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Amended Rates for Court Interpreters (Courts at Law and District Courts) — Fort Bend County. The operative requirements are quoted verbatim from the governing document (registered/posted 05/22/2026); the document in custody is the controlling text.
Texas > Fort Bend County > District and County Courts
STATE OF TEXAS, COUNTY OF FORT BEND ORDER SETTING AMENDED RATES FOR FORT BEND COUNTY COURT INTERPRETERS FEES PURSUANT TO TEXAS CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ART. 38.30(c) On this the 14 day of May 2026, at a regular meeting of the Commissioners Court of Fort Bend County, Texas, sitting as the governing body of Fort Bend County, upon motion of Commissioner Meyers, seconded by Commissioner Morales duly put and carried; IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, in accordance with Article 38.30(c) of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, to set the rates for Fort Bend County Court interpreters in criminal proceedings as attached herein as Exhibit "A", Amended Rates for Court Interpreters for Fort Bend County Courts at Law and District Courts, to be effective May 14, 2026. FORT BEND COUNTY [signature] By: Daniel Wong, County Judge ATTEST: [signature] Laura Richard, County Clerk [File stamp: FILED MAY 22 2026, Clerk District Court, Fort Bend Co., TX] EXHIBIT A — FORT BEND COUNTY OFFICE OF LANGUAGE ACCESS - AMENDED FEE SCHEDULE FOR COURT INTERPRETERS (Revised 03.30.2026) SPANISH. Hearings/Bench Trials, In-person (*Two-hour minimum): MASTER (Texas Government Code §157.101(d)(2)) — $100/hr., $25 for each additional 15-minute increment; BASIC (Texas Government Code §157.101) — N/A; QUALIFIED (Texas Government Code §57.002(d)) — N/A. *For in-person hearings/bench trials there will be a two-hour minimum. Hearings exceeding the two-hour minimum shall be paid at the rate shown above in 15-minute increments. These proceedings require a Master Licensed Court Interpreter at all times. Hearings/Bench Trials, Remote (One-hour minimum): MASTER — $100/hr., $25 for each additional 15-minute increment; MAGISTRATE — $100/hr., hearings exceeding the one-hour minimum shall be paid at a rate of $25 for each additional 15-minute increment; MAGISTRATE WEEKEND RATES / HOLIDAYS (New Years Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day) — $120/hr., hearings exceeding the one-hour minimum shall be paid at a rate of $30 for each additional 15-minute increment. *For remote hearings/bench trials there will be a one-hour minimum. JURY TRIALS (In-person): Half-day (4 hrs.) — $400; Full day (8 hrs., not including lunch) — $800. In-person Jury trials require a team of two (2) MASTER LICENSED COURT INTERPRETERS. Court Services Other than Hearings or Trials (Interviews, Mental Health Assessments, etc.): Specialty Court Programs - Flat rate - $70/hr. (one-hour min.). Telephonic rates (*15-min. minimum): MASTER $1.50/minute; MAGISTRATE $1.00/minute. *Telephonic hearings or Court services exceeding the 15-minute minimum shall be paid at the rate stated above in one (1) minute increments. IDENTIFIED COMMON LANGUAGES OTHER THAN SPANISH (ARABIC, CHINESE, GUJARATI, HINDI, MALAYALAM, TAGALOG, URDU, VIETNAMESE). Hearings/Bench Trials, In-person (*Two-hour minimum): MASTER (Texas Government Code) — $120/hr., $30 each additional 15-minute increment; BASIC (Texas Government Code) — $85/hr., $21.25 each additional 15-minute increment; QUALIFIED (Texas Government Code §57.002(d)) — $60/hr., $15 each additional 15-minute increment. (*) For in-person hearings/jury trials there will be a two (2) hour minimum. These proceedings require a Master Licensed Court Interpreter when applicable; Basic/Qualified interpreters will be considered upon their credentials and experience. Hearings/Bench Trials, Remote (*One-hour minimum): MASTER — $120/hr., $30 each additional 15-minute increment; BASIC — $85/hr., $21.25 each additional 15-minute increment; QUALIFIED — $60/hr., $15 each additional 15-minute increment; MAGISTRATE — $120/hr., hearings exceeding the one-hour minimum shall be paid at a rate of $30 for each additional 15-minute increment; MAGISTRATE WEEKEND RATES / HOLIDAYS (New Years Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day) — $125/hr., hearings exceeding the one-hour minimum shall be paid at a rate of $31.25 for each additional 15-minute increment. JURY TRIALS (in-person): Half-day (4 hrs.) — $480; Full day (8 hrs., not including lunch) — $960. In-Person Jury trials require a team of Master Licensed Court Interpreters (when applicable for those languages certifiable by JBCC (Judicial Branch of Certification Commission)). Court Services Other than Hearings or Trials (Interviews, Health Assessments, etc.): Telephonic rates (*15-min. minimum): MASTER $1.75/minute; BASIC $1.40/minute; QUALIFIED $1.00/minute. CANCELLATION FEES TO BE PAID BY THE OFFICE OF LANGUAGE ACCESS. Every effort will be made by the Court to provide advance notice of cancellations. Where cancellations are made with less than 24 hour-notice (excluding official County holidays and weekends), the Office of Language Access shall pay contracted interpreters at the following rates: In-Person hearings cancellations by the Court with less than 24-hour