2026-09-18
来源：中国外文局翻译院
China Accreditation Test for Translators and Interpreters (CATTI)
I. About CATTI
China Accreditation Test for Translators and Interpreters (hereinafter referred to as CATTI) is a state-level professional qualification examination entrusted by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MHRSS) of the People’s Republic of China and implemented and administrated by the China International Communications Group (CICG). Included in China’s national vocational qualifications catalog, CATTI is a national translation and interpretation proficiency accreditation test based on the uniform standards in compliance with the national system of professional qualification certificates, and it is open to people from all walks of life. It is designed to assess the bilingual translation or interpretation proficiency and skills of candidates.
The purpose of instituting CATTI is to strengthen the management of the translation industry, regulate the translation job market, promote the development of translation/interpretation professionals, and systematically, objectively and fairly assess the skills and abilities of translation professionals, so that the Chinese translation industry can further align with international standards and provide competent translators and interpreters for exchanges and cooperation between China and other countries in the political, economic, cultural, educational and other areas.
II. Validity
The Translation and Interpretation Proficiency Qualification Certificate of the People’s Republic of China, issued by the MHRSS, is highly valued in the job market.
1. CATTI is the only language proficiency test that is included in China’s national vocational qualification system. In 2017, the translation qualification exam was included as the only language exam in China’s national vocational qualifications catalog.
2. The certificate is one of the top ten most valuable certificates in China. In 2016, the People’s Daily and other mainstream Chinese media cited it as one of the top ten most valuable certificates in the country.
3. CATTI certificates correspond to China’s professional title system. They serve as professional title certificates for translators and interpreters in China in the following manner: Level-3 certificate holder, considered as an assistant translator (equivalent to “assistant lecturer” in universities), Level-2 certificate holder, considered as a translator (equivalent to “lecturer” in universities), and Level-1 certificate holder, considered as an associate senior reviser (equivalent to “associate professor” in universities) while senior reviser (equivalent to “full professor” in universities).
4. It has been linked with MTI Program (Master of Translation and Interpreting) in China. According to the relevant policies of China’s Ministry of Education, MTI students who did not obtain a Level-2 or higher certificate before his/her enrollment must pass the Level-2 translation or interpretation qualification exam while doing his/her MTI program in the college. CATTI has been included in the quality control system for the management of the MTI program in colleges and universities by China National Committee for Graduate Education of Translation and Interpreting (GETI). The rate of passing the Level-2 translation qualification exam by MTI students has also been taken as an important indicator for assessing the performance of a tertiary institute’s MTI program.
5. The Translators Association of China (TAC) has factored CATTI results in its membership management. According to the relevant TAC regulations, those holding a Level 3 or Level 2 certificate are eligible for TAC membership, and those with a Level 1 certificate are eligible for expert membership.
6. CATTI certificate has become an indispensable or priority requirement for applying for translation positions. It has been regarded as the “national standard” for evaluating the level of translators and interpreters, and it is a must-have certificate for joining government institutions, enterprises, large translation companies in particular, as a translator and/or an interpreter.
7. The certificate has become an important proof of your qualification when popular cities try to recruit high-end talents. CATTI certificates have been incorporated into the qualification requirements for high-end talent recruitment and household registration applications in popular cities such as Beijing and Shanghai.
8. The certificate has become a key credential for project bidding. It has often been listed by the United Nations and the Chinese government as a basic credential for granting large translation projects and research projects.
9. CATTI certificate, a Chinese professional qualification certificate, has enjoyed growing international reputation. CATTI is the largest translation examination in the world. It is China’s first professional qualification examination to set up test centers overseas. It is moving toward mutual recognition with existing international translation examination certificates.
III. Registration
CATTI is a professional qualification examination which is open for all. People with a certain level of foreign language skills can sign up for Level 2 and Level 3 exams in the corresponding language, irrespective of age, education, experience or status.
CATTI is held in all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities under the direct jurisdiction of the central government in the Chinese mainland. Candidates can apply for the test in any available language, level or category of the exam at any test center.
CATTI test centers have been set up overseas in a step-by-step manner. Non-Chinese nationals, Chinese students studying abroad, and translation professionals living overseas can apply for the exam in countries where there are test centers.
IV. Languages, and experts panel, level of certificates, and corresponding language skills
1. Languages. There are nine languages to be tested in CATTI, i.e. English, Japanese, French, Russian, German, Spanish, Arabic, Korean and Portuguese.
