HLO News Details

Board of Sign Language Interpreters– Licensing Update

Temporary Pause for License Applications and License Renewals and the Repeal of Educational, Legal and Medical Licenses effective January 1, 2026.

During the 2025 Legislative Session, Senate Bill (SB) 950 (2025) was enacted to further refine the licensure and regulation of sign language interpreters (SLI) in Oregon. The bill requires the Board of Sign Language Interpreters (Board) to adopt administrative rules by January 1, 2026, to:

• Establish licensing and renewal fees;
• Establish requirements for obtaining an SLI–in-training license, including supervision and renewal standards;
• Align SLI supervisory, generalist, and provisional licenses with a three-year license and renewal cycle;
• Remove renewal limitations for the SLI generalist license and permit up to two renewals of the SLI provisional license, with each renewal valid for three years, effective January 1, 2026; and
• Establish authorized practice settings for individuals issued an SLI educational, legal, or medical licenses prior to January 1, 2026.

Please note: The Health Licensing Office (HLO) has published FAQs for educational, legal and medical licenses to help explain how the current law aligns with SB 950 (2025). Visit the Board website for additional information including FAQs, status on rules, and updated Board meeting information. 

The Board was scheduled to meet on October 22, 2025, to adopt temporary rules necessary to meet the January 1, 2026, operative date of SB 950 (2025). However, a Board member's resignation during the meeting resulted in the loss of quorum, requiring the meeting to be canceled. Additional meetings could not be scheduled during the remainder of 2025 because quorum requirements continued to be unmet.

As a result, the Board was unable to adopt temporary rules or establish license and renewal fees prior to the bill's operative date. Accordingly, the Board will temporarily pause acceptance of all sign language interpreter license applications and license renewals until it is able to meet, adopt temporary rules, and establish a fee structure. 

The Board is currently scheduled to meet on February 4, 2026, contingent upon meeting public meeting law requirements, including quorum and language access obligations. The HLO anticipates that temporary rules will be reviewed and adopted at that meeting.

Any license or renewal applications received by the HLO during the temporary pause, and prior to the adoption of temporary rules, will be returned to the sender with instructions on how to proceed.

Educational, Legal and Medical License Holders

If you were issued a permanent Board SLI educational, legal or medical license between June 8, 2024, and December 31, 2025, your license will be extended until January 1, 2029, and you can provide sign language interpretation services in settings that the Board authorizes without needing extra licenses. The Board was scheduled to adopt temporary rules on October 22, 2025, but quorum requirements to hold a public meeting could not be met. The Board is scheduled to meet on February 4, 2026, at which time the Board is expected to review and adopt temporary rules, including defining educational, medical and legal settings.

The HLO has published FAQs to help understand how the current law aligns with SB 950 (2025). 

Additional information will be posted on the Board of Sign Language Interpreters webpage once temporary rules are adopted. 

For questions, please contact Samie Patnode at samie.patnode@oha.oregon.gov.

If you need this email in another format, please contact Josh Page at (503) 934-0720 or josh.page@oha.oregon.gov, or Krissy Pickett at (503) 378-2093 or krissy.pickett@oha.oregon.gov. All relay calls are accepted.