Guideline 1:06
A party not fluent in English has a right to the assistance of a qualified interpreter in court proceedings. See G.L. c. 221C, § 2. All interpreters should be sworn and should give their names for the record.
The Office of Language Access (OLA) schedules and deploys spoken-language interpreters to all departments of the Trial Court. Upon written request, OLA will provide interpreters to appear in criminal or civil proceedings. In emergency situations, where it is not feasible to schedule interpreter services in advance, OLA will attempt to provide an interpreter, upon request from a court, and, if none is available, will provide interpreter services via video or telephone. Courts may also utilize LanguageLine, which provides interpreter services over the telephone.
If an affidavit in support of a complaint is written in a language other than English, the clerk should transmit the affidavit as soon as possible to OLA to provide a written translation, prior to the hearing.
The Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing is statutorily responsible for providing interpreters for American (and other) sign languages. See G.L. c. 6, §§ 194 and 196. Requests for such interpreters must be made by the clerk through the Commission’s website.
Courts should never permit the defendant in a c. 258E action, or anyone accompanying the defendant to court, to interpret for the plaintiff. Similarly, the plaintiff should never be permitted to interpret for the defendant. Courts should never allow minor children to serve as interpreters, even in emergency situations.
Commentary
Chapter 221C of the General Laws sets out a process by which interpreters should be made available to every non-English-speaker in a “legal proceeding.” This chapter appears to apply to both civil and criminal proceedings and to everyone participating, whether as a witness or a party.
Interpreter services may be requested by the court, first by entering the interpreter request into MassCourts and then by contacting OLA by phone at 617-780-6788 for Spanish interpreter services/language access or email to spanishaccess@jud.state.ma.us; or by phone at 781-400-4726 for Languages Other Than Spanish (LOTS) interpreter services/language access or email to lotsaccess@jud.state.ma.us. The court can also access an interpreter over the telephone directly from LanguageLine by calling 1-844-909-3642. Language Access resources are posted on the OLA homepage on Courtyard.
If an interpreter is assisting a non-English-speaking plaintiff in completing an affidavit, the plaintiff should write the affidavit in their language. The interpreter shall then provide a written translation. The interpreter may use the form entitled Translation of Affidavit. If the non-English- speaking person is not literate, they should dictate the information to the interpreter to record in the plaintiff’s native language, and then also complete a translation of the Affidavit. If time constraints prevent translating the affidavit prior to the hearing, the affidavit should be translated orally for the hearing and completed prior to the end of the court day so that the English translation of the affidavit can be scanned by the clerk’s office. In any of the above circumstances, the individual assisting the plaintiff must accurately transcribe the plaintiff’s statement, and must include their name, along with the role they had in drafting the affidavit.
Requests for American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreters or Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) providers must be made by clerk’s office staff, first by entering the interpreter request into MassCourts and then through the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing website, accessed through Mass.gov.
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| Last updated: | October 20, 2025 |
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