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Interpreters for Victim and Witness Interviews

Before a criminal case reaches a courtroom, victims and witnesses are interviewed, often more than once: by a detective, a prosecutor, a victim advocate, a defense investigator. If you do not speak English well, the office asking the questions arranges the interpreter. If you testify, the court provides one. This page explains who arranges what, why one side's interpreter should not work for the other, and how prosecutors' offices, victim services programs and defense teams book an interpreter for interviews.

If you are a victim or witness, you should not be paying for the interpreter

An interview is part of someone's case, and that someone arranges the interpreter. Colorado's courts say it directly: the court does not pay for interpreting outside court proceedings for trial preparation or witness interviews, and prosecutors and parties' attorneys are expected to arrange interpreting for case preparation at their own expense (Chief Justice Directive 06-03, II.D). Federal law enforcement and prosecutors must ensure reasonable access to translation services and/or oral interpreter services for victims of severe forms of trafficking who cannot communicate in English (28 CFR 1100.33(b)).

Victim services programs funded by the federal Victims of Crime Act may spend those funds on interpreting for a non-witness victim with limited English so they can take part in proceedings (28 CFR 94.119(e)(4)), and on contracts for interpreters (28 CFR 94.120(d)). Programs that receive federal funds remain covered by Title VI; when the Justice Department withdrew its 2002 language access guidance in 2025, it told recipients that denying language assistance can be evidence of discrimination in some circumstances.

When you testify, the court provides the interpreter: California's courts free of charge, New York's trial courts at no expense for a party or witness (22 NYCRR 217.1), and federal courts for a witness in cases the United States brings (28 U.S.C. 1827(d)). Who books us: prosecutors' offices and victim-witness units, for interviews in a language their staff and contracts do not cover; victim service organizations; defense attorneys and investigators, who need their own interpreter for their own witness interviews; and civil attorneys interviewing victims for a related lawsuit.

One interpreter per side, and nobody from the family

An interview is evidence in the making. What the witness says, through the interpreter, ends up in a report or a recording that the other side will compare with later statements and with testimony at trial. If the same interpreter worked for the prosecution and then the defense, or for a victim and then the accused, one side can fairly ask what was carried between rooms. Each side should arrange its own interpreter, and tell the interpreter which side they work for.

Relatives, friends and community members should not interpret. They may know the accused, fear the consequences of what is said, or have a version of events of their own, and in a small language community the circle is smaller than it looks. A child should never interpret a parent's account of a crime. When you book, tell us any names, places or community ties the interpreter must not have, and whether the witness would be more comfortable with a woman or a man; we confirm whether we can staff that before you book.

What a witness interview asks of the interpreter

Witness interviews are consecutive, in the first person, and as close to verbatim as the languages allow. The interpreter does not tidy up a confused answer, fill in what the witness "means", or explain the legal process; if a question is not understood, the interpreter says so and the interviewer rephrases. Hesitations, corrections and "I think" matter, because a later difference between statements will be attributed to the witness, not to the interpreter. If the interview is recorded, the interpreter speaks clearly into the recording for both languages.

Victims may be describing violence, a sexual offense or the death of someone close to them. A trauma-aware interviewer slows down, takes breaks and asks one question at a time; the interpreter keeps the same pace and the same register, including words that are hard to say. Names, addresses, phone numbers, vehicle descriptions and times are where interpreted interviews slip most; read them back at the end.

After the charges: meetings, impact statements and hearings

• Prosecutor meetings before trial — explaining the charges, a plea offer, what testifying involves — are the prosecutor's to arrange, with the same care as the first interview.
• Victim impact statements can be written in the victim's language and translated in writing, or spoken through an interpreter where the court allows it; ask the prosecutor which the court prefers. A written translation is a separate service; see personal declaration translation.
• Restitution needs receipts, medical bills and repair estimates, sometimes from another country, with translations.
• Parole hearings: in California, victims and next of kin registered with CDCR's Office of Victim and Survivor Rights and Services may attend a parole suitability hearing, and may have a representative, support person and attorney there (Board of Parole Hearings). The Board's page mentions an interpreter for the incarcerated person; a victim who needs one should ask that office early.
• Immigration relief for victims — U visas and VAWA — involves its own declarations and interviews; see interpreters for VAWA and U visa declarations.

Booking for a prosecutor's office, a victim program or a defense team

A one-hour interview by video or phone is $80 per interpreter; a two-hour recorded interview by video is $160. In person is $110 an hour with a two-hour minimum: a two-hour interview at the district attorney's office or a family justice center is $220, a three-hour session that includes a walk through the scene is $330, plus travel at $0.70 per mile from the interpreter's location, confirmed before you book. Billing runs per interpreter per hour from the scheduled start.

Send the language and country or region, the type of case (without names), whether the interview will be recorded, the location or platform, the expected length, and any conflicts the interpreter must not have. If a statement or report needs to be translated in writing, that is a separate service at $24.95 per page certified; see court certified 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.

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.

• Colorado Supreme Court — Chief Justice Directive 06-03, Language Access (amended March 2023)
• 28 CFR 94.119 — VOCA victim assistance: allowable direct service costs (eCFR)
• 28 CFR 94.120 — VOCA victim assistance: allowable costs for activities supporting direct services (eCFR)
• 28 CFR 1100.33 — Access to information and translation services for victims of severe forms of trafficking (eCFR)
• 28 U.S.C. 1827 — Interpreters in courts of the United States (LII)
• Judicial Council of California — California Courts Self-Help Guide: Ask for an interpreter
• New York Unified Court System — 22 NYCRR 217.1, Obligation to appoint interpreter in court proceedings in the trial courts (LII)
• California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Board of Parole Hearings — Who May Attend a Parole Suitability Hearing
• U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division — Notice of Rescission of 2002 LEP Guidance (90 FR 15721, April 15, 2025)

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