Welcome to the Court’s Interpreter Contractor Resources page. Here you will find all the needed documents, forms, and contact information needed to carry out your duties as a Court Interpreter Contractor.

Interested in Employment?

If you are interested in serving as a Court Interpreter, job applications may be found on our Employment Opportunities  page. The court may only hire certified or registered interpreters as employees. The court does hire provisionally qualified interpreters as contractors when needed.

The Judicial Council Qualifications of a Noncertified or Nonregistered Spoken Language Interpreter (INT110.pdf)  form must be completed by any interpreter who is not certified or registered by the judicial council. This form must be submitted prior to any work assignment in order to be provisionally qualified to work in our court.

The Judicial Council's Become an Interpreter  page provides information about becoming an interpreter and the testing process to become registered or certified.

Information for New Contractors

Thank you for your interest in working for Santa Clara County Superior Court.

We are offering State Certified/Registered interpreters the following rates:

• Half Day: $175.00
• Full Day: $350.00

We are offering Noncertified/Nonregistered interpreters the following rates:

• Half Day: $110.00
• Full Day: $220.00

We require that you submit a signed contract prior to working with us. Please submit your signed contract to GZamora@scscourt.org.

A half day assignment is from 8:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. or 1:15 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. or until the court session ends, whichever comes first. A full day assignment is from 8:15 a.m. until 5:15 p.m. or until the court session ends, whichever comes first. Contractors are required to check-in with the Interpreters Unit after their assignment is complete for potential re-assignment(s).

For interpreters travelling 50 miles or more, we offer travel time, and $0.655 per mile, based on Mapquest’s  shortest distance and travel time, from the agreed starting point to the courthouse to which you are assigned. If we assign you to different courthouses during a full day, we will pay mileage between courthouses. Travel (car fare, cab fare, mileage) to and from lunch will not be reimbursed.

If you are seeking to stay in our area during your assignment, please be advised that that lodging by third party vendors and/or vacation rentals such as AirBnB are not acceptable/reimbursable. Lodging must be booked directly with the hotel. Additional paperwork will be required if you are seeking reimbursement for lodging and other travel expenses. (Click this link to go to the Travel Expenses section of this page for more details and guidelines involving travel.)

The following documents must be completed prior to your first assignment:

1. Contract
2. Payee Data Record (W-9) Form 
3. Live Scan Form 
   Please complete the live scan service at the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office. Schedule your live scan service through their website . Appointment availability is limited. There are four different locations to choose from. This form is required for the appointment. If you choose to complete a Live Scan out of our county, it will not be reimbursed.
4. Security Background Questionnaire 
   Email completed form to EQin@scscourt.org.
5. Electronic Funds Transfer Authorization  (if you choose to expedite payments)

Please review our Information Sheet  which provides a basic orientation to our court including court locations, parking information, equipment and interpreter appearance slip locations. Assignment may be at any one of the following locations:

Hall of Justice, 190 W. Hedding Street, San Jose 

Family Justice Center, 201 N. First Street, San Jose 

Downtown Superior Court, 191 N. First Street, San Jose 

Juvenile, 840 Guadalupe Parkway, San Jose 

Santa Clara Courthouse, 1095 Homestead Road, Santa Clara 

Palo Alto Courthouse, 270 Grant Ave., Palo Alto 

Morgan Hill Courthouse, 301 Diana Ave., Morgan Hill 

Opportunity Court, 749 Story Road, #10, San Jose, 95122

Contractors must enter the courthouses through the public entrances and must comply with all metal detector requirements. No shoes may be carried into the courthouse and no glass items will be allowed.Please give yourself enough time for arrival in case there are long lines entering the building.

For Spanish and Vietnamese contractors, please submit your availability to: sccavailability@scscourt.org. Availability for each week must be submitted by Thursday of the previous week. If we have specific needs for certain days we may contact you to ask if you are available. The weekly schedule will be emailed on the Friday before. If you have any questions, please call David Ortiz at (408) 808-6680. 

