There are numerous associations within the United Kingdom aiming in various ways to assist local translators, interpreters and/or translation/interpreting companies/agencies, as shown below (in approximate order of age).

General organizations

Chartered Institute of Linguists Founded as the Institute of Linguists in 1910, the Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIOL) received its Royal Charter in 2005, and is a professional association for language professionals. CIOL supports linguists throughout their careers, and pro ...

(CIOL) Charity founded 1910; around 7,000 members. Name changed from IoL to CIOL in 2005. * Translators' Guild (defunct) Former part of the IoL; broke away to form the ITI (see below). *

Translators Association The Translators Association (TA) is an association representing literary translators in the United Kingdom. The Translators Association is affiliated with the International Federation of Translators (FIT). History The Translators Association (TA) ...

(TA) Trade union founded in 1958, as part of the

Society of Authors The Society of Authors (SoA) is a United Kingdom trade union for professional writers, illustrators and literary translators, founded in 1884 to protect the rights and further the interests of authors. , it represents over 12,000 members and as ...

. For literary translators. *

Association of Police and Court Interpreters Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

(APCI) Founded 1974. See http://www.apciinterpreters.org.uk/ * Association of Translation Companies (ATC) Founded in 1976; around 180 member companies. *

Association of Welsh Translators and Interpreters The Association of Welsh Translators and Interpreters, which brands itself with its Welsh name Cymdeithas Cyfieithwyr Cymru, is a professional body representing English/Welsh translators and interpreters in Wales. The association has some 340 mem ...

(AWTI) Founded in 1976; around 140 members, of whom 75% are translators. * Institute of Translation & Interpreting (ITI) Non-profit organization founded in 1986; over 3000 members. * National Register of Public Service Interpreters (NRPSI) See https://www.nrpsi.org.uk/ An independent regulator for interpreters working with public services, founded in 1994 and administered by the CIOL until 2011. Around 2000 registrants. See also SPSI (below). *

National Union of Professional Interpreters and Translators National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

(NUPIT) Founded in 2001. Part of

Unite Unite may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums * ''Unite'' (A Friend in London album), 2013 album by Danish band A Friend in London * ''Unite'' (Kool & the Gang album), 1993 * ''Unite'' (The O.C. Supertones album), 2005 Songs ...

, the largest trade union in the UK; around 100 members. See http://www.unitetheunion.org/nupit *

Society of Official Metropolitan Interpreters UK Ltd A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Socie ...

(SOMI UK Ltd) Formed in 2009 to represent Metropolitan Police interpreters. Its purpose is to make representations on behalf of its members, to advocate for their rights and interests, and to liaise and negotiate with work providers and official bodies. See http://www.somiukltd.com/ *

Professional Interpreters' Alliance A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

(PIA) Founded in 2009 (incorporated in 2010) primarily due to concern about the effect of arrangements betwee
Applied Language Solutions
and certain police forces regarding the hiring of interpreters. Around 300 members. See http://profintal.org/ (previously profintal.org.uk and rpsi.name), and see also PI4J below. *

Society for Public Service Interpreting A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Socie ...

(SPSI) (defunct) Formed in April 2011 as successor to some of the functions of the NRPSI. Website dead since 2013
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*

Professional Interpreters for Justice A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

(PI4J/PIJ) Umbrella group formed in 2012 by 10 interpreters’ organizations to campaign against the new

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

framework agreement for public service interpreting. Se
NUPIT page
and https://twitter.com/united4justice *

Association of Qualified Translators and Interpreters Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

(AQTI) Founded in 2013 to "bring professionals and users of translators and interpreters together". In 2016 became ACCI (see below) - website dead since that time
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*

Association of Certified Interpreters Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

(ACCI) Successor to AQTI, renamed in 2016 as a "global not-for-profit body for professional interpreters" (but still clearly UK-centric). See https://acciglobal.org * Police Approved Interpreters and Translators (PAIT) A scheme introduced by the

National Police Chiefs' Council The National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) is a national coordination body for law enforcement in the United Kingdom and the representative body for British police chief officers. Established on 1 April 2015, it replaced the former Association o ...

in 2021, for interpreters and translators carrying out police assignments across England and Wales. Se
NPCC explanation

Sign language and Lipspeakers

Scottish Association of Sign Language Interpreters Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English * Scottish national identity, the Scottish id ...

