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Home/Services/ISO Standards/ISO 18841 — Interpreting Services
ISO 18841:2018 · INTERPRETING SERVICES

ISO 18841 — interpreting services, credentialled.

The international standard for interpreting service provision — interpreter qualifications, assignment protocols and quality assurance. Increasingly the gate for government language-service panels; we build the system and take you through conformity assessment.

Fixed-price quotation10–14 weeks, brief to certificatePairs naturally with ISO 9001
SPEC PLATE — AT A GLANCE
STANDARDISO 18841:2018
SCOPEInterpreting service requirements
TIMELINE10–14 weeks typical
CERTIFICATIONStage 1 + Stage 2, JAS-ANZ accredited body
CYCLEAnnual surveillance · 3-year recertification
PAIRS WITHISO 9001 — one quality shell, two certificates
Quoted fixed-price after a thirty-minute scoping call
FIXED PRICEQUOTED · LOCKED
WHO IT SERVES

Built for language service providers competing on assurance.

USE-01
Government and health panels

MBIE, health and justice buyers are formalising language-service quality requirements. 18841 conformity answers the panel question with evidence.

USE-02
Interpreter competency on record

Qualifications, NAATI credentials, specialisations and CPD in one register — every assignment matched to a verified interpreter.

USE-03
Assignments that run to protocol

Booking, briefing, modality selection, terminology and debrief — a documented pipeline instead of coordinator memory.

CLAUSE REGISTER

What the standard asks. What we build.

Clauses 4–10 · the auditable core
CLAUSETHE STANDARD ASKS FORWHAT KAIZEN BUILDS WITH YOU
CL 4Context of the organisationScope of interpreting services, client sectors and the issues register.
CL 5LeadershipService policy, roles and accountabilities across coordinators and interpreters.
CL 6PlanningAssignment risk assessment — modality, setting, sensitivity — and service objectives.
CL 7SupportInterpreter qualification register, CPD records and controlled procedures.
CL 8OperationThe assignment lifecycle — request, matching, briefing, delivery, debrief and records.
CL 9Performance evaluationClient feedback, assignment QA sampling, internal audit and management review.
CL 10ImprovementComplaint and incident handling — root cause to close-out, with the trail.
SEQUENCE — HOW WE DELIVER IT
The full method →
WK 1
Scope & fixed quote
WK 2–3
Gap analysis
WK 3–7
System build
WK 7–11
Implement & train
WK 11–14
Certification audit
THE DEAL

What you get, what it costs, how long it takes.

DELIVERABLES
Service manual & assignment protocolsInterpreter competency & CPD registerInternal audit + management review, run with your teamComplaint handling & QA sampling workflowCertification audit support — we're in the room
INVESTMENT
Fixed price, quoted in writing

Scoped on a thirty-minute call. The quote covers everything on this page — no hourly surprises, no scope creep. Every line item is in the quote.

TIMELINE
10–14 weeks, brief to certificate

Confirmed in the quote and planned backwards from the certification audit date. Urgent timeline? Say so on the call — compression is a specialty.

Certificate valid 3 years with annual surveillance
REF — RELATED SPEC SHEETS
Full registry →
STD-45001ISO 45001 — Health & SafetySTD-14001ISO 14001 — EnvironmentalSTD-IMSIntegrated Management Systems
Q&A — ISO 18841

Yes — most providers do. The standard cares that competency is verified and assignments follow protocol, not who holds the employment contract. The register covers your whole panel, employed or freelance.

An independent, JAS-ANZ accredited certification body — never us. We build the system, prepare your team and support you through their Stage 1 and Stage 2 audits. That separation is what makes the certificate credible.

Yes — ISO 17100 covers translation services. Many providers build both on one quality shell; we scope them together so the shared clauses are built once.

NEXT STEP

Ready to get ISO 18841 under way?

A thirty-minute scoping call, then a fixed-price quote in writing — with the certification date planned from day one.

Book a consultation0800 KAIZEN (524 936) · hello@kaizenconsulting.co.nz