Activity Log Instructions

Click here for the Activity Log . See below for instructions:

1. Complete top of form in full. If you are assigned to two locations in one day, indicate both. (You do not need to indicate time in, out or mileage).
2. You must indicate case type. See Case Type Codes at the bottom of the form. For criminal indicate M for misdemeanor or F for felony.
3. Indicate # of interpretations.
4. You do not need to indicate case numbers.
5. Indicate T for Trial or NT for Non-Trial.
6. You do not need to indicate event details.
7. Indicate if interpretation was via Video Remote (if not, leave blank).
8. Sign.
9. Submit daily.

Interpreter Timesheet Instructions

All assignments for two consecutive weeks should be submitted on one timesheet. Please submit timesheets every two weeks or immediately after an assignment, if there are no future assignments. Email completed timesheets to timesheets@scscourt.org. If you are submitting more than one timesheet, submit in separate emails. Title the subject line to your email as your name and the first date of work you are claiming.

Effective January 1, 2023, the state mileage amount was raised to 65.5 cents. Please choose appropriate timesheet below:

Timesheet for 2023 Assignments 

Timesheet for 2022 Assignments  (July 1, 2022-December 31,2022)

For sample timesheets, please refer to the following links for the electronic version  , and a key  for helpful instructions on filling out the timesheet. Please note: If any of the timesheet is left blank, handwritten, is incorrect, or is missing information, the timesheet will be sent back for correction. Mileage and travel time correlate to the signed independent contractor contract. You must also know your vendor number.

Effective 11/14/2022, all timesheets are required to be submitted electronically – no handwritten timesheets will be accepted. Timesheets must be saved and emailed to timesheets@scscourt.org. Do not send scanned electronic versions.

Note: Recommended internet browser to use is Google Chrome for PC users and Firefox for Mac users. Fill timesheet within your browser, then download document with your changes when complete.

See below for detailed instructions:

1. Enter your Name.
2. Enter your Phone Number.
3. Enter your Name and/or Business Name. For contractors working under a business name, please print your business name for Name and your name for From Interpreter. These must match the information on file. If you have a change of address, please submit change of address form .
4. Enter your Address. If you have two addresses, use the address connected to your vendor number.
5. Enter the first Monday of the week worked, regardless if it was a Monday or not. All dates will auto-populate on the timesheet.
6. Select the assignments for the date worked (AM, PM, or Full Day). Please note – if a full day is worked, only select Full Day, do not select AM and PM.
7. Enter total amount of Remote Hours, if applicable. If you have a flat remote rate instead of an hourly rate, enter 1 hour for a half-day session.
8. Enter Dual Language differential amount, if applicable. If dual language is used, note the second language in the Comments section.
9. Enter Mileage (Round Trip) based on the courthouse assigned to. Refer to contract for exact number. This must be the same as the contract signed with our court. If this number deviates from the number(s) listed on your contract, it will delay processing of timesheet. Do not enter mileage if you are claiming mileage through the HR-039 Travel Expense form. If you are working three days or more, the mileage total should be entered on the last date worked.
10. Enter Travel Time (Round Trip) based on the courthouse assigned to. Refer to contract for exact number. This must be the same as the contract signed with our court. Do not divide the travel time hours in half if you are working more than one day. Enter the total travel time for the week on the last date worked. For example, for 10 hours of Travel Time, enter 10 on the last date worked, instead of 5 hours on the date of arrival and 5 hours on the date of departure.
11. Enter Parking, if applicable. Parking to be claimed on timesheets are for parking at courthouse locations when a permit or validation is unavailable. A receipt must be accompanied with your timesheet for proof. If you have bridge tolls, enter under the parking column as well.
12. Enter the courthouse for which you were assigned under the Comments column.

