Database of translators and interpreters

I.

Requirements for appointment and swearing-in:

Pursuant to § 1 Sect. 1 HmbDolmG, any person – upon request – may be appointed as interpreter and/or translator or sign language interpreter if said person

1. possesses the necessary personal dependability,
2. lives in orderly economics conditions,
3. is sufficiently healthy,
4. has not been generally sworn-in or publicly appointed as interpreter or translator in another German state, and
5. has the necessary professional qualifications.

Professional Qualifications

A person shall have the professional qualifications as interpreter and translator if he/she is capable of speaking the German language and the working language in terms of annunciation, grammar, spelling, style and legal terminology, and is further capable of properly conveying in oral and written statements in either language the factual context of government agency and court proceedings in an unmistakable manner. Similar requirements shall apply to the professional qualifications of interpreters only, or translators only, or sign language interpreters.

Documentation of such professional qualification shall generally be provided through the successful participation in a qualification test procedure consisting of a written and an oral part (§ 2 Sect. 3 HmbDolmG).

II.

Admittance to Qualification Test Procedure

Any person may be admitted to the qualification test procedure whose main residence is located within the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg or the greater metropolitan area, and who – through certificates and diplomas of the universities and colleges attended, job references, or a report on interpretation services rendered - can document that he/she possesses the necessary knowledge of the German language and the working language for which the swearing-in is sought (§2 Sect.1 HmbDolmVO).

In those cases where no applicable university degree is available, several years of work as interpreter and/or translator are generally required for admittance to the procedure

III.

Swearing-In without Qualification Test Procedure:

1. Acceptance of equivalent examinations from other German states or EU member states

   The Qualification Test Procedure may be waived entirely if

   1. the applicant has not yet been publicly sworn-in or authorized as interpreter and/or translator in another German state, and
   2. the applicant has already successfully passed examinations which are equivalent to the Hamburg Qualification Test Procedure. These may be state-certified interpreter and translator examinations in other German states and EU member states, and also certain degrees from universities of applied sciences.

   Which of the qualifications obtained in the Federal Republic of Germany are accepted as equivalent to the Hamburg Qualification Test Procedure is specified in its final and binding form in Attachment 2 to the HmbDolmVO.

2. Temporary Services

   Interpreters and translators who are legally domiciled in another member state of the European Union or another contract state of the Agreement on the European Economic Zone to perform work specified in or similar to § 1 HmbDolmG shall be permitted to temporarily and occasionally exercise this activity within the territory of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg similar to a person registered pursuant to § 8 HmbDolmG (temporary services). Inasmuch as the necessary requirements have been satisfied, the cognizant government authority – by way of inclusion in the registry – performs a temporary registration. Additional information on the admittance requirements for providing temporary services within the territory of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg may be obtained from § 8a HmbDolmG.

3. Overview of Admittance Procedure:

   Qualification Test Procedure pursuant to § 5 HmbDolmVO	Interpreter and Translator
   	Interpreter (only)
   	Translator (only)
   Abbreviated Qualification Test Procedure pursuant to § 8 HmbDolmVO	Interpreter and Translator
   	Interpreter (only)
   	Translator (only)
   Acceptance Procedure pursuant to § 12 HmbDolmVO	Interpreter and Translator
   	Interpreter (only)
   	Translator (only)
   Temporary Services pursuant to § 8a HmbDolmVO	Interpreter and Translator
   	Interpreter (only)
   	Translator (only)

   Please specify in your application which of the above procedures you are applying for, and forward your application in writing to:

   Behörde für Inneres und Sport
   Amt für Innere Verwaltung und Planung
   - A 242 -
   Johanniswall 4, 20095 Hamburg

   Additional information and legal source material of interpreting within the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg can be found on our homepage:

   www.hamburg.de/dolmetscher

IV.

Pursuant to §§ 68ff. VwGO, an appeal may be filed against the rejection of the public appointment and general swearing-in within one month following the delivery of the respective notification to the applicant, in writing or in person before the Government Agency for the Interior and Sports.