The North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts (NCAOC) is committed to removing barriers that hinder equal access to justice by individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP). This communication provides two key updates from NCAOC’s Office of Language Access Services (OLAS).

Revised Standards. Effective July 2024, OLAS issued revised Standards for Language Access Services, which are NCAOC’s policies and procedures to provide LEP persons with foreign language interpreters and are issued under the Director’s statutory authority (G.S. §7A-343(9c)).

Updated Initiating Forms. Effective July 1, 2024, NCAOC updated forms that initiate proceedings to capture information on LEP spoken language interpreter needs. Clerks will use this information to flag that an interpreter is needed in the case management system for tracking and reporting purposes. However, NCAOC’s case management system(s) does not automatically schedule interpreters. Attorneys for LEP parties must request an interpreter for each court event.

Requests for interpreters should be submitted to the Local Access Coordinator (LAC) through the NCAOC’s Office of Language Access Services (OLAS) website at least 10 business days prior to the scheduled court event. For proceedings where a 10-business day notice is not possible (such as summary ejectments or ex parte domestic violence motions), requests must be made as soon as possible after the proceeding is placed on the court calendar. Judicial Branch staff assist self-represented litigants with requests for interpreters in accordance with NCAOC’s policies and guidelines. Updated October 2, 2024.

Additional information on NCAOC Language Access Services can be found online.

If you would like to receive updates regarding language access in North Carolina's court systems, please contact the Office of Language Access Services at [email protected].