Downtown Superior Court	Depts. 1-16	DTS
Old Courthouse	Depts. 17-22	OCH
Hall of Justice	Depts. 23-54	HOJ
Santa Clara	Depts. 55-58	Traffic
Family Justice Center	Depts. 60-79	FJC
Juvenile Justice	Depts. 80-83	JJ
Palo Alto	Depts. 84-89	PA
Morgan Hill	Depts. 105-110	MH



13. The totals will auto-populate for you.
14. Using drop-down menu, enter your status, as Certified, Registered, Non-Certified, Non-Registered or ASL for American Sign Language.
15. Leave WBS Type blank.
16. Enter your Vendor Number. This is the vendor number used by the Judicial Council. If you do not have the vendor number handy, please ask us for it to avoid any delays in processing your timesheet.
17. Enter name in Signature field and enter date. Do not electronically sign the timesheet and do not print timesheet to sign. Entering your name is sufficient.
18. Using the drop-down menu, enter the language for assignment. Please note: Only one language is allowed per timesheet.
19. Enter your AM Rate, if applicable.
20. Enter your PM Rate, if applicable.
21. Enter your Full Day Rate, if applicable.
22. Enter your Remote Rate, if applicable. If remote rate is a flat rate, enter the flat rate.
23. Enter your Travel Time Rate, if applicable.
24. The timesheet will auto-populate the remainder of the timesheet, providing a total amount due.

If you are claiming overtime, a separate timesheet must be submitted for the day it occurred by checking the AM, PM or Full Day box, entering the amount of overtime in the Remote Hours column, and entering your overtime rate in the Remote Rate section of the timesheet.

Once timesheets are processed, a copy will be sent via email for your reference when it is sent to the Finance Department for processing. Payment(s) will occur approximately 21 days after submission. Checks will be mailed to the address on file unless an Electronic Funds Transfer Authorization Form  has been completed. If there are any issues with payment, please email GZamora@scscourt.org and DOrtiz@scscourt.org.

Travel Expenses

If you qualify for reimbursement on travel expenses, you must submit a Travel Expense Request Form for reimbursement along with your timesheet. Travel expenses are not reimbursed for all assignments. The Interpreter Coordinator will determine if the expenses are allowed prior to assignments. Please review sample HR-039 linked here  for helpful information on filling it out correctly. If there are any changes or missing information, the form will be returned for correction.

Effective January 1, 2023, the state mileage amount was raised to 65.5 cents. Please choose appropriate Travel Expense Request form below:

2023 Travel Expense Request Form

2022 Travel Expense Request Form  (July 1, 2022-December 31, 2022)

Guidelines for Travel Expense Reimbursement include:

1. Maximum occupancy rate is $140/night.  This is separate from applicable taxes and service fees.    
2. Book a lodging directly with a hotel/motel, not through third party sites.  The hotel express check-out receipt from a third party provider for lodging booked via the internet does not represent a valid receipt.
3. A zero-balance receipt will be needed.  Each day of lodging must be itemized with tax and fees itemized for each day in order for reimbursement to be approved.
4. Incidentals not to exceed (NTE) $6 is allowed after 24 hours of arrival.
5. Meals are reimbursed for the first day of assignment – Breakfast NTE $8, Lunch NTE $12 and Dinner NTE $20.  Dinner is reimbursed for the night of travel to San Jose.
6. Mileage is tracked by MapQuest only.
7. If booking flight(s) to travel to our county, please note that all airfare must be booked with the least costly carrier and as coach class.  In the event of an audit, a cost comparison for flights may be requested to support that the purchase of the least costly flight was booked.
8. Carfare reimbursement does not include tips. 

Please note that reimbursement for lodging takes a minimum of 6 to 8 weeks. If you have any questions involving the HR-039 Travel Expense Form , please email GZamora@scscourt.org

100 Day Interpreter Contractor Policy

Pursuant to Government Code Section 71802 , the court may not utilize a contractor's services over 100 days per calendar year.

Professional Standards and Ethics

Click here for the Judicial Council Professional Standards and Ethics for California Court Interpreters  Manual.