CCHI vs NBCMI: Which Medical Interpreter Certification Should You Choose?

CCHI and NBCMI are the two national medical interpreter certifications in the United States. Most interpreters pick one. Both are recognized by major agencies, both cost around $500, and both require 40 hours of training to sit for the exam. The differences are in which languages they test, what the exams cover, and how they handle eligibility.

This guide walks through both in detail so you can pick the right one for your situation. If you haven’t started the path to medical interpreting yet, read how to become a medical interpreter first — this assumes you’ve already completed or are finishing your 40-hour training course.

The 30-second answer

If you don’t have time to read the full comparison, here’s the scannable version:

Factor	CCHI	NBCMI
Full name	Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters	National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters
Entry-level credential	CoreCHI (written only)	HubCMI (written only)
Full credential	CHI (written + oral)	CMI (written + oral)
Languages with oral exam	Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin	Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Russian, Vietnamese, Korean
Full certification cost	$533	$485
Recertification	$300 every 4 years	$300 every 5 years
Written exam focus	Ethics, protocol, cultural mediation	Medical terminology
Oral exam modalities	Sight, consecutive, simultaneous	Sight, consecutive
NCCA accreditation	Yes (Spanish)	No
Eligibility flexibility	Accepts lived experience	Requires diploma or proficiency test

Pick CCHI if: Your language pair is Spanish, Arabic, or Mandarin AND you want simultaneous interpretation tested AND you prefer an exam focused on ethics.

Pick NBCMI if: Your language pair is Cantonese, Russian, Vietnamese, or Korean (NBCMI is your only oral option) OR you prefer an exam focused on medical terminology.

That’s the short version. For the details that actually matter when you’re deciding, keep reading.

What each credential actually is

CCHI — Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters

CCHI offers two credentials:

• CoreCHI. The written-only certification. Covers ethics, cultural mediation, protocols, and general healthcare knowledge. Available in any language because it’s tested in English. A good entry point if you interpret in a language where CCHI doesn’t yet offer an oral exam.
• CHI. Adds the oral exam, tested in specific language pairs. Currently available for Spanish, Arabic, and Mandarin.

CCHI’s flagship credential — the CHI-Spanish — has NCCA accreditation, which is the national standard for certification agencies. That accreditation signals to employers that the credential meets rigorous testing and validity standards. NBCMI does not have NCCA accreditation.

NBCMI — National Board of Certification for Medical Interpreters

NBCMI also offers two credentials:

• HubCMI. The written-only certification, tested in English. Equivalent entry-level credential to CoreCHI.
• CMI. Adds the oral exam. Currently available for Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Russian, Vietnamese, and Korean.

NBCMI has broader language coverage on the oral exam. This is the single biggest differentiator. If you interpret Cantonese, Russian, Vietnamese, or Korean and want full certification, NBCMI is your only option right now.

Language coverage — this alone may decide it for you

Here’s the breakdown of where each certification is available:

Language	CCHI oral (CHI)	NBCMI oral (CMI)
Spanish	Yes	Yes
Mandarin	Yes	Yes
Arabic	Yes	No
Cantonese	No	Yes
Russian	No	Yes
Vietnamese	No	Yes
Korean	No	Yes

If your language isn’t on this list, you can still get the written certification (CoreCHI or HubCMI) from either organization. That gives you a nationally recognized credential that says you’ve been tested on interpreting ethics, protocol, and terminology — just not on actual performance in your language pair.

For interpreters working in rarer languages, CoreCHI or HubCMI is still worth pursuing. Most agencies accept either as proof of foundational knowledge, and it’s better than no certification at all. We have more on this in the broader certification guide.

Cost breakdown

CCHI

• CoreCHI exam: $200
• CHI exam (oral): $275
• Total CHI cost: $475 + fees, roughly $533
• Recertification: $300 every 4 years

NBCMI

• HubCMI exam: $175
• CMI exam (oral): $275
• Total CMI cost: $450 + fees, roughly $485
• Recertification: $300 every 5 years

Over a decade, CCHI recertification happens more often (every 4 years vs 5), which adds $300 in cumulative fees. NBCMI ends up slightly cheaper over 10 years, but the difference is small enough that it shouldn’t be your deciding factor unless cost is genuinely the gating issue.

