Take the Diploma in Public Service Interpreting (DPSI)

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What is the DPSI?

The 无忧传媒 Qualifications Level 6听Diploma in Public Service Interpreting (DPSI)听has been听the benchmark qualification for public service interpreting for over 30 years, and is now available fully online.听

What are the benefits?

Recognised by the UK听Ministry of Justice听and for the UK Police听PAIT Scheme, the DPSI is also听strongly recommended for work in Health and all public service contexts.

Enhance your career - you will be entitled to:
- Use the title听'DPSI'听after your name
- Apply for听full membership听of the听无忧传媒
- Apply for registration on the听National Register of Public Service Interpreters (NRPSI)
- Take on the听highest level听and听best paid听public service interpreting work
鈥�The DPSI is an听Ofqual-regulated, nationally recognised qualification

What format does the exam take?

The qualification is composed of five units:

Unit 01:听Interpret consecutively and simultaneously
Unit 02:听Provide a sight translation into English听
Unit 03:听Provide a sight translation from English
Unit 04:听Translate into English听
Unit 05:听Translate from English

For detailed information on the content and format of the qualification please refer to the听DPSI Qualification Specification.

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How can I prepare for the exam?

The 无忧传媒 Qualifications听Level 6 Diploma in Public Service Interpreting is a professional qualification, set at degree level. It is the responsibility of each candidate to ensure that they are sufficiently prepared for the exam, competent in both the source and target languages, have very good interpreting and writing skills and the ability to interpret at a professional level. It is essential that you read the听Qualification Specification听and our听Candidate Information听for detailed information about the exam format, criteria and regulations.

The exam is available both to candidates attending courses听and to independent candidates. It is good practice to prepare for a professional qualification by following a course of study. Courses are available in different regions of the UK. Please refer to the听list of courses听and contact course providers directly. Please note that as the Awarding Organisation for the DPSI, we are unable to endorse or recommend any particular course.

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Preparing to take the听DPSI online

An is available to help you in preparing to take the DPSI online. This is recommended, to familiarise yourself with the exam software in advance.

This (click the link or on the picture below) offers advice on joining the DPSI Oral Unit.听

This听听(click the link or the picture below) offers advice on joining the 无忧传媒Q Online Exam Delivery Platform for written units.听

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Examiner Reports & Sample Law Paper

Candidates may also be interested in recent听DPSI Examiner Reports which set out recommendations based on previous DPSI candidate performance by language. A sample Law paper in English is also available here.听

Past Papers

You can purchase past DPSI papers using this听DPSI Past Paper Order Form.

DPSI Role Play Topics

Role Play topics for the November 2025 exam session, will be published here on 03 November 2025.

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Unit 01

Interpret consecutively and simultaneously in the public services听

无忧传媒 Qualifications (无忧传媒Q) listened to feedback received from candidates and training providers and made the decision to change听the way in which Unit 01 of the 无忧传媒 Qualifications Level 6 Diploma in Public Service Interpreting (DPSI) is examined. The initial move in 2020 to online assessment (due in part to the Covid-19 pandemic) and our decision to continue to offer online assessments presented an opportunity for us to review and improve the way in which we assess this unit.

Following the success of this approach in the last several years, Unit 01 will continue to be assessed via Microsoft Teams using an audio recording for听Unit 01 鈥� Part B. You will listen to the audio recording through headphones and interpret simultaneously. In the live exam each audio recording will be approximately 4 minutes in length.

An English Unit 01 paper is available here:听DPSI Sample Paper U01.pdf

Key points:

An interlocutor will support you during your Unit 01- Part A and Part B exam
Your laptop/PC must always have a camera and microphone access
You must ensure you have good quality headset with a microphone
You must have either Windows 10 or 11 for Microsoft or macOS 12.0 or higher for Apple Mac
Minimum bandwidth requirement of at least 5 Mbps Upload / 10 Mbps Download
It is highly recommended that, where possible, a wired network is used, for faster internet and more reliable connectivity

More about Unit 01:

Part A听鈥� Interpret consecutively between an English Speaker and a speaker of the Other Language. Both speakers will be present and the exam will be conducted on Microsoft Teams. A recording will not be used for Part A. Role play topics are published on our website in line with the dates confirmed in the Key Dates document. You will be required to interpret consecutively for approximately听20 minutes.

Part B听鈥� Interpret simultaneously. You are not听required to whisper.

You will listen to two audio recordings which you will be required to interpret simultaneously. On the day of the exam an invigilator will share the audio recordings with you. The two recordings cannot be slowed down and there will be no repetition. The recordings will be as follows:

Recording 1: Interpret simultaneously from your chosen language into English
Recording 2: Interpret simultaneously into your chosen language from English

Both Recording 1 and Recording 2 will be on the same broad topic but could be from a different area. Role play topics are published on our website in line with the dates confirmed in the Key Dates document. You will be required to interpret simultaneously for a period of听10 minutes.

The format of the assessment has been changed听for online delivery, but the learning outcomes and assessment descriptors remain the same. The marking and moderation of completed assessments and results processing remain unchanged.听

If you have any questions please contact our Client Services Team (CST) by email to听info.dpsi@ciol.org.uk听听

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Dates

Registration for the November 2025 exam session is now open. Please note minimum candidate numbers are required for certain languages to run, so please register early to avoid disappointment.

The November听2025听exam dates are:

17听鈥� 21听November听2025 all oral units听
25听November听2025 all written units听

The听November 2025听key dates document听provides useful information about dates and deadlines.

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Fees

For November 2025听the following fees apply:听听

Unit 01 - 拢300
Unit 02 -听拢250
Unit 03 - 拢250
Unit 04 - 拢250
Unit 05 - 拢250

Full exam entry (or a combination of any four units)听- 拢995

For more information, please check our Exam Fees, Invoicing and Billing Policy on our听Policies听page.

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Languages

For the November听2025听exam听session the following languages (paired with English) are听offered:

Law听pathway - Arabic (MSA), Cantonese (Traditional), Farsi, French, Mandarin (Simplified), Panjabi (Indian), Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, Ukrainian and Urdu.

Health听pathway -听Arabic (MSA), Cantonese (Traditional), Polish, Spanish听and Urdu.

You can express an interest in other languages and future sessions听here.

If you have any other questions about languages, pathways, or future sessions听please contact our Client Services Team (CST) at听info.dpsi@ciol.org.uk听听

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Registration

Registration for the November 2025 exam session is now听open.听Please register early as minimum candidate numbers are required for certain languages to run, and if these are not met your application may be rejected for this exam session.

You can register and pay using the Register Now button below.

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Once you have submitted the registration form,听you will be taken to PayPal to complete the payment. You do not need to have a Paypal account to book and pay, you can pay securely via PayPay using a debit/credit card. Your payment will be taken by the IoL Educational Trust, 无忧传媒's associated educational charity.

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If you are interested in other languages or in taking the DPSI in June 2026, please听express an interest here.听

For help and support with registration and payment contact us at听info.dpsi@ciol.org.uk

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