Sign Language Interpreter Business Cards for RID Certified ASL Interpretation Professionals

Sign language interpreters are the bilingual professionals who provide communication access for Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals by interpreting between American Sign Language (ASL) and spoken English (or between other signed and spoken language pairs) — enabling Deaf individuals to fully participate in education, employment, healthcare, legal proceedings, government services, community events, and every other domain of life. Sign language interpreters work in educational settings (K-12, higher education), medical and mental health settings, legal and court settings, performing arts (theater, concerts), corporate and government settings, video relay and remote interpreting, and freelance community interpreting.

What Sign Language Interpreter Cards Include

Your Credentials and Certifications

RID (Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf): The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf is the national professional organization and certifying body for sign language interpreters in the United States. RID certifications:

• CI (Certificate of Interpretation) — RID legacy certificate; interprets from English to ASL and ASL to English in consecutive and simultaneous modes
• CT (Certificate of Transliteration) — RID legacy certificate; transliterates between English and a manually-coded form of English (MCE)
• CI and CT together — the most common certification pair for hearing interpreters; required for many positions
• NIC (National Interpreter Certification) — the current RID national certification; replaced many older certifications; requires passing Knowledge Exam + Interview/Performance exam; levels: NIC, NIC Advanced, NIC Master
• CDI (Certified Deaf Interpreter) — RID; for Deaf interpreters who work in specialized interpreting situations requiring a Deaf person's cultural and linguistic expertise; highly valuable for complex/specialized settings
• SC:L (Specialist Certificate: Legal) — RID; specialty certification for legal interpreting (court, deposition, law office)
• ED (Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment — EIPA) — CATIE Center / Boys Town National Research Hospital; the standard for K-12 educational interpreters; rated on a 1.0–5.0 scale; most school districts require EIPA 3.5+
• OTC (Oral Transliteration Certificate) — RID; for oral transliterators who work with oral Deaf individuals
• CSC (Comprehensive Skills Certificate) — RID legacy; indicates strong generalist skills
• BEI (Board for Evaluation of Interpreters) — Texas-specific interpreter certification; required to practice in Texas; levels: Basic, Level I, Level II, Level III, Advanced, Advanced Master
• NAD-RID (NAD Certification) — National Association of the Deaf; some joint NAD-RID credentials exist

Related certifications and credentials:

• EIPA score — Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment score (for K-12 educational interpreters); "EIPA 4.0" or "EIPA Advanced" indicates skill level
• CDI — Certified Deaf Interpreter (RID); if a Deaf professional
• NAOBI (National Alliance of Black Interpreters) member — professional organization
• ASBDA member (American Sign Language Teachers Association) — if also teaching ASL
• ASL teaching credentials — some interpreters teach ASL as a second language

Language pairs and additional languages:

• ASL / English (most common)
• Spanish / ASL (trilingual interpreter)
• Black ASL (BASL)
• Tactile ASL (for DeafBlind)
• Cued Speech transliteration

Your Interpretation Settings and Specialties

Educational interpreting:

• K-12 classroom interpreting
• Early childhood education
• Post-secondary (university, college) interpreting
• Vocational and trade school
• Special education and IEP meetings
• School board meetings

Medical and mental health:

• Medical appointments (primary care, specialist)
• Hospital interpreting (ER, inpatient, procedures)
• Mental health interpreting (therapy, psychiatric)
• Substance abuse treatment
• Reproductive health
• Hospice and end-of-life care

Legal:

• Court interpreting (criminal and civil)
• Deposition interpreting
• Law enforcement (police, immigration)
• Attorney-client meetings
• DMV hearings
• Administrative hearings (workers' comp, unemployment)

Government and community:

• Government agency appointments (SSA, Medicaid, housing)
• Community settings (church, civic events)
• Religious services
• Political events

Corporate and workplace:

• ADA workplace accommodations
• Employee meetings (hiring, HR, training)
• Conferences and conventions
• Corporate events

Performing arts and media:

• Theater interpreting
• Concert interpreting
• Film and TV interpreting
• News captioning / CART

Video/Remote:

• VRS (Video Relay Service) — interpreting for relay calls
• VRI (Video Remote Interpreting) — hospital, clinic, corporate
• Remote simultaneous interpretation (RSI)

Design for Sign Language Interpreters

Accessibility, Communication, Professional

Sign language interpreter card design:

• Communication and access values
• ASL and Deaf community awareness
• Professional service standard

Color palette:

• Deep blue + white: accessibility and communication
• Teal + white: inclusive communication
• Navy + soft gold: professional and trustworthy

Back of Card

1. "RID Certified | CI, CT | NIC (if) | NIC Advanced (if) | CDI (if) | SC:L Legal (if)"
2. "[Settings: Educational K-12 | Medical | Legal/Court | VRI | Performing arts | Corporate]"
3. "ASL / English | Spanish / ASL (if) | Tactile (if) | Available for VRI and on-site"
4. "[Agency / freelance] | [Regions served]"
5. "[email] | [phone / VP (videophone number)] | [website]"

Checklist

• [ ] RID certification(s): CI, CT, NIC, NIC Advanced, NIC Master, CDI, SC:L
• [ ] EIPA score (for educational interpreters)
• [ ] BEI (if Texas-based)
• [ ] RID membership (and any specialty chapters)
• [ ] Language pairs (ASL/English, Spanish/ASL, etc.)
• [ ] Practice settings (educational, medical, legal, VRI, performing arts)
• [ ] Specialties (mental health, legal, medical, Deaf-Blind/tactile)
• [ ] VRI / remote availability
• [ ] VP (videophone number) if working with Deaf clients who use VP
• [ ] Agency affiliation or "Freelance interpreter"
• [ ] Regions or states served