CEU (continuing education unit) costs are similar for both. CCHI requires 32 CEUs for recertification, NBCMI requires 30. Budget another $200-$400 over the recert period for approved courses.

Exam content — what you’re actually tested on

This is where the two exams diverge meaningfully.

Written exam content

CCHI written (CoreCHI) emphasizes:

• Interpreter ethics and code of conduct
• Cultural mediation and cross-cultural communication
• Healthcare interpreting protocols
• Medical terminology (as a subset, not the main focus)
• Professional practice standards

NBCMI written (HubCMI) emphasizes:

• Medical terminology (the largest section by weight)
• Body systems, procedures, medications
• Interpreter ethics (smaller section than CCHI)
• Cultural responsiveness
• Healthcare system basics

If you came to interpreting from a medical background — you were a nurse, a CNA, a medical assistant — the NBCMI written may feel more natural. You’re already fluent in the terminology.

If you came from a language or teaching background and are strong on ethics and intercultural work but still learning medical vocabulary, CCHI’s written may be a better match for your strengths.

Oral exam content

CCHI oral (CHI) tests three interpreting modalities:

• Sight translation (reading a document in one language and translating aloud into the other)
• Consecutive interpretation (interpreter speaks between the provider and patient, turn by turn)
• Simultaneous interpretation (interpreter renders speech at the same time as the speaker, with a brief lag)

NBCMI oral (CMI) tests two modalities:

• Sight translation
• Consecutive interpretation

This is a significant difference. Simultaneous interpretation is a distinct skill from consecutive, and CCHI is the only medical certification in the US that tests it. If your goal is eventually to do conference work, specialty simultaneous assignments, or high-volume hospital rounds where simultaneous is needed, CCHI is the credential that signals you have that skill.

If you only plan to do consecutive OPI and VRI work — which is most medical interpreting — NBCMI covers the modalities you’ll actually use. Our consecutive vs simultaneous interpreting guide explains the difference if you’re still mapping which mode you use most.

Eligibility — can you even sit for it?

Both require:

• 18 years of age or older
• High school diploma or equivalent
• 40 hours of medical interpreter training from an approved program

The differences are in language proficiency requirements.

CCHI is more flexible. To prove language proficiency, CCHI accepts:

• A diploma from a country where your target language is spoken
• A passing score on an approved language test
• Lived experience — time spent in a country where your target language is spoken, combined with work or academic experience

This last option is unusual and important. If you’re a bilingual immigrant with strong informal language skills but no formal language credential, CCHI is usually the only path that’s open to you.

NBCMI is stricter. To prove language proficiency, NBCMI requires:

• A diploma from an accredited program in your target language, OR
• A minimum passing score on one of their approved language proficiency tests (typically ACTFL, ILR, or similar standardized tests)

NBCMI does not accept lived experience as proof of proficiency. If you don’t have documentation, you’ll need to take a proficiency test before you can sit for the NBCMI exam, which adds cost and time.

Accreditation — does it matter?

CCHI’s CHI-Spanish credential is accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA). NBCMI’s credentials are not.

What NCCA accreditation signals:

• The certification program has been independently audited
• The exam meets rigorous validity and reliability standards
• The credential is considered “gold standard” in the certification industry

What NCCA accreditation doesn’t do:

• Affect day-to-day employability for most medical interpreters
• Matter to patients or most clinical staff
• Guarantee higher pay

In practice, most hospital systems and LSAs accept both CCHI and NBCMI as equivalent national credentials. The NCCA accreditation matters most if you’re applying for a position that specifically requires it (some federal contracts, some academic medical centers), or if you’re in a leadership track where credential quality is scrutinized more closely.

For most working interpreters, it’s a nice-to-have, not a deciding factor.

Which agencies prefer which?