(SASLI) Founded in 1981, becoming independent the next year. Around 50 members (registered

British Sign Language British Sign Language (BSL) is a sign language used in the United Kingdom (UK), and is the first or preferred language among the Deaf community in the UK. Based on the percentage of people who reported 'using British Sign Language at home' on ...

/English interpreters). Holds the public register of BSL/English Interpreters for Scotland. See http://www.sasli.co.uk/ *

National Registers of Communication Professionals working with Deaf and Deafblind People National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

(NRCPD) Registers used since 1982, although only formally founded in 2009. Administered by

Signature A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. The writer of a ...

(previously CACDP, the Council for the Advancement of Communication with Deaf People). Operates the Registered Sign Language Interpreter (RSLI) scheme. See http://www.nrcpd.org.uk/ *

Association of Sign Language Interpreters Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

(ASLI) Founded in 1987, and formerly administered from the same premises as ITI. Around 500 members. See http://www.asli.org.uk/ *

Visual Language Professionals The visual system comprises the sensory organ (the eye) and parts of the central nervous system (the retina containing photoreceptor cells, the optic nerve, the optic tract and the visual cortex) which gives organisms the sense of sight (th ...

(VLP) Founded in 2010. Includes not only sign language interpreters but also deafblind communicators, BSL/English translators and lipspeakers. See http://www.vlp.org.uk/ *

National Union of British Sign Language Interpreters National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

(NUBSLI) Founded in 2014 as part of

, to represent BSL/English interpreters/translators. Represents approximately 30% of registered BSL interpreters in the UK. See http://nubsli.com *

Association of Lipspeakers Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

(ALS) The ALS is the professional body that represents lipspeakers in the UK. We aim to promote lipspeaking and its good practice, and encourage the further development of lipspeaking as a communication service. See http://www.lipspeaking.co.uk

Tourist guides

Not all

Blue Badge tourist guide Blue Badge Tourist Guides are a body of commonly associated tourist guides in the United Kingdom. They wear a Blue Badge to indicate their membership of this formalised association. They are recognised by local tourist bodies throughout the UK, an ...

s have to have interpreting skills, but many do, taking language exams administered by the

Institute of Tourist Guiding Blue Badge Tourist Guides are a body of commonly associated tourist guides in the United Kingdom. They wear a Blue Badge to indicate their membership of this formalised association. They are recognised by local tourist bodies throughout the UK, an ...

and tested to CIOL or

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ministries of fore ...

standards. *

Guild of Registered Tourist Guides A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

(GRTG) Founded in 1950 as the Guild of Guide Lecturers (renamed in 1995). Over 1700 members. See http://www.britainsbestguides.org *

Association of Professional Tourist Guides Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

(APTG) An autonomous group within

, partly rebranded as ''Guide London''. Around 470 members. See http://www.guidelondon.org.uk/ (previously http://www.touristguides.org.uk/). Date of founding unclear: '1980', 'the 1980s', '1998' or '2000'. *

Scottish Tourist Guides Association Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English * Scottish national identity, the Scottish id ...

(STGA) Over 400 members. Date of founding unclear: 'over 50 years ago' or '1996'. See http://www.stga.co.uk/

Miscellaneous

Asylum and Immigration Tribunal The Asylum and Immigration Tribunal (AIT) was a tribunal constituted in the United Kingdom with jurisdiction to hear appeals from many immigration and asylum decisions. It was created on 4 April 2005, replacing the former Immigration Appellate Auth ...

(AIT; previously the Immigration Appellate Authority) Interpreters Panel Not strictly a professional association, although sometimes described that way. The AIT became part of a unified Tribunals framework (see tribunals.gov.uk, although in 2011 this merged with HM Courts Service to form HM Courts & Tribunals Service). What is now the Central Interpreters Unit (CIU) was established in September 2000, with a central database used by ports and UK Visas & Immigration (UKVI) agency offices, and a remit that does include interpreter training.{{Cite web, url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-for-interpreters/guidance-for-interpreters, title = Guidance for UKVI freelance interpreters *

International Association of Conference Interpreters The International Association of Conference Interpreters - AIIC (AIIC – Association Internationale des Interprètes de Conférence) was founded in 1953. It represents over 3,000 members present in over 100 countries. Overview AIIC is the only ...

(AIIC) Founded 1953. Not UK-centric, but lists over 130 interpreters based in the UK / Ireland (as part of a global network of 3000).

General organizations

Sign language and Lipspeakers

Tourist guides

Miscellaneous

References

See also