Translation and Interpreting Services in Washington, DC

From any Washington, DC address, clients order certified translation from Prism Language Solutions by email and book court, medical, conference and immigration interpreters from our nationwide network of human linguists, with a linguist from the DC area sent when the job is in person. The District’s courts interpret hearings for free but will not translate what you file, which is where most of our DC work begins. There is one Prism office, at 100 Church Street in New York, and every job gets a fixed written quote within 60 minutes in business hours.

Washington generates translation work from three directions that most cities do not have together: a local court system with its own language rules, a District government bound by its own Language Access Act, and the federal agencies that authenticate documents for use abroad. Add a resident population in which, by the 2020-2024 American Community Survey, 14.3 percent were born outside the United States and 19.1 percent of those aged five and over speak a language other than English at home.

El Salvador is the largest single country of birth among the District’s foreign-born residents, and Ethiopia is second, followed by Mexico, India, Guatemala and Colombia. Spanish is spoken at home by 9.4 percent of residents. That mix explains why Amharic and Tigrinya sit on the Superior Court’s list of frequently requested languages alongside Spanish, French, Arabic, Korean, Vietnamese and Mandarin.

Certified translations prepared to meet USCIS requirements
Human linguists only, matched to the subject
Fixed written quote within 60 minutes in business hours
One office in New York, linguists in every state

Court Interpreters for DC Superior Court at Moultrie Courthouse

The Superior Court of the District of Columbia sits in the Moultrie Courthouse at 500 Indiana Avenue NW, and its Office of Court Interpreting Services works from Suite 4100 in the same building. In a typical year the office covers about 6,000 interpretation events in more than 50 languages, and 70 percent of requests are for Spanish. The court says its interpreters and translators meet standards that include certification and mandatory training.

The court’s interpreter is for the proceeding, not for your case preparation. The court’s own guidance tells private attorneys who need an interpreter for attorney-client consultations to contact interpreters directly and agree rates themselves. Witness preparation, depositions and client meetings at the jail are booked by counsel, and a Tigrinya interpreter or Amharic interpreter is the request that most often needs a phone call to confirm. See court interpreting.

Legal Translation for DC Court Filings and Evidence

The DC Courts translate their own orders, notices and forms into other languages at no cost. They do not go the other way. The court’s instructions are plain: everything filed must be in English, and the court will not translate documents a party wants to file. Its interpreting office also does not translate or transcribe evidentiary material, including audio and video recordings played on the record.

So the foreign-language contract in a civil case, the text messages in a custody dispute, the recorded phone call in a criminal matter and the foreign judgment in a probate estate all need a translation that counsel commissions. Recordings take longest, because they need a transcript in the original language before the English translation, and the two are usually filed side by side. See legal translation, transcription and translation for law firms. At the federal level, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia keeps a staff Spanish interpreter and contracts other languages for criminal defendants.

Document Translation Under the DC Language Access Act

The Language Access Act of 2004 covers District agencies, departments and programs, and the contractors and grantees among them that deal with the public. The DC Office of Human Rights names the six languages the District encounters most: Amharic, Chinese, French, Korean, Spanish and Vietnamese. An entity with major public contact must translate its vital documents into any language spoken by 3 percent of the population it serves or by 500 people, whichever is lower.

For a grantee or contractor that means notices, application forms, eligibility letters and complaint procedures in up to six languages, with consistent terminology. We handle that as one project with one quote. See document translation and translation for government.

Certified Translation for the USCIS Washington Field Office

There is no USCIS field office inside the District. USCIS assigns DC ZIP codes to its Washington Field Office at 2675 Prosperity Avenue in Fairfax, Virginia, and affirmative asylum interviews to the Arlington Asylum Office at 1525 Wilson Boulevard. There is no immigration court in the District either: removal cases from the Arlington DHS district are heard at the Annandale and Sterling immigration courts in Northern Virginia.

For the documents, 8 CFR 103.2(b)(3) asks for a complete English translation of each foreign-language page with the translator’s signed certification. Salvadoran and Ethiopian records dominate DC files, and the Ethiopian ones need care: dates follow the Ethiopian calendar, which runs seven to eight years behind the Gregorian one, and we give both. Acceptance rests with the officer. Upload scans through the quote form; more on USCIS translation and birth certificate translation.

Amharic and Spanish Translation in Washington

Amharic translation in the District covers kebele identity cards, birth and marriage certificates, school leaving certificates and court judgments from Ethiopia, and Tigrinya translation the Eritrean equivalents. Name the issuing country when you order, since the two languages share a script but not a vocabulary. Spanish translation here is led by Salvadoran civil records, partidas de nacimiento from the municipal registries, alongside Guatemalan, Mexican and Colombian documents. A Spanish interpreter for a Columbia Heights clinic or a deposition downtown is a same-day booking; French, Korean and Vietnamese make up the rest of the District’s standard list.

Apostille Translation for District of Columbia Documents

Documents notarized by a DC notary public, and certified records issued by a DC government agency, are authenticated by the Office of Notary Commissions and Authentications at 899 North Capitol Street NE, Suite 8100, for $15 a document. It issues an apostille for Hague Convention countries and a certificate for others, which then goes on to the State Department.

When a translation is headed abroad, order matters. The usual sequence is translation, then notarization of the translator’s certificate by a DC notary, then the apostille, and the receiving country may want the apostille itself translated too. We arrange the notarized translation; see apostille translation and notarized translation.

Medical Interpreters for DC Hospitals and Universities

MedStar Washington Hospital Center on Irving Street, licensed for 926 beds, is the largest not-for-profit hospital in the District, and Children’s National on Michigan Avenue runs the District’s only Level I pediatric trauma center. Both interpret for their own patients. We are booked for independent medical examinations, home care and specialist practices, and for records translated for insurers and courts. See medical interpreting.

The District hosted 11,988 international students in 2024-25, led by George Washington University and Georgetown, with China and India the top places of origin. Their transcripts and diplomas are translated word for word with the original grading scale kept. Call +1 (833) 282 8883 or see the guide prices.

Ready to start? Send the document or the booking details through the quote form, call +1 (833) 282 8883, or email info@prismlinguistics.com. You get a fixed written price within 60 minutes during business hours.

Questions we get asked

Will the DC Superior Court translate my documents before I file them?

No. The court provides free interpreters for hearings and translates its own orders and notices, but anything you file must be in English, and the court does not translate documents a party wants to file. You need your own translation.

Where is the USCIS office for Washington, DC residents?

The USCIS Washington Field Office is at 2675 Prosperity Avenue in Fairfax, Virginia, and it serves District ZIP codes. For affirmative asylum, the interview is at the Arlington Asylum Office, 1525 Wilson Boulevard.

Is there an immigration court in Washington, DC?

No. Removal cases from the Arlington DHS district, which covers the District, are heard at the Annandale Immigration Court, 7619 Little River Turnpike, and the Sterling Immigration Court, 21400 Ridgetop Circle, both in Virginia.

Can a translation be apostilled in DC?

Yes, through notarization. Once a DC notary has notarized the translator’s certificate, the Office of Notary Commissions and Authentications can issue an apostille for a Hague Convention country, or a certificate for other countries.