If you have any questions about CCHI and our programs that are not addressed at this website, please contact us:
- about initial or renewal applications: apply@cchicertification.org
- about testing and exams: info@cchicertification.org
- about CEAP and advertising: admin@cchicertification.org
The Core Certification Healthcare Interpreter™ (CoreCHI™) is a national certification that measures the core professional knowledge of the medical interpreter of any language, including such vital healthcare concepts as safety protocols, universal precautions, and HIPAA. The CoreCHI™ examination is a computer-based, 100-question, multiple-choice examination in English that covers the basics of healthcare interpreting. It tests the interpreter’s critical thinking, ethical decision-making, and cultural responsiveness skills needed to perform their duties in any healthcare setting. It is the minimum qualification for any interpreter in health care. Without the CoreCHI™ certification, a person is simply a bilingual whose knowledge and skills have not been verified.
The CoreCHI-Performance™ (CoreCHI-P™) certification is a national performance credential available to interpreters of all languages. This credential requires passing of two exams: the CoreCHI knowledge exam and the monolingual ETOE™ (English-to-English) performance exam which assesses cognitive interpreting skills. See a free Practice Exam below to learn more about this exam.
The Certified Healthcare Interpreter™ (CHI™) certification is a national bilingual performance certification. The CHI™ examination is an oral performance exam that includes a number of vignettes testing the interpreter’s skills and abilities in consecutive and simultaneous interpreting, sight translation and translation. Testing the simultaneous interpreting skills is especially important because it is used in emergency care, mental health settings, and emotionally charged situations. Currently, the CHI™ examination is available in Arabic, Mandarin and Spanish.
CCHI’s National Healthcare Interpreter Registry (https://cchi.learningbuilder.com) allows any healthcare administrator, employer or contractor of interpreters to: verify the person’s certification status through a name search, and search for certified interpreters by city, state, or language.
CCHI administers the Continuing Education Accreditation Program (CEAP) that assesses, analyzes and accredits continuing education (CE) programs for healthcare interpreters. The objective of CEAP is to improve the availability and quality of continuing education courses or programs for healthcare interpreters. www.ceapcchi.org
Our Privacy Policy is intended to describe to you how and what data we collect, and how and why we use your personal data. It also describes options we provide for you to access, update or otherwise take control of your personal data that we process. By visiting www.cchicertification.org, www.ceapcchi.org, and http://cchiinterpreters.org, (together the "Websites"), you acknowledge that you have read and understood the processes and policies referred to in this Privacy Policy - click here.
The Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters administers a national, valid, credible, vendor-neutral certification program for all healthcare interpreters – and the public good.
CCHI is a 501(c)(6) organization whose mission is to develop and administer a comprehensive certification program for healthcare interpreters, bring together representatives from national and regional non-profit interpreting associations, language companies, community-based organizations, educational institutions, hospitals, health systems, healthcare providers, and advocates for individuals with LEP. CCHI is governed by volunteer Commissioners who represent various stakeholders of the healthcare interpreting industry.
To login to your CCHI Account or apply for certification, go to our application platform at https://cchi.learningbuilder.com/account/login.
Review CCHI Candidate's Examination Handbook - click here.
The CoreCHI exams are delivered year around and can be scheduled for any date.
The CHI-Arabic, Mandarin and Spanish exams are administered during specific testing windows at test centers in the U.S.
CHI testing windows:
Summer 2024: July 12 - Aug 10 Fall 2024: Oct 10 - Nov 9
The ETOE exam is administered during specific testing windows at test centers in the U.S.
ETOE Testing windows:
Summer 2024: June 6 - 29 Fall 2024: Sep 5-28
To schedule your exam, you need to have received the Notice to Schedule email from CCHI, then you can go to our testing vendor Scheduling webpage at (https://www.prometric.com/CCHI).
Coming soon: Exercise in Language Proficiency Evaluation - the online PB training for CoreCHI-P certification renewal. This free course will be available soon.
This website offers online training modules for interpreters who seek certification, for our certificants, and volunteers.
To enroll in any online module (e.g. the CoreCHI™ Practice Examination or a CE Webinar ), click on its title. If you don't have an account yet, you will be prompted to create one. After you create an account, you will be ready to log in and enroll. Please make sure to save the username and password you create for this account, because it is different from your CCHI Profile account, where your applications are stored. To reset your password, contact us at info@cchicertification.org.