The honest answer: it varies by agency, region, and contract.

• LanguageLine accepts both
• Propio Language Services accepts both
• CyraCom accepts both
• Large hospital systems usually accept both, with some preferring CCHI for contract positions (due to NCCA accreditation)
• Federal contracts sometimes require NCCA-accredited certification, which means CCHI
• State-level certification programs (California, Washington, others) may have their own credential requirements in addition to or instead of national ones

If you’re certifying specifically to qualify for a job you want, ask the hiring agency which credential they prefer before you sit for the exam. Don’t assume either is interchangeable until you’ve checked.

How to decide — a flowchart

Step through these in order:

1. What’s your language pair?

• Arabic → CCHI (only oral option)
• Cantonese, Russian, Vietnamese, Korean → NBCMI (only oral option)
• Spanish or Mandarin → continue to step 2
• Other → CoreCHI or HubCMI (written only)

2. Can you meet NBCMI’s language proficiency requirements?

• Yes (you have a diploma or will take ACTFL/equivalent) → continue to step 3
• No (you’re relying on lived experience) → CCHI

3. Do you want simultaneous interpretation tested?

• Yes → CCHI
• No, consecutive is fine → continue to step 4

4. Which written exam plays to your strengths?

• Ethics and protocol → CCHI
• Medical terminology → NBCMI
• Equally strong in both → continue to step 5

5. Tie-breakers:

• Need NCCA accreditation for a specific job? → CCHI
• Neither? → Flip a coin. Both are legitimate credentials that will open doors.

Study resources for each

For CCHI

• CCHI Candidate Guide. Free from cchiinterpreters.org. Mandatory reading.
• The Community Interpreter: An International Textbook by Marjory Bancroft. Strong on ethics and protocol content that CCHI emphasizes.
• NCIHC National Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice. Free. The ethics content on CCHI’s written exam pulls heavily from this.
• Our interpreter code of ethics post covers the foundational NCIHC standards.

For NBCMI

• NBCMI Candidate Handbook. Free from the NBCMI website. Mandatory.
• The Medical Interpreter: A Foundation Textbook by Marjory Bancroft, Sofía García-Beyaert, and others. The textbook most closely aligned with NBCMI’s terminology-heavy written exam.
• Barron’s Medical Terminology. General medical terminology review.
• Our medical terminology guide for the vocabulary pressure points specific to OPI.

Both certifications offer practice materials on their websites. Budget 100-200 hours of study before sitting for either exam, more if you’re newer to the medical terminology side.

After certification — what changes

Getting certified won’t automatically double your income, but it does open doors:

• Higher-paying contracts. Many hospital systems and LSAs pay a $2-$5 per hour premium for certified interpreters.
• Access to federal and academic medical contracts. Often require certification to qualify.
• Legal and court crossover. A medical certification doesn’t cover court work, but it strengthens your overall professional profile when applying for court interpreter certification.
• CEU requirement. You’ll need to complete continuing education units during your certification cycle. Budget time and money for this.
• Credibility on difficult calls. When you tell a provider you’re a certified medical interpreter, you get more patience with slow-down requests and scope-of-practice conversations.

Our medical interpreter salary guide covers the actual income impact in more detail.

The bottom line

If you’re on the fence, flip a coin. Both CCHI and NBCMI are legitimate, nationally recognized credentials that will get you hired at any LSA or hospital system willing to use certified interpreters. The differences in cost, exam content, and language coverage are real but not huge for most interpreters in most language pairs.

Where the choice actually matters:

• Language coverage. If you interpret Cantonese, Russian, Vietnamese, or Korean, NBCMI is your only oral option.
• Arabic → CCHI only
• Lived experience proof → CCHI only
• Simultaneous interpretation tested → CCHI only

For everyone else, pick the exam whose written content plays to your strengths, start studying, and sit for it. The market treats both credentials as equivalent for most purposes, and the interpreter with a credential always beats the interpreter without one.

For the full picture of what comes next after you pass, our how to become a medical interpreter guide walks through the path from first training through first contract and beyond.