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A court interpreter free of charge in the mandated case types - criminal, traffic, juvenile delinquency and dependency, child support (AB1058), mental health and domestic violence cases - and, as expanded, in all family law, elder abuse, civil harassment and small claims cases, unlawful detainer cases, termination of parental rights cases and cases involving custody or visitation of children, and conservatorship and guardianship cases; a Spanish interpreter from the court staff requested at the time of the hearing in mandated case types; the Interpreter Request Form submitted in person at the Clerk's office in advance, a minimum of two business days for Spanish and five business days for all other languages; a non-Spanish interpreter canceled no less than (2) court days in advance on the Request to Cancel an Interpreter Form submitted by email to kerninterpreters@kern.courts.ca.gov, an attorney or party in civil matters possibly held financially responsible for the fees of an interpreter requested who appears but is not used; and the Language Access Complaint Form - IN006, by email or mail to the Interpreter Services Division.
California > Fifth Appellate District > Kern County > Superior Court of California, County of Kern
About the Interpreter Services Division The Interpreter Services Division ensures that a person with limited English proficiency is provided a court interpreter free of charge in all mandated case types. These mandated areas include: Criminal Traffic Juvenile Delinquency Juvenile Dependency Child Support (AB1058) Mental Health Domestic Violence Cases Should litigants in mandated case types require the services of a Spanish interpreter, one from the court staff may be requested at the time of the hearing. If a litigant needs an interpreter in another language for court proceedings in a mandated case type, they should either: (1) request an interpreter five (5) days prior to their court date; or (2) inform their attorney or the District Attorney so the attorney may submit a timely request for an interpreter. Litigants may also request an interpreter when they appear in court. However, if an interpreter is not available, the Court may need to continue the matter. In addition, the Kern County Superior Court has recently expanded interpreter services to civil case types. We now provide a court interpreter free of charge as follows: All Family Law Cases All Elder Abuse Cases All Civil Harassment Cases Unlawful Detainer Cases Termination of Parental Rights Cases, and cases that involve custody or visitation of children Conservatorship and Guardianship Cases All Small Claim Cases Please note: requests made in advance will assist in scheduling and will improve our ability to timely provide an interpreter and will reduce court continuances. Need an Interpreter Court interpreters are experts in language and are assigned to accurately interpret court proceedings. They are not parties to a case, have no interest in any case, and remain completely neutral in all matters. A court interpreter works for the court and does not represent any party. A court interpreter's sole responsibility is to bridge the communication barrier in order to provide limited English proficient users with access to Justice. If you need an interpreter, please complete the Interpreter Request Form and submit the form in person at the Clerk's office. All requests must be made in advance with as much notice as possible, and prior to the hearing (a minimum of two business days for Spanish and five business days for all other languages). Cancel an Interpreter If a request for a non-Spanish language interpreter has been made, the Interpreter Services Division must be notified if the scheduled hearing’s time and/or date are changed or canceled, or if the individual requiring the interpreter will not be present. Notification must be made no less than (2) court days in advance to avoid late-cancellation situations. In civil matters, if an interpreter is requested and appears but is not used, the attorney or party may be held financially responsible for all interpreter fees. To cancel an interpreter, complete the online Request to Cancel an Interpreter Form (pdf) and submit via email to: kerninterpreters@kern.courts.ca.gov Language Access Complaint Process If you believe you have not been provided with reasonable or professional language access, please complete the Language Access Complaint Form - IN006 via email or by mail to the Interpreter Services Division at the address listed below. The Court will respond within 30 days upon receipt of your complaint. Please note that if your complaint does not fall within Language Access Services jurisdiction, it will be forwarded to the appropriate department/agency for investigation. Interpreter Services Division, Language Access Services 1415 Truxtun Ave Bakersfield, CA 93301 661-610-6000 Email Address: kerninterpreters@kern.courts.ca.gov Tribunal Superior de California, Condado de Kern desean que todos los residentes de California, incluidos los que no hablan bien el ingles, tengan acceso a los juzgados. Si usted tiene una queja sobre los servicios de acceso al idioma en un juzgado local, o si desea compartir sugerencias y observaciones acerca de los servicios de acceso al idioma, conteste y devuelva este formulario de queja. El Tribunal responderá dentro de los 60 días posteriores a la recepción de su queja. Tenga en cuenta que si su queja no cae dentro de la jurisdicción de Language Access Services, se enviará al departamento/agencia correspondiente para su investigación. Related Links Limited English Proficiency Plan California Court Interpreter Complaint Procedure Judicial Councils Court Interpreter Program Judicial Councils Language Access Information Court Interpreters Forms Claim For Payment - Court