early: each meeting with its attendees, the speeches and toasts that will be read, the presentations, the site visits and the meals.
- Seat the interpreter behind and between the principals at formal meetings and meals, where they can hear both sides and be heard without standing.
- Book the meals. A working lunch or a dinner with toasts is interpreting time, and an interpreter who is working cannot eat. Plan a break for them before or after.
- Ask speakers to give their written remarks to the interpreter in advance, and not to read faster than they would speak.
- Schedule two interpreters for long days. A program from breakfast to dinner is too long for one, and a full day may need two interpreters taking turns.
- Plan the press separately. If the visit includes a press availability or local media interviews, tell us; it is different work from the meetings.
- Gifts, signings and photos happen fast; brief the interpreter on what will be signed and said so the moment is not lost.
Booking a delegation visit
In person is $110 per interpreter per hour with a two-hour minimum, billed from the scheduled start. A four-hour morning at city hall with a meeting and a walking tour is $440 with one interpreter. A three-day program from 9 to 5 each day with two interpreters in relay is 2 × 8 × $110 × 3 = $5,280, plus travel at $0.70 per mile from each interpreter's location, confirmed before you book. If the delegation moves between cities, travel is figured per leg; tell us the itinerary. Preparatory calls with the delegation's office abroad are virtual at $80 an hour, one-hour minimum.
Send with the request the delegation's language, its size and the names and titles of its members, the full program with times and addresses, and whether the delegation brings an interpreter of its own. Agreements to be signed in two languages, and welcome letters or briefing books for the visitors, are written translation, a separate 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 28, 2026. Rules change; the source is always the authority.
- U.S. Department of State — 6 FAM 1530, Assignment of Interpreters to Official Visits and High-Level Meetings (April 4, 2025)
- U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs — Questions about the International Visitor Leadership Program (archived site)
Frequently asked questions
Does the State Department provide interpreters for foreign delegations?
For its own official visits and high-level meetings, the State Department's Office of Language Services arranges the interpreters, and most International Visitor Leadership Program participants travel with interpreters contracted through that office. Visits hosted by cities, universities or companies are arranged by the host.
Our city is hosting an IVLP group. Do we need to hire an interpreter?
Usually not: most IVLP groups travel with interpreters or English language officers. Ask the program agency or the community organization arranging the local program what support comes with the group before booking anyone.
The delegation brings its own interpreter. Do we need one too?
Often yes, for formal meetings: each side's interpreter can render its own principal and be briefed privately. For an informal visit, one interpreter agreed by both sides can be enough.
How much does an interpreter cost for a three-day delegation visit?
In person is $110 per interpreter per hour. Three days of 9 to 5 with two interpreters in relay is $5,280, plus travel at $0.70 per mile from each interpreter's location, confirmed before you book.
Do you provide tour-guide headsets for site visits?
No. Equipment is not among our services; the venue or an AV company supplies transmitters and receivers. Tell us what will be used and we will confirm it works for the interpreter.
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.
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.