UNSPSC 90121702: Interpreters

UNSPSC 90121702 Interpreters (Commodity) encompasses professional language access services that state and local governments procure to remove communication barriers across healthcare, education, legal, emergency management, and social service settings. Recent solicitations show state and local buyers acquiring in-person interpretation, over-the-phone interpretation (OPI), video remote interpretation (VRI), document translation, American Sign Language (ASL) services, and specialized modalities such as certified deaf interpreters, real-time captioning (CART), and tactile interpreting. School districts dominate the recent activity, often seeking ASL interpreters for deaf and hard-of-hearing students; healthcare systems seek multilingual clinical interpretation; courts and emergency management agencies request language-specific remote interpretation; and county and state agencies procure comprehensive language access for public-facing services.

Recent opportunities span the country, with heavy concentration in Texas (Katy ISD, Laredo ISD, Austin ISD, Eanes ISD, Denton County, Collin County, Harris County Education) and Georgia (Fulton County Schools, Forsyth County Schools, Eanes ISD, Muscogee County, Ware County, Columbia County), alongside significant activity in Florida (Hillsborough County Public Schools, Tacoma Public Schools in Washington, San Mateo Medical Center in California, Montgomery County Pennsylvania, Wake County North Carolina, Sacramento County, CareOregon, Mississippi State Department of Health, Rhode Island Division of Purchases, and New Jersey Department of Treasury. Recent representative solicitations include CareOregon's RFP 2026-05 (due August 11, 2026) seeking multilingual healthcare interpreters across in-person, telephonic, and video modalities with Oregon certification requirements and estimated monthly volume of 22,600 appointments; Hillsborough County Public Schools RFP 26041-DST (due April 15, 2026) for sign language interpreting services serving 235 schools with $950,000 annual budget and EIPA level 3.5 or RID/BEI certification requirements; San Mateo Medical Center RFP 66000-2425-195 (due April 9, 2025) for $2,230,000 language services contract emphasizing 24/7 support and US-based interpreters; and Denton County ITB #25-2894 (due April 23, 2026) for emergency operations interpretation in ten languages with one-hour response time during activations and HUB set-aside preference. Pricing structures vary widely—hourly rates for ASL and in-person services ($18–$20/hour typical for paraprofessionals), per-minute rates for telephonic and video ($0.30–$0.50 per minute common), and per-word translation ($0.12–$0.25 per word range observed)—with firm pricing typically required for initial contract terms and cost-of-living adjustments capped at 3–4% annually on renewals. Many procurements emphasize certification (RID, BEI, CCHI, NBCMI, state-level credentials) and insurance minimums ($1–$2 million general liability common). No incumbent vendors appear across most opportunities; multiple-vendor awards are standard; and contract terms typically run one to three years with optional annual renewals extending three to five years total.