Anyone can describe themselves as an Arabic interpreter. The National Register of Public Service Interpreters exists to draw a line between that and an assessed, regulated professional whose work can be checked and, if necessary, complained about. For legal work, that line is the point.
In short
- NRPSI Full Registration means an assessed qualification, a regulator and a complaints route.
- Courts and the Home Office expect registered interpreters for a reason: accountability.
- Instructing off-register shifts the vetting risk onto you.
What registration actually certifies
NRPSI Full Registration is not a membership badge. It signals an assessed interpreting qualification (such as the DPSI), confirmation of identity and, where relevant, security vetting, and — critically — a code of conduct enforced by a regulator. If a registered interpreter falls short, there is a route to raise it. None of that exists for an unregistered bilingual speaker.
Why the courts and Home Office expect it
Public bodies default to registered interpreters because registration manages their risk. It gives an objective answer to the question a tribunal may ask: was this person competent and accountable to interpret in these proceedings? "They were fluent" is not the same answer as "they were registered, assessed and regulated."
The risk that shifts to you off-register
Instruct an unregistered interpreter and the vetting becomes your responsibility. You are vouching, implicitly, for competence and impartiality you cannot easily verify. If the interpreting is later challenged, the absence of registration is the first thing raised — and it is raised against the instruction, not the interpreter.
Verifying before you instruct
Registration is checkable. Ask for the number and confirm it on the public NRPSI register before the hearing. Verification takes a minute and closes off an entire category of later argument.
← All articles for instructing professionals