Accreditation

A system of accreditation was introduced by SATI in 1990 to ensure a certain standard of competence in the language practitioners members of the institute.

Accreditation is available only to SATI members with an active membership of at least three months. If membership lapses, accreditation lapses as well.

Student members are not eligible for accreditation.

Accreditation is currently available for several disciplines, you can find detailed information below.

If you wish to apply, please download and read the relevant presentations (in the section below) and follow the instructions.

A certificate will be issued to indicate the form of accreditation obtained.

For any queries, please contact our Accreditation Officer Erica du Preez at .

The current costs for the various types of accreditation are as follows.

• Translation, sworn translation and terminology:
  R1 160 per language combination
• Language editing:
  R1 160 per language
• Interpreting:
  available upon request
  (usually around R1 155 per language combination)

Other costs

• Practice test: R480
• Appeal: R465
• Members residing outside of South Africa pay an additional fee of R250 for Forex

Please note: Fees are subject to change and will be confirmed when applying for accreditation. 

There is an appeal procedure that enables candidates who genuinely feel they should have passed the accreditation examination to have their paper reviewed. Appeals must be lodged within eight weeks of the date of issue of the examination results. Further details are available in a separate pamphlet.

Corporate accreditation is available only for language office members, not for agencies. Only accredited members have voting rights within the Institute, and this applies to corporate members as well. Corporate accreditation takes a different form from individual accreditation and is aimed at ensuring that the highest standards are maintained throughout the profession.

• Accreditation for corporate members enables these members to participate fully in the life of the Institute.
• Accreditation shows corporate members’ commitment to the Institute, to the profession and to improving themselves.

Corporate accreditation for language offices is based on the accreditation of individual employees. In such cases, the corporate member is responsible for the fees related to the testing of the individuals.

Once the requisite number of members have been accredited and all other requirements met, the corporate member will obtain one vote in Institute affairs, which will be exercised by the registered representative of the corporate member.

One person within this language office will then exercise the vote for the office on behalf of the office. This vote is unrelated to any individual vote an employee may have acquired through accreditation.

The individual will retain their personal accreditation without becoming an individual member for as long as they remain in the employ of the corporate member. Being accredited, they become eligible for an individual vote in Institute affairs.

Employees of corporate members who are already accredited at the time the corporate members join the Institute will retain their accreditation without becoming individual members for as long as they remain in the employ of the corporate member. If they leave the corporate member or if the membership of the corporate member is terminated or withdrawn, they must register as individual members of the Institute within one month or they will lose their accreditation.

To be eligible for accreditation, language offices must have been a SATI member for at least one year and must have no pending disciplinary action or rulings against them.

Accreditation will be granted if a minimum of 50% of an office’s employees are accredited by SATI.

The accreditation of an office’s employees follows the same process as that for individual members.

The examination fees are borne by the corporate member and the accreditation remains valid for as long as the employee remains in the employ of the corporate member. If they wish to remain accredited once they leave the corporate office, they need to join as an individual member within a month of leaving the office permanently. If the entity’s corporate membership expires or is revoked, the accreditation of all employees will lapse, unless they register as individual members of the Institute within one month after the corporate member’s membership is discontinued.

Having the requisite number of accredited employees to acquire corporate accredited status confirms the office’s commitment to competence in the profession.

Accreditation could be useful in convincing clients and students that the office is worth associating with.

Accredited offices will be able to use the SATI logo in association with a statement of their accredited status on marketing and promotional material. This will add to their professional credibility and have a beneficial effect on their image.

For a language office to retain its accredited status, a list of its current employees and their accredited status must be submitted upon renewal of membership each year, so that compliance can be checked.

The accreditation application fee for a language office is the same as the fee for an individual accreditation exam, and payment must also be made for the applicable individual accreditation examination fees.

Members wishing to apply for accreditation should request the relevant application form to set the process in motion.

Contact the SATI accreditation officer at