To access t he CoreCHI™ Practice Examination, for example , click on its title. The fee is $30.
The ETOE™ and CHI™ Practice Examinations are free, just enter the enrollment key: Study4u
To download the CCHI Certification Renewal Handbook - click here.
To download the CCHI's Candidate Examination Handbook - click here.
To download the CoreCHI™ Exam Outline - click here.
To download the CHI™ Exam Outline - click here.
To download the ETOE™ Exam Outline - click here.
CCHI Privacy Policy - click here.
CCHI Disciplinary Policy - click here.
CCHI Appeals Policy - click here.
SME Application (Microsoft Word download) - click here
The CoreCHI™ Practice Examination consists of 30 multiple-choice questions (keep in mind that CCHI has only 1 version of this Practice Exam). The questions are divided into the same domains that appear on the actual CoreCHI™ certification examination.
The examination will be scored and feedback is provided. Correct answers and explanations of both correct and incorrect answers will also be provided. However, no diagnostic information on performance to indicate readiness is offered.
Your score on the practice exam is NOT predictive of your score on the certification exam. It is not required to take this practice exam before taking the actual exam.
Who should take this exam:
Any healthcare interpreter is allowed to take this exam. The CoreCHI™ Practice Examination is appropriate for those who would like to practice the types of questions that will appear on the CoreCHI™ certification examination.
The intent of this practice examination is to give you experience with a computer-based test delivery system, and to provide information regarding the format of the questions and the type of content that you can expect to see on the CoreCHI™ certification examination.
The ETOE™ Practice Examination is meant to acquaint candidates who plan to take the ETOE™ oral performance exam with the exam's structure and difficulty level. This is a self-assessment tool, and no review or scoring will be provided by CCHI.
The intent of this practice exam is to give you experience with a computer-based test delivery system, and to provide information regarding the type of content that you can expect to have on the ETOE™ certification examination. The user interface of the actual exam is different than this practice exam, however, we provide screenshots of the actual exam in the Logistics section of this module.
You may access this practice exam at any time after you create an account on this site (please create only 1 account, if you have troubles login in, contact us at info@cchicertification.org). After you login, click on the title of this practice exam to enroll, and enter the code is Study4u.
Who should take this exam:
Any healthcare interpreter is allowed to take this exam. The ETOE™ Practice Examination is appropriate for those who would like to practice the types of activities that will appear on the ETOE™ certification examination. It is not required to take this practice exam before taking the actual exam. Keep in mind that no diagnostic information on performance to indicate readiness is offered.
The CHI™-Spanish Practice Examination is meant to acquaint candidates who plan to take the CHI™-Spanish oral performance exam with the exam's structure and difficulty level. This is a self-assessment tool, and no review or scoring is provided by CCHI.
The intent of this practice exam is to give you experience with a computer-based test delivery system, and to provide information regarding the type of content that you can expect to have on the CHI™ certification examination. The user interface of the actual exam is different than this practice exam, however, we provide screenshots of the actual exam in the Logistics section of this module.
You may access this practice exam at any time after you create an account on this site (please create only 1 account, if you have troubles logging in, contact us at info@cchicertification.org). After you login, click on the title of this practice exam to enroll, and enter the code is Study4u.
Who should take this exam:
Any healthcare interpreter with Spanish as their working language is allowed to take this exam. It is not required to take this practice exam before taking the actual exam. Keep in mind that no diagnostic information on performance to indicate readiness is offered.
The CHI™-Mandarin Practice Examination is meant to acquaint candidates who plan to take the CHI™-Mandarin oral performance exam with the exam's structure and difficulty level. This is a self-assessment tool, and no review or scoring will be provided by CCHI.
The intent of this practice exam is to give you experience with a computer-based test delivery system, and to provide information regarding the type of content that you can expect to have on the CHI™ certification examination. The user interface of the actual exam is different than this practice exam, however, we provide screenshots of the actual exam in the Logistics section of this module.
You may access this practice exam at any time after you create an account on this site (please create only 1 account, if you have troubles login in, contact us at info@cchicertification.org). After you login, click on the title of this practice exam to enroll, and enter the code is Study4u.
