What is the difference between an "approved" or "conditionally approved" court interpreter and a "registered" court interpreter?

Interpreters may become "approved" or "conditionally approved" only if they have reached an appropriate score on a court interpreter performance examination, sometimes referred to as an "oral" examination as it is a test that measures ability of actual court interpreting skills. Interpreters who work in languages for which there is no such performance examination are designated "registered." These interpreters may remain in this status only for as long as no performance test has become available in a particular language. Once an exam is developed in a language, all persons registered for that language must take the exam and qualify at some appropriate level in order to remain in the Registry of Interpreting Resources. If they qualify, then they will become either "approved" or "conditionally approved." Anyone who declines to be tested within a reasonable time period or who takes the test and does not score at the Conditionally Approved level or higher will be removed from the Registry of Interpreting Resources.