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All official court business in California is conducted in English. When a party or witness in a case has limited English proficiency, that person may need a court interpreter to communicate in court proceedings and understand what is happening. Court interpreters are experts in language interpretation and are assigned only to render linguistically equivalent interpretation from one language into another.
If you need an interpreter assigned for your case, you should inform the Court as far as possible in advance of the hearing. If an interpreter is not requested in advance or is not available, the case may be continued by the Court until one can be assigned.
To avoid the risk of having your hearing postponed, this form must be submitted two weeks in advance. Please direct any questions to the Interpreter Division at (650) 261-5023.
Please choose one of the following options to request an interpreter:
- Send an email to courtinterpreter@sanmateocourt.org and inlclude the following:
Please include Language, Date of hearing, Time of hearing, Case number, Name of the party requesting the interpreter and Case Type:
e.g: Tagalog, 10/10/2010, 9:00 a.m., 19NF8953A, Jane Doe, Criminal Arraignment & 650-261-5023 - Complete the form on the link below and click "Submit."
- Submit the request in person to the Filing Window Clerk at our Northern, Southern or Juvenile courthouse
- You may ask the clerk at the counter or the clerk in the courtroom for an interpreter. If an interpreter is not available at the time of your hearing, your case may be continued until an interpreter can be assigned. Parties should request an interpreter when filing a motion or response.
To avoid the risk of having your hearing postponed, this form must be submitted two weeks in advance. Please direct any questions to the Interpreter Division at (650) 261-5023 or courtinterpreter@sanmateocourt.org.