Who should take this exam:
Any healthcare interpreter with Mandarin as their working language is allowed to take this exam. The CHI™-Mandarin Practice Examination is appropriate for those who would like to practice the types of questions that will appear on the CHI™-Mandarin certification examination. It is not required to take this practice exam before taking the actual exam.
The CHI™-Arabic Practice Examination is meant to acquaint candidates who plan to take the CHI™-Arabic oral performance exam with the exam's structure and difficulty level. This is a self-assessment tool, and no review or scoring will be provided by CCHI.
After you login, click on the title of this practice exam to enroll, and enter this enrollment key: Study4u
The intent of this practice exam is to give you experience with a computer-based test delivery system, and to provide information regarding the type of content that you can expect to have on the CHI™ certification examination. The user interface of the actual exam is different than this practice exam, however, we provide screenshots of the actual exam in the Logistics section of this module.
You may access this practice exam at any time after you create an account on this site (please create only 1 account, if you have troubles login in, contact us at info@cchicertification.org).
Who should take this exam:
Any healthcare interpreter with Arabic as their working language is allowed to take this exam. The CHI™-Arabic Practice Examination is appropriate for those who would like to practice the types of questions that will appear on the CHI™-Arabic certification examination. It is not required to take this practice exam before taking the actual exam.
This online, self-paced course covers the following topics: the place of clinical research in society; past harms in research and how they have shaped a cycle of mistrust among marginalized communities; regulatory milestones that define modern ethical principles in research; elements of the informed consent process; common research study types, a description of points in a typical research study where interpreters may be asked to assist, and common research terminology. In this course, you will be asked some demographic and subject matter knowledge questions. By enrolling in this course, you give permission to CCHI and Boston University School of Medicine to use the collected information in aggregate format (i.e., your personal identifiable information will be removed from analysis) to help creators of the course evaluate its effectiveness and reach.
This course is offered free-of-charge, courtesy of Boston University School of Medicine and Boston Medical Center. To enroll, click on the title and enter the code: Study4u.
CE Accreditations:
2 general CE hours by CCHI/CEAP, ID #10338
0.175 CEUs by IMIA/NBCMI, IDs #24-1002 and 24-1003
The certificate appears in your account and is also emailed to you as soon as these requirements are met.
This practice session took place during CCHI’s CoreCHI-P Credential Launch Summit on February 11, 2023. The presenters are CCHI Commissioners E. Zoe Schutzman, M.A., NY CCI, CHI-Spanish, and Andrea Henry, CHI-Spanish. They guide the practice in four cognitive activities that are included on the ETOE™ (English-to-English) Interpreting exam: shadowing, listening comprehension, memory capacity, and paraphrasing.
This general CE course is FREE. To access, login to your account on this website, click on the title to enroll, and enter the code CoreCHIP2023.
The course is in English. It is accredited for 1.25 PB* CE hours in the on-demand online modality.
*PB - performance-based continuing education course
Good short-term memory is one of the prerequisites to successful interpreting in general, and consecutive mode in particular. The presenter will demonstrate ways to improve short-term memory.
The course is delivered in English. It is accredited for 2 PB* CE hours in the on-demand online modality, CEAP ID #09304 and is intended for intermediate- and advanced-level interpreters who have experience interpreting in various healthcare settings.
The cost is $15.
*PB - performance-based continuing education course
The course focuses on how simultaneous interpreting in healthcare settings is different than in other settings (conference, legal, educational) and requires different approaches to being successful.
The course is delivered in English. It is accredited for 2 PB* CE hours, CEAP ID #08883 and is intended for intermediate- and advanced-level interpreters who have experience interpreting in various healthcare settings.
The cost is $15. To access, login to your account and click on the title to enroll.
*PB - performance-based continuing education course
This online course was originally presented as a webinar by Margarita Bekker, CoreCHI™, CCHI Commissioner and Lead Russian Interpreter at Stanford University Medical Center, on August 13, 2016. The course is accredited by CEAP/CCHI for 1.5 CE hours in performance-based (PB) topics.
This course focuses on identifying elements of equivalency constituting accurate sight translation of a healthcare document and corresponding interpreting sub-skills needed to master this mode.
To enroll in this course, click on the course name and login to your account. (If you don't have one yet, create one.) T hen click on the course name again and follow enrollment/payment instructions. The cost is $15.
