Effective January 1, 2026: Temporary Pause for License Applications and License Renewals and the Repeal of Educational, Legal and Medical Licenses
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.
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).
Limited Waiver on Enforcement Extended
While the Oregon Board of Sign Language Interpreters, Rules Advisory Committee continues to work through the rule writing process to make rule language recommendations to the Board, the Health Licensing Office (HLO) is extending the limited waiver on enforcement through midnight on June 30, 2026. This means that the HLO is exercising its discretion to not take disciplinary action against individuals who are required to be licensed and choose to work under the limited waiver on enforcement, i.e., not obtain a permanent board license (permanent license).
The limited waiver of enforcement is narrow; the waiver only applies to the singular issue of providing sign language interpretation services in Oregon without a license. The HLO may impose discipline for any other violation of the HLO or Board rules or statutes. The limited waiver of enforcement ends on June 30, 2026. On July 1, 2026, any individual not covered by an exception and providing sign language interpreting (SLI) services will need to have a permanent license to avoid enforcement action by HLO.
Practitioner Information
The following regulated professions are overseen by the Board of Sign Language Interpreters. Learn more about applying for a license, associated fees, laws, rules and more by following the links below:
About the Board
The Oregon Board of Sign Language Interpreters consists of seven members appointed by the Governor:
- Two members who are deaf, deafblind or hard of hearing and who represent an association in Oregon that promotes and protects the rights of persons who are deaf and hard of hearing.
- One member who represents a professional organization in Oregon for sign language interpreters and who holds a license issued by the Health Licensing Office.
- One member who represents a sign language interpreter education program at a post-secondary institution in Oregon and who holds a license issued by the Health Licensing Office.
- Two members who are hearing interpreters certified by or registered with a national organization for sign language interpreters and who holds a license issued by the Health Licensing Office.
- One member who is a deaf interpreter certified by or registered with a national organization for sign language interpreters and who holds a license issued by the Health Licensing Office.
All members must be residents of Oregon and proficient in American Sign Language. The term of office of each member of the board is three years, with a member eligible for reappointment. Members serve at the pleasure of the Governor.
Board Members
Board Recruitment
Are you interested in serving as a volunteer citizen board member? HLO-regulated boards seek new members as current board member terms expire.
Current vacancies and how to apply
For board recruitment questions or the appointment process, contact the Oregon Governor's Office of Executive Appointments at 503-378-6829.
Violations of Oregon Public Meetings Law
There are mandatory prerequisites for submitting Public Meetings Law complaints to the Oregon Government Ethics Commission (OGEC). These prerequisites also apply to executive session complaints. If you fail to satisfy the mandatory prerequisites before filing your complaint with OGEC, the OGEC has stated that it will dismiss your complaint.
If you are comfortable addressing your public meetings law concern directly with the Health Licensing Office (HLO) instead of filing a formal complaint, then the HLO invites you to do so. However, if this is not possible or if your concerns remain unresolved, the OGEC has the authority to enforce public meetings laws.
The OGEC offers a complaint process to submit alleged violations of Oregon public meetings law. Information about the process and frequently asked questions can be found at: https://stage.oregon.gov/ogec/public-records/Pages/Complaints.aspx.
In accordance with the mandatory prerequisite of filing a written grievance with the public body before filing your complaint with OGEC, you can submit the “Oregon Public Meetings Law – Complaint Form" to Josh Page through one of the following methods:
- By email to josh.page@oha.oregon.gov.
- In person, between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. on any open business day, Monday through Friday, at the following location:
Health Licensing Office
1430 Tandem Ave. NE, Suite 180
Salem, OR 97301-2192
- Via mail, addressed to the attention of Josh Page at the above HLO address.