ATA Certification Exam Policy

Candidates are informed only of whether they have passed or failed the exam. Exams are not returned and are the property of the ATA Certification Committee, which will not discuss them with anyone.

Each exam is evaluated according to ATA certification standards by two or more graders under the auspices of the Certification Committee. Given the nature of translation and of translation quality assessment, a candidate may disagree with certain grading decisions. In electing to sit for this exam, the candidate agrees to accept the outcome of the grading procedure, including the review procedure, if any.

Using unauthorized online resources may result in forfeit of your exam registration fee, restrictions on future certification eligibility, and ATA ethics sanctioning. The list of approved online resources can be found at: http://nx29.datsumoki.net/certification/prepare-to-take-the-ata-certification-exam/restrictions-and-requirements/resources/.

Candidates are not to discuss or reveal the contents of the examination. A breach of confidentiality may be grounds for loss of Certification.

If a candidate does not return all original exam passages at the end of the exam sitting, the exam will not be graded. The candidate will forfeit the exam fee and will not be eligible to sit for another exam until the following exam year.

A candidate who fails the exam may apply for Certification review within two months from the date of notice of exam results.  Reviews are conducted after the exam year has ended.  If the grade of fail is upheld, the candidate will receive a graded copy or partial copy of the examination.  An appeal process is in place.

Upon passage of the Certification exam, ATA members will automatically be upgraded to voting membership. Student members must upgrade to full membership status in order to become Active or Corresponding members.

In order to claim the ATA Certification credential, translators must remain ATA members in good standing and fulfill certain continuing education requirements.