Interpreters Daily Activity Log Electronic Funds Transfer Authorization Language Access Complaint Form W9 Payee Data Record Interpreter FAQs Click on the topics/questions below for more information. What is a certified interpreter? A certified interpreter is an individual who has passed the Court Interpreter Certification Examination or the required examination for American Sign Language and fulfills the Judicial Council requirements. The certified interpreter must pass a written and oral exam in English and the other language for which they are being certified. What is a registered interpreter? Interpreters of spoken languages for which there is no state certifying examination are required to pass the English Fluency Examination and fulfill the corresponding Judicial Council requirements in order to become registered interpreters of a non-designated certified language. What can I expect from an interpreter? Interpreters have an important job in the courtroom. They interpret court proceedings for parties with limited English skills or for those who are deaf or hard of hearing. While performing his or her duties, the court interpreter: will need to hear you speak in your native language, and may ask you questions such as where you are from or if you have ever used an interpreter before. will assist you in communicating with persons in the courtroom, including your lawyer, court staff and the judge. will interpret everything you say into English. will interpret everything said in court into your native language. will interpret everything that is said, without adding, omitting, or changing anything. is bound by the rules of confidentiality and will not repeat to anyone what you say privately to your lawyer. cannot give you legal advice. cannot talk to you about your case. cannot explain what certain words or terms mean. cannot answer questions about what will happen in court. cannot have private conversations with you, your family or friends. What is the difference between interpretation versus translation? Interpretation is the process by which oral communication is provided from one language to another. The original is either spoken or signed language, and the interpretation is delivered in another spoken language or in a signed language. Translation is the process by which written text is converted from one language into another. The original is in written form, and the translation into the other language is also produced in written form. In both interpretation and translation, the goal is for the tone, style, and content of the original to be maintained in the other language. Sight translation is a form of interpretation in which the content of a written text in one language is given orally (on sight) into another language. NOTE: Interpretation and translation, while both language-related, are not identical disciplines. Credentialing is different for each, with both requiring a specific knowledge, training and practice. Who pays for the interpreter in a non-court event or court ordered service? When the District Attorney, Public Defender or defense counsel need the services of an interpreter away from the courthouse, they should make arrangements to contact, contract, and pay the interpreter. Please refer to "Search for an Interpreter" How do I request an interpreter for my hearing? To obtain a court provided interpreter, the party or the party's attorney may complete and submit the Interpreter Request Form the form in person at the clerks' office. All requests must be made in advance with as much notice as possible, and prior to the hearing date in order to secure an interpreter (a minimum of two-business day notice for Spanish and five (5) business days for all other languages). How do I cancel an Interpreter? To cancel a non-Spanish language interpreter, complete the online Request to Cancel an Interpreter Form (pdf) and submit via email to: kerninterpreters@kern.courts.ca.gov Notification must be made no less than (2) court days in advance to avoid late-cancellation situations. In civil matters, if an interpreter is requested and appears but is not used, the attorney or party may be held financially responsible for all interpreter fees.
About the Interpreter Services Division The Interpreter Services Division ensures that a person with limited English proficiency is provided a court interpreter free of charge in all mandated case types. These mandated areas include: Criminal Traffic Juvenile Delinquency Juvenile Dependency Child Support (AB1058) Mental Health Domestic Violence Cases Should litigants in mandated case types require
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-10-14 (California T4 Kern build 2026-10-14) from BenchPath custody ca/t4/ca-kern/pages/divisions__interpreter-services.html (the page as fetched 2026-10-14; 645497 bytes, sha256 a6a5782312e0ce621cb6b2bdf1cf89435c6c5f173667c4385bf672004690c96a) with the Orange HTML composer (compose-site.py, the Judicial Council theme's area): the article's content sections (section.jcc-section), news bodies (div.jcc-news-full) and title banners (div.jcc-hero; the first banner's heading, the page title, is chrome) - the site header, menus, breadcrumb and footer lie outside them; each block starts a line and each table cell is set on its own line; chrome removed: none (the page prints no title banner; the card's title is the first part of the page's <title>); proof (the multiset of non-space characters equals the containers' text less chrome and scripts) passes. Review note: The page's Spanish paragraph gives 60 days for a response to a language access complaint where its English paragraph gives 30. The review task asks the court which period applies.
6 verbatim requirements on divisional requirements in GIUSEPPINA MIRANDA's division.
4 verbatim requirements on divisional requirements in HILARY CREARY's division.