A. Every applicant who seeks to be examined for enrollment as a certified or registered spoken language courtroom interpreter shall prove to the satisfaction of the State Board of Examiners of Courtroom Interpreters that he or she:

B. The Board shall promulgate rules establishing interpreter credentialing standards and requiring the use of oral and written interpreter examinations consistent with nationally recognized state court interpreter certification standards including but not limited to those developed through the National Center for State Courts language access programs. Candidates shall be required to attend a training program approved by the Board, and shall be required to establish their proficiency in English and in the foreign language through the written and oral examinations required by the Board.

C. An applicant who is academically dishonest when taking any authorized examination is disqualified and may not take the examination again until five (5) years have elapsed from the date of the examination at which the applicant is disqualified.

D. All applicants who satisfy the credentialing requirements set forth in this section and in the Board's rules and have otherwise been found and approved by the Board to be fit and proper persons shall be recommended by the Board to the Supreme Court for official enrollment as certified or registered courtroom interpreters. Any individual enrolled as a certified or registered courtroom interpreter is qualified to engage in the translation of written text and the interpretation of spoken words in the courts of this state.

E. In district court proceedings, the court shall endeavor to obtain the services of a courtroom interpreter with the highest available level of credential prior to accepting services of an interpreter with lesser credential and skill, pursuant to the requirements set forth in the Rules of the Supreme Court and Section 1710 of this title.

F. In determining whether an applicant meets the requisite standards of ethical fitness as set forth in this section, the Board is authorized to conduct a criminal history record check including but not limited to a criminal history record check through the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI), or a national criminal history record check through the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) pursuant to Section 150.9 of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes or other applicable statute. This paragraph is specifically intended to provide the statutory authority required by the OSBI and FBI to provide criminal history background check services and information to the Board for this purpose. Applicants shall furnish all releases, authorizations, fingerprints or other items necessary to enable the Board to conduct the background check. The Board shall charge the applicant a fee in an amount approved by the Supreme Court for the background check.

G. The Board may maintain a registry of certified interpreters for the deaf and hard-of-hearing to serve as qualified legal interpreters pursuant to the provisions of Section 2408 of Title 63 of the Oklahoma Statutes. Applicants shall establish to the satisfaction of the Board that they hold at least one of the sign language interpreting credentials which the Board deems appropriate for interpreting in the courts of this state, and shall satisfy the registration requirements as set forth in the rules of the Board.