2. The experts panel. There are a total of ten expert committees, including nine-language expert committees and one university promotion committee, made up of over 200 authoritative experts from domestic and foreign government agencies, universities, enterprises and institutions. In addition, CATTI has built a pool of about 1,000 experts specialized in the preparation of exam papers and their grading and scoring.
3. Levels of certificates. There are four levels: Senior Reviser, Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3. The Senior Reviser certificate is granted after an appraisal of the expert committee, Level 1 certificate is issued through a combination of exams and appraisal, and those for Level 2 and Level 3 are granted through exams.
4. Knowledge and Skills Required for Translation Qualification Certificates
Qualifications for a senior reviser: a wide range of knowledge, familiar with the cultural backgrounds of China and relevant language-speaking countries, and a perfect command of Chinese and an excellent knowledge of a foreign language; capable of handling highly challenging translation assignments and solving major difficult translation problems, and strong ability to revise and finalize translations of most important and sensitive documents or to take on interpretation assignments for important negotiations and international conferences; producing rigorous and accurate translation which is faithful to the original even in terms of style; have in-depth research on translation and interpreting theories, and ability to organize and give guidance to translation professionals to successfully complete translation assignments, and to achieve results in fostering translation talents.
Qualifications for Level-1 certificate recipient: familiar with the cultural backgrounds of China and the relevant language-speaking country, and a solid knowledge of both Chinese and a foreign language; competent in taking a wide range of tough translation assignments or interpretation for important events, ability to finalize translation of important documents, and to resolve knotty problems in translation and interpreting; having done considerable studies in translation practice or theory, a good understanding of the original text and strong skills in both Chinese and foreign language expression, having had books and/or translation works published; demonstrating outstanding performance in translation, and ability to organize and give guidance to Level-2 and Level-3 translation professionals to complete translation assignments.
Qualifications for Level-2 certificate recipient: a fairly systematic basic knowledge of a foreign language and translation theories; ability to independently undertake translation or interpretation assignments in his/her field with a certain degree of difficulty, and producing translation work that is fluent and accurate.
Qualifications for Level-3 certificate recipient: ability to complete interpretation or translation assignments that are general in nature. Interpreters should be able to, by and large, convey the original meaning of all parties in the conversation, with proper pronunciation and intonation; translators should be able to fairly faithfully convert the original texts of general difficulty, with mostly correct grammar and fairly smooth writing.
V. Subjects, Methods & Timing
The translation qualification exam consists of two subjects: “Comprehensive Translation Aptitude” and “Translating Practice” with the former for 120 minutes and the latter 180 minutes.
The interpretation qualification exam consists of two subjects: “Comprehensive Interpreting Aptitude” and “Interpreting Practice”, with the former 60 minutes and the latter 30 minutes.
The translation qualification exam in China is all computer-based, while overseas test centers may choose between computer or paper-based testing depending on the local conditions.
VI. Progress
2003: Launch of English pilot test
2004: Launch of French and Japanese tests
2005: Launch of English simultaneous interpreting test, with over 10,000 people taking the test
2006: Launch of Russian, German, Spanish, and Arabic tests
2008: Connection established between CATTI and MTI
2012: Launch of English Level 1 test
2013: Launch of Level 1 interpreting and translation tests for French, Japanese, Russian, German, Spanish and Arabic
2014: Launch of the on-line CATTI certificate database
2016: CATTI certificate was rated by China’s mainstream media as one of the top ten most valuable certificates in China, with the number of examinees exceeding 100,000 for the first time
2017: CATTI was the only foreign languages exam included in China’s national vocational qualifications catalog
2018: The number of examinees exceeding 200,000 for the first time and the computer-based tests introduced
2019: Launch of Russian exam in Belarus and Russia, where the first Chinese professional qualification test centers were set up outside China
2020: Launch of Korean exam
2021: Launch of Portuguese exam, simultaneously in the Chinese mainland and Macao
2022: Launch of CATTI tests in Hong Kong
2023: CATTI tests for nine languages, i.e. English, Japanese, French, Russian, German, Spanish, Arabic, Korean, and Portuguese simultaneously for the first time
VII. Internationalization
The year 2019 started CATTI tests overseas with the Belarusian State University being the first overseas test center. To date, test centers have been set up in Moscow and St. Petersburg in Russia, Minsk in Belarus and Hong Kong and Macao in China.
Starting from 2020, CATTI has been gradually moving towards mutual recognition of certificates between CATTI and existing international translation examinations.
CATTI is getting a lot of attention from the global translation community with more than 160 countries and regions following CATTI through various channels.