The content is courtesy of Natalya Mytareva and Margarita Bekker, its authors.
This online course for Spanish interpreters was originally presented as a webinar by Johanna Parker, M.A., CHI™-Spanish, CMI, on September 24, 2016. The course is accredited by CEAP/CCHI for 1.75 CE hours in performance-based (PB) topics.
The presenter discusses when it is appropriate to sight translate intake forms, what challenges intake forms present, the value of sight translating these forms to build skills, and how to prepare for this task, using MRI intake forms as an example.
The content is courtesy of Johanna Parker, its author and presenter.
This online course for Mandarin interpreters was originally presented as a webinar by Carmen Lee, B.A., on October 28, 2016. The course is accredited by CEAP/CCHI for 1.75 CE hours in performance-based (PB) topics.
The presenter discusses when it is appropriate to sight translate intake forms, what challenges MRI intake forms present and how to prepare for this task.
The webinar content is courtesy of Carmen Lee, its author and presenter.
This online course for Arabic interpreters was originally presented as a live webinar by Mutaz (Matt) Al Mudaris, CHI™-Arabic, on November 27, 2017. Mutaz Al Mudaris, also known as Matt, is a nationally certified interpreter (CHI™-Arabic) and has been working at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) in the language, cultural and educational support since 2012.The course is accredited by CEAP/CCHI for 2 CE hours in performance-based (PB) topics.
The presenter discusses how Arabic interpreters can effectively navigate the sea of Spoken Arabic variants when interpreting in healthcare settings.
The content is courtesy of Mutaz (Matt) Al Mudaris, its author and presenter.
This online course for interpreters of any language was originally presented as a webinar by Maria Carla Faccini, CHI™-Spanish, and Dr. Adrienne D. Mishkin, on December 7, 2016. The course is accredited by CEAP/CCHI for 1.5 general CE hours.
The presenters discuss the provider’s thought process and some of the techniques used to interview patients and strategies that the interpreter can use to overcome challenges typical for this appointment type.
To enroll in this course, click on the course name and create an account (if you already have one on this site, just login). Then click on the course name again and, below the course description, pay the enrollment fee.
The webinar content is courtesy of Maria Carla Faccini and Dr. Adrienne D. Mishkin, its authors and presenters.
This is a panel discussion, held during CCHI’s CoreCHI-P Credential Launch Summit on February 11, 2023, moderated by Mateo Rutherford, M.A., CHI™-Spanish, CCHI Chair. The panelists are managers of languages services at various health systems across the U.S.: Valerie Huang M.A., CHI™-Mandarin; Idolly Oliva, M.B.A.; and Alegna Zavatti, CHI™-Spanish. They discuss the impact of the new performance-level certification credential on the healthcare interpreter profession and language access arena, commenting on implications for staff interpreters, vendors, and language services operations.
The sign language interpretation for this conversation is sponsored by the State of New Mexico Commission for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons.
The course is in English. It is accredited for 1 general CE hour in the on-demand online modality.
This is the recording of the opening and keynote address of CCHI’s CoreCHI-P Credential Launch Summit on February 11, 2023. In her keynote, CCHI Commissioner Johanna Parker shares her vision of where our profession is headed in these times of great change, and the role that the CoreCHI-Performance credential plays in advancing our profession and the services provided to limited English proficient individuals in our communities.
The course is in English. It is accredited for 1 general CE hour in the on-demand online modality.
This online course is based on the recording of a live webinar with the same title, broadcast on July 16, 2019. It is accredited by CEAP/CCHI for 1.75 general CE hours (CEAP ID # 09055) and is intended for interpreters of all levels and languages. The course addresses the issues of professionalism, leadership, professional engagement and development.
This CE course is offered free of charge . First, login to your account, then click on the title to enroll, and enter the code is ThankU2022.
Presenters:
Shiva Bidar-Sielaff, M.A., CHI™-Spanish, a founding CCHI Commissioner and the Chief Diversity Officer at UW Health (WI).
Karin Ruschke, M.A., a founding CCHI Commissioner and President of International Language Services, Inc. (IL)
Mara Youdelman, J.D., a founding CCHI Commissioner, CCHI’s first Chair, and Managing Attorney of the National Health Law Program’s Washington D.C. offices.
