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Interpreters for Medical Appointments
A patient who does not speak English still has to describe symptoms, understand a diagnosis and agree to a treatment. Here is what the federal rule requires of clinics and hospitals that receive federal health funding, what an appointment asks of an interpreter, and who books one with us.
Free from covered providers
Providers receiving federal health funding must offer a qualified interpreter at no charge to the patient.
Not a child, rarely a relative
The rule bars relying on minors and sharply limits relying on adult companions.
From $80 an hour
Video or phone $80 for the first hour; in person $110 with a two-hour minimum.
If your provider receives federal health funding, it provides the interpreter, free
The Section 1557 rule applies to every health program or activity any part of which receives federal financial assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services (45 CFR 92.2). A provider covered by it must take reasonable steps to give each patient with limited English meaningful access, and that language help must be free of charge, accurate and timely, and must protect the patient's privacy and independent decision-making (45 CFR 92.201(a)–(b)). When interpretation is needed, the provider must offer a qualified interpreter, and it may not require the patient to bring their own interpreter or pay for one (92.201(c)(1), (e)(1)).
The rule also restricts who may interpret. A covered provider may not rely on a minor child except as a temporary measure in an emergency while a qualified interpreter is found, and may not rely on an adult companion who is not a qualified interpreter except in such an emergency or when the patient asks for it privately, with a qualified interpreter present, and the request is documented (92.201(e)(2)–(3)). Nor may it rely on bilingual staff who are not qualified (92.201(e)(4)). A qualified interpreter, under the rule, interprets accurately and impartially, without changes, omissions or additions, and follows interpreter ethics including confidentiality (92.4). A patient may also decline language help (92.201(h)).
So if your doctor's office, clinic or hospital takes federal health funding, ask it for an interpreter when you make the appointment. You should not be paying us. Who does book us: covered providers themselves, when they need someone in person for a procedure or a difficult conversation, a language their contracted service cannot fill, or cover while they set up their own language access. Practices that receive no federal financial assistance — the federal rule does not reach them, though state law may — and that still want to see the patient in their language. And patients seeing such a practice. If your organization requires a specific interpreter credential, tell us when you request; we confirm whether we can staff it before you book.
What an appointment asks of an interpreter
Medical interpreting is consecutive and in the first person: the doctor asks, the interpreter renders the question as the doctor said it, the patient answers, the interpreter renders the answer as "I", not "she says". The vocabulary runs from anatomy and symptoms to medication names, doses and test results, and the patient's side arrives in everyday language — a description of pain, a home remedy, a symptom named the way it is named at home. The interpreter renders both faithfully; if a term has no equivalent, they say so and the doctor explains it.
Numbers are where harm happens. "Twice a day" and "every twelve hours", milligrams and milliliters, "take it with food", the date of the next test. The interpreter repeats numbers exactly and the provider writes them down. Short documents — a consent form, discharge instructions, a medication list — are often sight-translated aloud during the visit; anything long or that the patient will keep should be translated in writing.
Most appointments can be interpreted by video or phone, with the interpreter joining the telehealth platform or a call on a device in the exam room. A covered provider using remote interpreting must meet the rule's quality standards: real-time video without lags or blurred images, the faces visible, clear audio, and staff trained to set it up (92.201(f)–(g)). In person is better for a physical examination with a lot of pointing and positioning, for a patient who is hard of hearing as well, and for long or difficult conversations.
What goes wrong when the interpreter is not qualified
- A relative filters. A spouse leaves out the symptom that is embarrassing; an adult son softens bad news; a sister answers for the patient. None of it is visible to the doctor.
- A child interprets. They do not know the words, they should not carry the diagnosis, and the rule bars it outside emergencies.
- A bilingual receptionist is pulled in. Conversational fluency is not the same as rendering a medication history without omissions.
- A speakerphone on the counter. Bad audio and three voices; the interpreter guesses, and the patient nods.
- The instructions go home in English. The visit is interpreted, then the printed plan is not, and the patient follows what they remember.
Running an appointment through an interpreter
- Brief the interpreter in one sentence before the patient joins: the reason for the visit and anything sensitive coming.
- Look at the patient and speak to them in the first person — "how long have you had the pain?", not "ask her how long".
- Two or three sentences, then pause.
- Ask the patient to say back the plan — what to take, when, and when to come back — rather than asking "do you understand?"
- Write the numbers down: doses, times, dates.
- For a sensitive examination, the interpreter can stay behind a curtain or on audio only; agree on it before the exam.
Booking an appointment
By video or phone it is $80 per interpreter per hour from the scheduled start, with a one-hour minimum, so a 30-minute visit is $80. In person it is $110 an hour with a two-hour minimum, so a single in-person visit is at least $220, plus travel at $0.70 per mile from the interpreter's location, confirmed before you book. A clinic with several patients in the same language on one morning does better booking a block: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in person is four hours, $440 plus travel, for as many of those appointments as fit.
Send the specialty and type of visit, the date, time and expected length, the address or telehealth platform, the patient's language and country, and whether forms will need to be read aloud. Records that a new provider needs in English are written translation, quoted per page: see medical records translation.
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.
- 45 CFR 92.201 — Section 1557: Meaningful access for individuals with limited English proficiency (eCFR; rule of May 6, 2024)
- 45 CFR 92.4 — Section 1557 definitions: covered entity, federal financial assistance, qualified interpreter (eCFR)
- 45 CFR 92.2 — Section 1557: Application to health programs receiving HHS financial assistance (eCFR)
Frequently asked questions
Does my doctor have to provide an interpreter for free?
If the practice, clinic or hospital receives federal financial assistance from HHS, yes: language help must be free of charge, and the provider may not require you to bring or pay for your own interpreter (45 CFR 92.201(b), (e)(1); scope: 92.2). Ask when you book the appointment.
Can my child or a family member interpret at a medical appointment?
A covered provider may not rely on a minor child except as a temporary measure in an emergency, and may rely on an adult companion only in an emergency or when you ask for it privately with a qualified interpreter present and the request is documented (92.201(e)(2)–(3)).
Can an interpreter join a telehealth visit?
Yes, by video or phone on the provider's platform. A covered provider using remote interpreting must ensure clear real-time video or audio and train staff to set it up (92.201(f)–(g)).
What if my provider does not receive federal funding?
Then the federal rule does not apply to it (45 CFR 92.2), though state law may. The practice or the patient can book an interpreter: $80 an hour by video, or $110 an hour in person with a two-hour minimum.
Can you translate my medical records?
Yes, as a separate written service quoted per page. See medical records 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.