Iowa Ct. R. 47.2

47.2(1) Qualifications.

a. Minimum age. A court interpreter must be at least 21 years old.

b. Education. A court interpreter must have completed at least the equivalent of two years or

48 credit hours of college courses or must have completed the requirements in rule 47.4 or 47.5 to

qualify for the Iowa roster of court interpreters.

c. Approval of state court administration.

(1) Court interpreter application form. A court interpreter must complete an application form,

developed by state court administration, on which the interpreter provides information about the

interpreter’s education, experience, prior misconduct, and references to assist the court in

determining the interpreter’s qualifications for court interpreting.

(2) Criminal records search. A criminal records search will be completed by state court

administration or a designee of state court administration at the time the application to be a court

interpreter is filed with state court administration. The criminal record search may be waived for

an interpreter who has had a criminal records search completed by state court administration or a

designee of state court administration within six months of the filing date of the application.

(3) No prior disqualifying misconduct. State court administration will review the applicant’s

application and criminal background check for possible disqualifying misconduct as identified in

rule 47.2(1)(c)(3). When reviewing possible disqualifying misconduct, state court administration

will weigh any mitigating or aggravating factors identified in rule 47.10(6) and the applicant’s

candor in the application process. State court administration may determine whether the

misconduct disqualifies the applicant from being a court interpreter. Possible disqualifying

misconduct includes:

1. A felony or any lesser crime of dishonesty or moral turpitude for which the applicant was

convicted in any jurisdiction. An offense is a felony if it was classified as a felony in the

jurisdiction where the conviction was entered at the time of the conviction.

2. Ethical misconduct that resulted in the bar or suspension of the interpreter from interpreting

in any jurisdiction.

d. Oath or affirmation. At the start of a court proceeding or a deposition in which an

interpreter is present to facilitate communication with an LEP participant, the judicial officer

presiding at the court proceeding or an attorney involved in taking the deposition must ask the

interpreter on the record to swear or affirm that the interpreter has the knowledge and skills to

interpret completely and accurately in a legal proceeding, understands and will abide by the Code

of Professional Conduct for Court Interpreters and Translators in Chapter 48 of the Iowa Court

Rules, and will interpret in court to the best of the interpreter’s ability.

e. Sign language interpreter qualifications. In addition to meeting the minimum qualifications

in rules 47.2(1)(a) through (d), a sign language interpreter must be licensed by the Iowa Board of

Sign Language Interpreters and Transliterators pursuant to Iowa Code chapter 154E, except as

allowed under Iowa Code section 154E.4, and must meet the qualifications to be at least a Class

B interpreter in rule 47.5(2).

47.2(2) Waiver of minimum qualifications for oral language court interpreters.

a. Waiver only in extraordinary circumstances. A court may waive minimum qualifications for

an oral language court interpreter only in extraordinary circumstances.

(1) For court proceedings expected to last approximately 30 minutes or less, extraordinary

circumstances exist when there is no reasonably available interpreter to provide in-person

services and when there is no qualified interpreter available through a remote audio or video

interpreter service consistent with rule 47.3(7).

(2) For court proceedings expected to last more than approximately 30 minutes, extraordinary

circumstances exist when there is no reasonably available interpreter to provide in-person

services. In this circumstance, the court may waive the minimum requirements in rules 47.2(1)(a)

through (c) subject to the following limitations:

1. If waiving the minimum age requirement in rule 47.2(1)(a), the court may approve an

interpreter who is not less than 18 years old.

2. If waiving the minimum education requirement of rule 47.2(1)(b), the court may approve an

interpreter who has at least a high school diploma or its equivalent.

b. Before waiving minimum qualifications. Before waiving minimum qualifications, the court

should reschedule a court proceeding if it is likely that the additional time will allow court

personnel to obtain the services of an interpreter who meets at least the minimum qualifications

and the delay will not result in a failure to meet a statutory or constitutional deadline for

conducting the court proceeding.

c. Waiver of interpreter qualifications on the record. Whenever the court waives one or more

of the qualifications under rule 47.2(1), the court must explain the reasons for the waiver on the

record.