notice — $200 or two-hour minimum; Remote hearings cancellations by the Court with less than 24-hour notice — $100 or one-hour minimum; Half-day Jury trial cancellations by the Court with less than 24-hour notice — $400 or Half-day (4 hours); Full-day Jury trial cancellations by the Court with less than 24-hour notice — $800 or Full-day (8 hours) or rate of the first day scheduled. No fee shall be paid by the Courts for cancellations made at least 24 hours prior. A court interpreter is deemed advised of cancellation when a court's designated official delivers the notice of cancellation to the email address or phone number provided by the court interpreter. OVERTIME. Will be paid only when an assignment exceeds a full day (8 hrs), not including lunch or dinner periods, and are applicable to any hour or fraction thereof exceeding eight (8) hours. Overtime compensation will be in fifteen-minute increments at one and a half (1.5) times the hourly rate. ALL OTHER LANGUAGES - LANGUAGES OF LESSER DIFFUSION. Interpreter fees for less common languages are subject to flexibility depending upon market rates and other variables. The Court may negotiate in good faith to agree on a mutually acceptable interpreter service fee. The agreed upon rate shall be presented to the Court for approval. Based on current market standards, Interpreters appointed will receive a sum not to exceed $1,200 for a full day of service at the discretion of the judge presiding. This rate shall be a maximum of $150.00 per hour and shall follow the same standards provided in the fee schedule. Interpreters may be entitled to travel expenses for miles traveled to and from the Courthouse from their residence or office. Expenses shall be charged on a per-mile basis and shall apply to miles traveled between the Contract Court Interpreter's residence or office (whichever is closest) and the location where the assignment will take place. To be entitled to receive a travel reimbursement, the contract court interpreter must be on an ACTIVE assignment with Fort Bend County Courts. Travel expenses will not be paid if the court interpreter's residence or office is less than 30 miles from the court location. No mileage shall be paid for non-traveled miles. All travel, mileage, and lodging (including approved meals) expenses will be set in accordance with the rate approved by Commissioners Court and as listed in the Fort Bend County Travel Policy in effect at the time services are rendered.
STATE OF TEXAS, COUNTY OF FORT BEND ORDER SETTING AMENDED RATES FOR FORT BEND COUNTY COURT INTERPRETERS FEES PURSUANT TO TEXAS CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ART. 38.30(c) On this the 14 day of May 2026, at a regular meeting of the Commissioners Court of Fort Bend County, Texas, sitting as the governing body of Fort Bend County, upon motion of Commissioner Meyers, seconded by Commissioner Morales duly
Reviewer note: Operative provisions transcribed verbatim by vision-read of the registered scanned document (rasterized at 170 dpi and read page-by-page this session); the registered document (sha256 e024cf18b134…) is the controlling text. Two instruments in custody: the judges' adopting order of April 8, 2026 (TOPICs doc 2972) and the Commissioners Court rate order of May 14, 2026 (this registration). [TRANSCRIBED BY EYE 2026-09-21 (corpus-0920 P12): every page of the registered file (sha256 e024cf18b134..., 6 page(s), image-only scan; the OCR layer used as a typing base and corrected word by word from the page) read against the rendered file; verbatim, source typos kept, stamps/signatures bracketed; the earlier abstract replaced by the full instrument; confidence high. benchpath-tx-corpus0920-p12-2026-09-21]
Standing order of the 109th Judicial District Court for every pending or later-filed case in Andrews, Winkler and Crane Counties: any attorney or self-represented litigant who uses any form of artificial intelligence for legal research or drafting in a case must, before using AI-generated information in a court submission or proceeding, sign and submit the court's certification form stating that all language, quotations, sources, citations, arguments and legal analysis created or contributed to by generative AI were verified as accurate by a human through traditional (non-AI) legal sources, and acknowledging responsibility and potential sanctions for their or their co-counsel's failure to comply. Effective immediately; in effect until rescinded or replaced.
Standing order of the 109th Judicial District Court for every pending or later-filed case in Andrews, Winkler and Crane Counties: any attorney or self-represented litigant who uses any form of artificial intelligence for legal research or drafting in a case must, before using AI-generated information in a court submission or proceeding, sign and submit the court's certification form stating that all language, quotations, sources, citations, arguments and legal analysis created or contributed to by generative AI were verified as accurate by a human through traditional (non-AI) legal sources, and acknowledging responsibility and potential sanctions for their or their co-counsel's failure to comply. Effective immediately; in effect until rescinded or replaced.