Certification by Examination

STANDARD CERTIFICATION EXAMINATION OF THE COUNCIL OF TRANSLATORS, TERMINOLOGISTS AND INTERPRETERS OF CANADA (CTTIC)

Translators, interpreters and terminologists may obtain certification in their respective discipline by challenging one CTTIC’s Standard Certification Examinations. These Examinations are aimed at professionals who would like their skills to be peer-assessed. The same exams are offered nationwide, except in Québec.

Since December 2018, ATIM has been able to offer these examinations on request, at any time of year, and the translation examination is now offered both on paper and on computer. The same applies for the written portion of the interpretation exams.

Note that CTTIC distinguishes between four kinds of interpretation and proposes a different exam for each kind:

  • Conference interpretation;
  • Community interpretation;
  • Court interpretation;
  • Medical Interpretation.

These interpretation exams are comprised of a written and an oral portion. Candidates must successfully complete the written portion before accessing the oral portion.

Cost: $350 per examination.

Eligibility Criteria

TRANSLATION

Before you submit an application to take the standard examination, you must meet one of the following eligibility criteria:

(a) hold a B.A. degree in translation AND have one year of full-time professional translation experience;

OR

(b) hold a recognized university degree (B.A., B. Sc., M.A., etc.) and the Certificate in Translation from St. Boniface College AND have one year of full-time professional translation experience (this criterion applies to translators in the official languages of Canada only);

OR

(c) have four years of professional translation experience (this criterion applies to everyone who does not meet the two criteria listed above).

Equivalent of one year of professional translation experience

To calculate professional experience, the following equivalents are applied:

One year of full-time professional experience is equivalent to the translation of:

  • 112,500 words/year (official languages)
  • 80,000 words/year (Spanish)
  • 25,000 words/year (other languages)

One year of part-time professional experience is equivalent to the translation of:

  • 50,000 words/year (official languages)
  • 32,000 words/year (Spanish)
  • 10,000 words /year (other languages), on average

One year of part-time professional experience is equivalent to one half-year for the purpose of calculating professional experience.

Registration

Candidates who would like to register for the examination must submit the following documents:

  • their curriculum vitae (CV)
  • a letter indicating the length of their professional experience and the language combination in which they would like to take the exam
  • confirmation of professional experience or of length of employment from their employers or clients

    These document must be submitted in French or English or, if translated, be certified as a true translation. They may be sent by email à certification@atim.mb.ca or by regular mail at ATIM, 200 Avenue de la Cathédrale, Box 83, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2H 0H7.

To learn more about the examination marking method and the appeal procedure, candidates can consult the Candidate’s Guide for the CTTIC Standard Certification Examination in Translation (PDF document).


OTHER PROFESSIONS

For eligibility criteria for interpretation and terminology, please contact us at certification@atim.mb.ca.