Sign Language Interpreter Business Cards for RID Certified and CDI Professionals

Sign language interpreters facilitate communication between Deaf, DeafBlind, and hard-of-hearing individuals and the hearing world — providing access to education, healthcare, legal proceedings, employment, government services, community events, and everyday communication through skilled American Sign Language (ASL) or other signed language interpretation. Sign language interpreting is a regulated profession with national certification standards, ethical guidelines, and specialty areas.

What Sign Language Interpreter Cards Include

Your Credentials and Certifications

RID (Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf) Certifications:

• NIC (National Interpreter Certification) — RID; the current primary RID certification (replaced CI and CT as the unified credential); requires passing a written test and performance test; three tiers: NIC, NIC Advanced, NIC Master
• NIC Advanced — higher performance test score than NIC
• NIC Master — highest performance score tier
• CI (Certificate of Interpretation) — legacy RID certification; no longer available to new applicants but still held by many interpreters
• CT (Certificate of Transliteration) — legacy RID certification; no longer available to new applicants
• CDI (Certified Deaf Interpreter) — RID certification specifically for Deaf individuals who interpret; CDIs are bilingual (ASL + English or another language) and bring their lived experience as Deaf people to the interpreting process; work alongside hearing interpreters in specialized settings

Educational credentials:

• EIPA (Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment) — for K-12 educational interpreters; scored 1–5; many states require minimum EIPA scores for educational settings; "EIPA [score]" is informative on the card
• QASAP (Quality Assurance Screening Assessment for Interpreters Serving the Deaf) — some state programs
• State licensure — many states (Texas, Missouri, others) license sign language interpreters; list your state license number

Additional credentials:

• RID member — Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf
• NAD member (National Association of the Deaf) — Deaf-led advocacy and membership organization
• NCIEC (National Consortium of Interpreter Education Centers) — specialty training programs
• TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) — for interpreters who also teach
• LaRID (Licensed Associate of RID) — provisional membership for interpreters working toward certification

Your Interpreting Settings and Specialties

Community interpreting:

• Community settings (churches, social services, appointments)
• Government services (SSA, DMV, USCIS/immigration)
• Religious and worship interpreting

Medical / healthcare interpreting:

• Hospital interpreting (ER, ICU, surgery, OB/GYN)
• Clinic and physician appointments
• Mental health interpreting (especially sensitive; CDI often preferred)
• Rehabilitation and therapy
• Hospice and end-of-life conversations
• Telehealth interpreting

Legal / court interpreting:

• Courtroom interpreting
• Attorney-client meetings
• Police interviews and interrogations
• Deposition interpreting
• Administrative hearings (immigration, SSA, workers' comp)
• Correctional settings

Educational interpreting:

• K-12 classroom interpreting (EIPA required in most states)
• Post-secondary / college interpreting
• Vocational training interpreting

Employment interpreting:

• Workplace interpreting
• Job interviews
• Staff meetings and trainings
• Human resources (ADA accommodations)

Conference and event interpreting:

• Platform interpreting (large stage events)
• Conference and convention interpreting
• Performing arts interpreting
• Television and streaming media

Mental health interpreting:

• Psychiatric evaluations
• Mental health treatment sessions
• Crisis intervention (especially challenging; CDI often requested)

DeafBlind interpreting:

• Tactile ASL (hand-under-hand)
• ProTactile (PT) method
• Close vision interpreting
• SSP (Support Service Provider) combined role

Your Language Pairs and Modalities

• ASL (American Sign Language) — primary
• PSE (Pidgin Signed English) — contact signing
• SEE (Signing Exact English) — educational settings
• Tactile ASL — DeafBlind
• Black ASL — recognized variant with Deaf African American community
• LSM / LSE — Mexican Sign Language / Spanish Sign Language (bilingual interpreters)

Design for Interpreters

Accessible, Inclusive, Professional

Interpreter card design:

• Professional accessibility services
• Inclusive, community-connected aesthetic
• Clean and legible (accessibility begins with the card itself)

Color palette:

• Deep teal + white: accessibility and communication
• Royal blue + white: professional interpreting services
• Warm purple + white: communication and language

Back of Card

1. "Sign Language Interpreter | NIC / NIC Advanced / NIC Master | CDI (if) | RID"
2. "EIPA [score] (if educational) | State License [#] (if required)"
3. "Medical | Legal | Educational | Mental health | Conference | DeafBlind (ProTactile)"
4. "ASL | Tactile ASL | PSE | Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) | On-site | Emergency availability"
5. "Scheduling: [phone/text] | [email] | [agency affiliation or independent] | [region]"

Checklist

• [ ] NIC / NIC Advanced / NIC Master (RID)
• [ ] CI+CT (legacy — if held)
• [ ] CDI (Certified Deaf Interpreter — if applicable)
• [ ] EIPA score (educational settings)
• [ ] State interpreting license (if applicable)
• [ ] RID membership
• [ ] Specialty settings (medical, legal, educational, mental health, conference, DeafBlind)
• [ ] VRI capability (Video Remote Interpreting)
• [ ] On-site and/or VRI
• [ ] Emergency / on-call availability
• [ ] Agency affiliation or independent
• [ ] Language pairs (ASL + English; tactile ASL for DeafBlind)
• [ ] Contact: phone AND text (Deaf community often texts)