About the American Translators Association

Certification Committee

Committee Objective

Certification is a voluntary action by a qualified group to establish a system to grant recognition to individuals who have met a stated level of training and work experience. The ATA Certification Committee was established to implement and manage an examination program that enables individual translators to demonstrate that they meet professional standards.

The Certification Committee is asked to do the following:

• prepare examinations that evaluate an individual’s ability to translate into or out of English, according to current standards of practice in the translation industry;
• develop practice tests to assist an individual in preparing for an ATA examination;
• conduct a review of an exam translation when requested by the individual test-taker;
• establish standardized grading practices and grader training;
• produce and maintain a comprehensive manual of policies and procedures for the program and exam;
• publish information about the certification program to Association members and non-members alike; and
• review and revise the certification program’s policies and procedures as necessary to strengthen the program.