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| Maintain Certification
Maintain Certification
Testing measures skills and competence at the time the interpreter was tested. Once certified, members must maintain their certification through continuing education and membership in RID. This is required of all certified members, including RID certified interpreters and transliterators, NIC certified interpreters, NAD certified interpreters and certain interpreters from external organizations under contract with RID.
Requirements
To maintain your certification, you must:
Generalist certificates are those that deal with general interpreting or transliterating.
The certified interpreter must earn a minimum of 8.0 CEUs (80 hours), with at least 6.0 (60 hours) of them in the professional studies category during each four year certification maintenance cycle.
To maintain any specialist certificate, at least 2.0 CEUs (20 hours) must be in the professional studies category AND within the field of specialization, effective with the beginning of the next new CMP cycle. These 2.0 CEUs are part of the 6.0 CEUs in the professional studies requirement.
Loss of Certification
Loss of Generalist Certification
Any active certified member not satisfying the requirements of the certification maintenance program by the end of his/her cycle will cease to be certified.
Loss of Specialist Certification
Active certified members holding a specialist certification who do not satisfy the required two (2) CEUs in the field of specialization, but do accrue the required eight (8) CEUs with at least six (6) CEUs in professional studies, will only lose their specialty certification. They will maintain any other certifications held.
Special Cases
CMP Cycle Extension Request
RID will consider granting a one-year extension of a CMP cycle upon written request by the participant. The request application and accompanying documentation must be submitted prior to the end of the participant’s cycle. Applications will begin to be considered November 1, 2008. Download the application.
Applications for consideration MUST be submitted to the national office via e-mail (tschultz@rid.org) or fax at 703-838-0454 no later than Midnight, December 31, 2008. Extension request applications received after Midnight, December 31, 2008, will automatically be denied and will not be considered.
Requests will be considered by RID and granted based on the ability to accrue the required number of continuing education units for the following reason:
A sudden and unforeseeable, traumatic, catastrophic, or incapacitating, life-altering event that disrupts the life of the certified member or an immediate family member for a considerable amount of time. Simple failure to accrue the required number of CEUs is not an appropriate reason to request an extension to the CMP cycle.
An extension can be granted only once in the participant’s lifetime.
Please note that the granting of an extension does not delay the beginning of the participant’s new cycle. Once sufficient credits have been earned to complete the extended cycle, all subsequent credits earned will be applied to the participant’s new cycle.
Changing Member Status
If you are temporarily out of the field, RID offers certified members an inactive status. This is for certified members who are not currently interpreting as a way to put their certification (and CMP requirements) on hold.
For more details, contact Member Services.
If you are retired from interpreting, RID offers a Certified: Retired status. This is a member, age 55 years or older, who is retired from interpreting work. A member in this category may not work as an interpreter. They do not have to meet the CMP requirements.
Reinstatement is for members who are not current with their membership dues. The procedure for reinstatement varies based on the amount of time the interpreter’s membership has lapsed.
CMP Cycle Option When Earning Additional Certificates
Certified interpreters earning additional generalist certificates will be given the option to begin a new cycle. If they opt to begin a new cycle, the CEUs earned in the previous cycle will not be carried into the new cycle. CEUs earned during the new cycle will serve to maintain all certificates held.
