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National Register of Public Service Interpreters


NRPSI is the UK’s independent voluntary regulator of professional interpreters specialising in public service. We maintain a public register of professional, qualified and accountable interpreters. The National Register is free of charge to access and searchable online.

The need for defendants in court to be able to understand the proceedings, using an interpreter if necessary, was identified in the landmark R v Iqbal Begum Court of Appeal ruling which stated:

‘It is beyond the understanding of this court that it did not occur to someone that the reason for her [the defendant's] silence....... was simply because she was not being spoken to in a language which she understood.’

As a result, the 1993 Runciman Royal Commission on Criminal Justice recommended that a national register of qualified interpreters should be established with the aim of ‘using only interpreters with proven competence and skills, who are governed by a nationally recognised code of conduct’. NRPSI was established in 1994.

Every interpreter on our Register has met the standards that we set for education, training and practice in public service. All Registrants are subject to the NRPSI Code of Professional Conduct and we investigate allegations of professional misconduct.

Even today, parts of the public services are unaware of the need to use qualified interpreters. From the Serious Case Review following the death of Daniel Pelka, aged 5, in September 2013:

‘Without proactive or consistent action by any professional to engage with him via an interpreter, then his lack of language and low confidence would likely have made it almost impossible for him to reveal the abuse he was suffering at home.’

Using the National Register to find an interpreter ensures that you not only employ a qualified professional practitioner but that the interpreter can be held accountable should their conduct or competence fall below the high standards expected of a Registered Public Service Interpreter (RPSI).

There are around 1,700 interpreters in 100 languages on the National Register covering the whole of the UK. It is a dynamic database, with Registrants' details constantly being updated and new Registrants added.

NRPSI News

Click here for a summary of the results from the recent survey gathering data to answer questions asked by the House of Lords Public Services . . .

Very useful information from over a third of NRPSI's current Registrants as well as from some lapsed Registrants . . .
Published:6 December 2024
Topic: General News
Read More »

Thanks to all who filled in the recent survey, ensuring accurate information was given in answering House of Lords Public Services Committee . . .

Your chance to see what over a third of Registrants had to say to the House of Lords Inquiry . . .
Published:6 December 2024
Topic: General News
Read More »

Letter from the House of Lords Public Services Committee to the Secretary of State for Justice, dated 2nd December 2024 and published on 4th . . .

Also available on this link: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/8493/interpreting-and-translation-services-in-the-courts/publications/ . . .
Published:5 December 2024
Topic: General News
Read More »

Review NRPSI's written submission to the House of Lords Public Service Committee Inquiry in to interpreting and translation services in the . . .

Ensure everything you want to say has been said; if not, then let us know by writing to mike@nrpsi.org.uk . . .
Published:25 November 2024
Topic: General News
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Click here for details of the call to withdraw interpreting services in the courts on 25th and 26th November 2024

This has been called as a full withdrawal of services, not accepting court work through any channels, including other agencies and off contract bookings . . .
Published:13 November 2024
Topic: General News
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NRPSI Registrants have been officially ‘Accredited Professionals’ since July 2023; see the news report first published last year . . .

Important recognition established the importance of the use of qualified registered Public Service Interpreters, against the backdrop of halting significant and major miscarriages of justice . . .
Published:8 November 2024
Topic: General News
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Read the Professional Interpreters for Justice (PI4J) submission to the House of Lords Inquiry in to interpreting and translation services in the . . .

The PI4J submission is clear about the need for insourcing to be reintroduced in MoJ settings . . .
Published:29 October 2024
Topic: General News
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Read the letter from PI4J to the Ministry of Justice sent in February 2023 re-emphasising collaborative discussion and reviewing outsourcing . . .

PI4J would like to continue with the consultative process to tackle other aspects of spoken language interpreting, some of which will fall into the Policy Review and some in to the Outsourcing Review… . . .
Published:23 October 2024
Topic: General News
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Read NRPSI's submission to the House of Lords Inquiry in to Interpreting and Translation Services in the Courts; click here

NRPSI will be giving in-person evidence on 6th November 2024 . . .
Published:23 October 2024
Topic: General News
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