What ATA Membership Tells You About Your Translation Provider
A law firm sends a contract for translation that comes back with errors in legal terminology that change the meaning of key clauses. The firm discovers the translator had no professional affiliation, no continuing education, and no accountability to any standards body. This is more common than it should be.
What ATA Is
The American Translators Association is the largest professional association for translators and interpreters in the United States. Founded in 1959, it represents over 10,000 members across all language pairs and specializations.
ATA membership indicates that a provider or individual has chosen to affiliate with the profession’s primary standards organization. It is a baseline signal of professional commitment.
The ATA Certification Exam
ATA offers a certification exam that tests translation competence in specific language pairs. The exam requires candidates to translate passages that include general, legal, medical, or technical content. Graders evaluate accuracy, terminology, and target-language quality.
The pass rate is roughly 20%. It is not an easy credential to earn.
ATA-certified translators have demonstrated measurable competence. They are listed in a public directory that clients can search by language pair and specialization.
Continuing Education
ATA requires certified members to earn continuing education points to maintain their certification. This means attending conferences, completing coursework, or participating in approved professional development activities.
Translation is not static. Legal terminology evolves. Medical language updates with every new protocol. A translator who earned a credential ten years ago and never updated their knowledge is a liability. Continuing education requirements prevent that.
Why Clients Should Verify
Anyone can claim to be a translator. There is no licensure requirement in the United States. That means the burden of verification falls on the client.
Asking whether your translation provider is an ATA member is a starting point. Asking whether their translators hold ATA certification in the relevant language pair is a better question. Checking the ATA directory yourself is the best approach.
What ATA Membership Does Not Guarantee
Membership alone does not mean a provider’s translators are ATA certified. A company can be an ATA corporate member without any of its translators holding individual certification. Ask specifically about the credentials of the people doing the work.
The Practical Impact
When a translated document is used in court, submitted to a regulatory body, or attached to a contract, the quality of that translation is no longer an internal matter. It is evidence. It is a binding term. It is a compliance document.
Using a translator with verified credentials reduces risk. Using one without them is a gamble.
Kaplan Interpreting Services is an ATA member with access to ATA-certified translators across multiple language pairs. When your translation project requires verified quality and professional accountability, the credentials behind the provider matter. Call (833) 547-7770 or visit kaplaninterpreting.com/quote to request a translator.
CEO & Founder
Born in Dallas, Texas, Alexandra grew up surrounded by Spanish, English, Arabic, and Italian. After moving to Venezuela, Spanish became her primary language. She holds a Master's in Healthcare Administration from Washington University in St. Louis and is a California court certified and medical interpreter.
She founded Kaplan Interpreting Services after seeing an industry that treated interpreters as interchangeable and clients as ticket numbers. She built a protocol-driven operation where every interpreter is hand-selected and credentialed for the specific setting, every client has a dedicated point of contact, and risk management is built into every assignment.
Her career reached a historic milestone when she interpreted the conversation between President-elect Biden and Pope Francis. That assignment, along with engagements for Nike and the Summit of the Americas, set the standard for every client engagement that followed.
"The same protocols that protected that historic conversation now protect every assignment we handle."