American Sign Language Interpreters who are Certified by Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) are required to adhere to a Certificate Maintenance Program (CMP), per the RID website (RID.org):

Members must maintain their certification through continuing education, membership in RID, and compliance with the RID Code of Professional Conduct.

This blog will focus on the first requirement in the above list: Continuing Education.

All certified members of RID are required to earn at least 8.0 total continuing education units (CEUs) within a four-year certification cycle (The breakdown for the 8.0 CEUs will be addressed later in this blog).

The four-year cycle, January 1st through December 31st, varies depending on the year in which the interpreter became/becomes certified. The four-year cycle begins on the first January 1st after certification, and ends four years later on December 31st. A new four-year cycle begins the next day, January 1st.

8.0 CEU Requirement:

• At least 6.0 CEUs must fall in the Professional Studies (PS) category.
• At least 1.0 CEUs of the required 6.0 Professional Studies (PS) CEUs must include topics of Power, Privilege, and Oppression (PPO).
• Up to 2.0 CEUs of the total 8.0 may fall within the General Studies (GS) category.
• *For interpreters with SC:L certification, 2.0 CEUs must be in legal interpreting topics.
• *For interpreters with SC:PA certification, 2.0 CEUs must be in performing arts topics.

 

State Licensure CEU Requirements:

Please note that a number of US states require interpreters to be licensed. States with required licensure may have additional provisions regarding the nature, number, and venue for acquired CEUs. For example, the North Carolina Interpreter & Transliterator License Board (NCITLB) requires that 2.0 CEUs be earned each licensure year, and 1.0 of those CEUs must be in the Professional Studies category. NCITLB also requires that 1.0 CEUs yearly must be “…earned in a setting in which three or more persons come together at the same location at the same time as a group…”.

For a more in-depth look at CEU information and requirements, please check out the RID website – CEUs page!

References

North Carolina Interpreter & Transliterator Licensing Board. (2024). CEU Requirements for Renewal. NCITLB.org: https://ncitlb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/CEU-requirements-to-renew-rev-7.2021.pdf

Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. (2005). Earning RID CEUs.  RID.org: https://rid.org/programs/certification-maintenance/ceus/

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