Offering your interpretation services in Indigenous languages or foreign languages
To offer the Translation Bureau your interpretation services in Indigenous or foreign languages as a self-employed individual, freelancer or firm, you must follow the steps below:
- 1. meet the eligibility criteria
- 2. pass the Translation Bureau’s accreditation exam
- 3. obtain your Canada Revenue Agency business number and your procurement business number
- 4. apply for registration in the Translation Bureau’s directory of linguistic services suppliers
Security Clearance: Suppliers themselves cannot request security clearance. They must be sponsored by a federal department. Only after they have passed the Translation Bureau’s accreditation exam or have been registered in its directory of suppliers can the Translation Bureau sponsor them if it finds that they need such clearance.
Privacy notice
Provision of the personal information is collected on a voluntary basis pursuant to the Financial Administration Act. The information will be used by the Translation Bureau (Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC)) to identify potential individuals and firms to offer interpretation services. Refusal to provide personal information or missing information or supporting documents may result in the disqualification of individuals or firms from the bidding process. The personal information is described in the Standard Personal Information Bank Professional Services Contracts, PSU 912. Under the Privacy Act you have the right to access and correct your personal information, if erroneous or incomplete. Your personal information is protected, used, and disclosed in accordance with the Privacy Act. If you require clarification about this statement, you can contact the PSPC Privacy Director by email at aiprp.atip@pwgsc.gc.ca; by phone at 873‑469‑3721, or by regular mail at the following address: Privacy Director, 5C1, Portage, Phase III, Gatineau, Quebec Canada, K1A 0S5. For more general information on privacy issues and the Privacy Act, please visit the Privacy Commissioner web site or call 1‑800‑282‑1376.
1. Meet the eligibility criteria
You must ensure that you meet 1 of the following eligibility criteria:
- be a member of the International Association of Conference Interpreters
- provide evidence of at least 2 years’ experience as an interpreter in a recognized organization
- have a university degree in conference interpretation, as opposed to community or court interpretation
- have a university degree in a related discipline, with solid experience in conference interpretation
- provide evidence of 100 days of conference interpretation in a supervised setting over the past 3 years
If you are a firm, you must ensure that each proposed resource meets the eligibility criteria.
2. Pass the Translation Bureau’s accreditation exam
If you would like to write the accreditation exam, please email the Translation Bureau Procurement Centre at btrepertoire.tbdirectory@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca (please read our privacy notice statement) and include your CV and the supporting documents demonstrating that you meet the eligibility criteria.
If upon review, your file is found to be complete and if you meet the eligibility criteria, the Translation Bureau will contact you to invite you to write the accreditation exam and inform you of upcoming exam dates.
If you are offering your services as a firm, each candidate on your team must pass the accreditation exam.
3. Obtain your Canada Revenue Agency business number and your procurement business number
If you meet the eligibility criteria, you must obtain the following required numbers:
Canada Revenue Agency business number
The business number (BN) is a numbering system that streamlines the way businesses deal with the federal government. If you have a Goods and Services Tax (GST) number or a Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) number, you already have a business number. The first 9 digits of your GST/HST number constitute your business number (such as 123456789RT0001). This number is required to obtain your procurement business number (PBN).
To obtain your BN, you have to complete form RC1 Request for a Business Number (Canada Revenue Agency).
For more information on the business number
- registering your business (Canada Revenue Agency)
- contact the Canada Revenue Agency
- 1‑800‑959‑5525 for service in English
- 1‑800‑959‑7775 for service in French
Procurement business number
To obtain a PBN, you must register with the Supplier Registration Information (SRI) system, a database of registered suppliers who want to do business with the federal government, or call 1‑800‑811‑1148 (and select option # 2 for assistance regarding the SRI).
4. Apply for registration in the Translation Bureau’s directory of linguistic services suppliers
After obtaining your BN and your PBN, complete and submit the registration form for the Translation Bureau’s directory of linguistic services suppliers online.
Remember to attach the supporting documents required according to the services being offered. (Meet the eligibility criteria)
If you are offering your services as a firm, you must provide the name of and the supporting documents for each candidate on your team.
For more information, contact the Translation Bureau Procurement centre.
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