Customer Policy

• Selection of Interpreters
• Interpreting Teams
• Travel Time
• Cancellations
• Contracting Interpreting Services
• Rates
• Request Interpreting

You may request interpreting services via our website request form. Please include all of the requested information. We will begin work on filling your request once it’s received. Below are some general guidelines that we follow in arranging for interpreting services. This is a condensed version of our general guidelines and procedures for interpreting services. Please contact us for our complete guidelines and procedures.

Selection of Interpreters

Interpreters shall be selected based on their qualifications for interpreting a particular assignment. All interpreters assigned through our agency are licensed in the state of Maine. Additionally, most interpreters are certified by the RID (Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf) and/or the NAD (National Association of the Deaf). We occasionally contract with nationally certified interpreters from outside of Maine who comply with state guidelines that apply to them.

Interpreting Teams

Assignments requiring more than one hour of continuous interpreting may necessitate a team of 2 or more interpreters. Other situations requiring an interpreting team include platform interpreting, concurrent workshop sessions, or settings with significant audience participation. A Deaf/Hearing interpreting team would be necessary for assignments that involve Deaf individuals who have unique or limited language abilities. The assignment scheduler will consider each request to determine the type of services needed at the time the request is made.

Travel Time

Round-trip travel time (portal to portal) shall be billed at the same rate as contact time. Assignments that total less than two hours, including the site and travel time of the interpreter, will be billed at a 2-hour minimum.

Cancellations

All cancellations for appointments within 2 business days should be made immediately by phone at 207-798-7995 (v/tty). Cancellations for assignments beyond 2 business days may be made by phone or via email at services@certifiedinterpreting.com.

In general, customers notifying us of cancellations with sufficient notice shall not be assessed a fee for contracted services, unless this had been stipulated at the time services were confirmed. All short notice cancellations, however, shall be subject to a charge. Here is a general guideline as to what is considered sufficient cancellation notice:

• For single appointments lasting less than 4 hours:  Minimum of 2 Business days
• For single appointments lasting more than 4 hours:  Minimum of 5 Business days
• For long-term, ongoing, or multiple-day assignments:  Contact us

This cancellation charge may be assessed regardless of what caused the cancellation, including illness and inclement weather.

The cancellation fee shall be based on the number of contact hours contracted and will include any travel time that was actually incurred. If services were contracted for less than two hours and no time was expended in travel, a two-hour minimum will be charged for each interpreter that was scheduled for the assignment.

For further information on our cancellation policy, please contact us at services@certifiedinterpreting.com or 207-798-7995 (v/tty).

Contracting Interpreting Services

Once a request for interpreting services is confirmed with the customer it is considered to be a formal contract. This contract may be verbal, in the case of a telephone request, or written in the case of a web, email, fax, or other written request.

New customers will be asked to review our complete guidelines and procedures and accept the terms of our policy before interpreting arrangements are confirmed. Requests for third party payment must be acknowledged by the responsible agency before such requests can be processed.

All purchase orders or other payment authorizations, if required by the customer, must be supplied to Certified Interpreting prior to the confirmation of interpreting services.

Rates

All rates are calculated per interpreter for both site and round-trip travel time. Total hours will be calculated to the nearest .25 hour. A two-hour minimum of both contact and travel time combined, shall be applied to all assignments.

Our current rates will vary depending on a number of factors. These would include:

• The type of assignment.
• The certification and/or qualifications of the interpreter.
• The time when services are needed (i.e., business hours, weekends, evenings).
• Whether or not a local interpreter was available, or if we needed to contract with an interpreter from out of state.
• When the request was made (i.e., with short notice).
• Volume of interpreting services.