That brings up the question of translator licensing or certification. There is a subtle difference between licensing and certification: while the former is kind of mandatory that gives permission to practice a profession, the latter is more voluntary. While there is no legal requirement for licensing or certification at least in the US some attempts have been made in forming association or self regulatory bodies aimed at streamlining or assessing translators’ quality. The American Translators Association (ATA) offers certification in 23 language combinations involving from and into English. You have to become a member of ATA first and meet eligibility requirements before you can take up the 3 hours certification examination.

Other than ATA there are private organizations like the Global Translation Institute, an Oregon, US based company that offers Certified Translation Professional program for 7 different language pairs. The candidates are tested through an online examination. Similarly there are also translators associations in countries like UK, Italy, France, Argentina and Spain that offer some kind of certification / membership programs.

In many countries like Argentina, UK etc. legal translation requires translators to have license. An institution called Colegio de Traductores Públicos de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires issues licenses to persons who have undergone 4 year language course at the university and want to become court translators in Argentina.

One of the obvious benefits that these certifications offer to a translator is that it increases his/her prospects of being hired by a client by increasing the comfort level of the client in hiring the translator knowing that the translator possesses some level of knowledge of translating in the language combination. In addition as an added incentive, some of the certifying organizations also link you up with translation agencies or clients who have registered with them.

There is also flip side to licensing or mandatory certification of translators: it increases the overall cost of translation and wastes the translators’ time in preparing and appearing for tests. Many people question the rationale behind mandatory licensing of translators and feel it restricts their freedom. They are against some bureaucrats deciding on whether they can practice their profession or not.  Also licensing and certifications offer no guarantee that a given translation will be of high quality; there are excellent uncertified translators who through years of experience offer high quality translations while there are also poor certified translators. Hence the entire question of licensing or mandatory certification of translators is a debatable issue.

As part of a translation service, you have access to projects that fit your skills.  If you want to be one of the most qualified translators, you will want to be certified as a translator.  A translator certification shows that a translator cares about their craft and that they have taken the time to learn and improve, with the ultimate result being a certificate that can be listed on a resume.

A translator should check with his country as to whether or not he or she is required to be certified to be a translator.  In the United States, certification is not necessary.  However, for the reasons mentioned, proof of certification is recommended by many people, especially as you first start out as a translator alone or working with a translation service.  After all, you will be competing for business with other translators.

One noted organization to receive a certification that is highly respected and coveted is from the American Translators Association or ATA.  They offer the ATA Certified Translator certification or CT.  There are core languages that a certification program will focus on in the United States.    For example, the ATA CT certification provides the ability to be certified in major language pairs.  These include French to English, Japanese to English, Spanish to English, Arabic to English and six other language pairs.  They also offer English to Russian, English to Chinese, English to German, English to French and 10 other language pairs.  The actual test to become certified is taken at one of the locations determined by ATA.

In addition to gaining a certification from ATA, there are other places where you can get certified.  Many brick and mortar schools offer certification.  In addition, you can get certified in translation from one of the many online schools that offer the program.

The advantage of an online school is that you can take the classes for your certification online, in the comfort of your home or wherever you are comfortable.  All you need is a desktop or a laptop.  In addition, you do not need to visit a physical location to take the exam for certification.  You simply take your test online.

Professional human translation offers an exciting and respected course of work for individuals.  A translator certification adds to that respect.