What Certified Languages International does

Certified Languages International (CLI) is a privately held, woman-led language services provider founded in 1996 and headquartered in Portland, Oregon, with a secondary office in Phoenix, Arizona. The company delivers human-powered interpreting and translation services across 230+ languages via three primary modalities: on-demand over-the-phone interpreting (OPI), video remote interpreting through its proprietary HIPAA-compliant MERFi platform, and document translation with translation/editing/proofreading workflows. MERFi integrates with Epic EHR systems and is built on the NICE CXone Mpower platform, enabling branded, low-latency video sessions with features such as automatic reconnection, in-language chat, and background noise reduction.

CLI's business model is usage-based: per-minute billing for phone and video interpretation, per-word pricing for document translation, plus ancillary revenue from PLUS language proficiency assessments and transcription services. Go-to-market is sales-led and dual-channel — direct enterprise field sales targeting healthcare systems, insurance plans, financial institutions, government agencies, and call centers, supplemented by a white-label/reseller program that lets other LSPs private-label CLI's interpreter network. Named customers include a CMS-focused BPO, a large public health plan, health insurance providers, a county health and human services department, and university hospitals; the company reports 10,000+ customers overall. CLI has appeared on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies eight times and is ranked on the Nimdzi 100 list of largest global language service providers, including a #6 placement on Nimdzi's 2025 list of largest women-led LSPs. The company is founder/management-owned with no disclosed institutional funding or M&A activity.

Name

Certified Languages International

Legal name

Certified Languages International

Website

https://certifiedlanguages.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Certified Languages International (CLI) is a privately held, woman-led language services provider delivering human-powered phone, video (MERFi), and document interpretation across 230+ languages to 10,000+ healthcare, insurance, financial, government, and call center customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Language Interpretation and Translation Services

NAICS

Translation and Interpretation Services (541930), Translation and Interpretation Services (54193)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Interpretation, Translation & Language Access Training (Community Interpreting) (EDAAADAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Business & Workplace Language Training (EDANACAC)

Keywords

• Language interpreting services
• Video remote interpreting
• Telephone interpreting
• Document translation
• Language access solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Phone Interpreting (OPI): On-demand telephone interpreting services charged per minute. Available 24/7 in 230+ languages. Pay-as-you-go model with no minimum fees or travel costs.
2. Video Remote Interpreting (VRI): Video interpreting services through MERFi platform charged per minute. Per-minute pricing eliminates need for minimum fees or travel expenses associated with in-person interpreters.
3. Document Translation: Professional document translation services including translation, editing, and proofreading (TEP process). Charged per word. Used for healthcare, legal, financial, and business documents.
4. White-Label/Reseller Services: Private-label interpreting services for other LSPs and resellers who want to offer CLI's services under their own brand. Includes interpreter coverage, quality assurance, call routing, and detailed reporting.
5. Language Assessments: Proprietary PLUS (Proficiency & Language Usage Skills) Assessments for evaluating bilingual staff language proficiency and interpreter skillset. Used for hiring, compliance, and quality assurance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Certified Languages International provides remote human-powered language interpretation and translation services to organizations across multiple industries. Its core offerings include on-demand telephone interpretation in 230+ languages available 24/7, video remote interpreting (VRI) via its proprietary MERFi platform (including American Sign Language), document translation in 100+ languages via a Translation/Editing/Proofreading process, audio/video transcription, and proprietary PLUS language proficiency assessments. Services are sold B2B to healthcare systems, call centers, insurance providers, banks, mortgage lenders, government agencies, schools, and legal organizations, with usage-based per-minute and per-word pricing.

Product overview

Certified Languages International (CLI) offers a unified language services platform providing human-powered interpreting and translation solutions. The core portfolio includes MERFi (proprietary VRI platform), telephone interpreting (OPI) in 230+ languages, document translation in 100+ languages, ASL interpreting, Spanish interpreting, and PLUS Assessments. Services are available 24/7/365 via phone, video, or document delivery, with MERFi serving as the proprietary technology platform for video interpretation with EHR integration capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MERFi: Proprietary Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) platform providing secure, HIPAA-compliant video interpreting services across multiple languages and devices.

Products and services

• MERFi Video Remote Interpreting Platform CLI's proprietary Video Remote Interpreting (VRI) platform providing on-demand and scheduled video interpretation with HIPAA-compliant technology, EHR integration (including Epic), custom branding, in-language chat, automatic reconnection on dropped calls, background noise reduction, echo minimization, and HD video/audio exceeding ADA standards.
• Telephone Interpreting (Over-the-Phone Interpreting) On-demand telephone interpretation services providing 24/7/365 access to professional interpreters in 230+ languages, with connection times under 30 seconds and pay-as-you-go per-minute pricing with no minimum fees or travel costs.
• Document Translation Professional document translation services in 100+ languages using a Translation, Editing, and Proofreading (TEP) process, covering medical, legal, financial, and general business documents with per-word pricing.
• ASL Interpreting American Sign Language video interpreting services available 24/7 through the MERFi platform, connecting deaf and hard-of-hearing users with interpreters certified by the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID).
• Spanish Interpreting Specialized Spanish language interpretation services with industry-specific expertise available via phone or video, serving healthcare, financial, and other high-volume Spanish-speaking customer interactions.
• PLUS Assessments (Proficiency & Language Usage Skills) Proprietary language proficiency and interpreting skill assessments for evaluating bilingual professionals, developed in collaboration with Dr. Jean Turner from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, used for hiring, compliance, and quality assurance.
• Transcription Services Audio and video transcription services converting spoken content into written text across multiple languages for healthcare, legal, and business documentation purposes.

Quantifiable outcome

• Connection time under 30 seconds for both phone and video interpreting
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and strategic.

• NICE CXonecoreTechnology or IntegrationCLI migrated its customer service operations to the NICE CXone Mpower platform to modernize remote interpretation services across 230 languages by unifying operations with intelligent automation.
• EpiccoreTechnology or IntegrationMERFi platform integrates with Epic EHR systems, allowing healthcare organizations to seamlessly access video interpreting within their existing clinical workflows.
• CCHI (Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters)strategicOthersCLI supports CCHI as a member, helping set industry standards for healthcare interpreting certification.
• NCIHC (National Council on Interpreting in Health Care)strategicOthersCLI has been an active member of NCIHC since 2003, supporting the advancement of healthcare interpreting standards.
• IMIA (International Medical Interpreters Association)strategicOthersCLI has been a member of IMIA since 1999, demonstrating long-term commitment to medical interpreting industry standards.
• CHIA (California Healthcare Interpreters Association)strategicOthersCLI has been a member of CHIA since its inception in 1999, supporting healthcare interpreting standards in California and beyond.
• Joint CommissionstrategicOthersCLI is fully compliant with Joint Commission standards for healthcare quality and safety.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• LanguageLine Solutions: LanguageLine Solutions is the largest US-based interpretation and translation provider, offering over-the-phone, video remote, and on-site interpretation. It is the most direct competitor to CLI in healthcare, government, and call-center verticals, and serves as the benchmark for pricing and coverage breadth in the LSP market.
• CyraCom (AMN Healthcare Language Services): CyraCom (now part of AMN Healthcare) is a healthcare-focused interpretation and translation provider offering phone, video, and translation services to hospitals and payers. It is the closest healthcare-specialist competitor to CLI, competing head-to-head on MERFi-like VRI offerings and HIPAA-compliant workflows.
• Lionbridge: Lionbridge is one of the world's largest language service providers, offering interpretation, translation, localization, and AI data services across hundreds of languages. It directly competes with CLI in document translation and enterprise interpretation, and operates globally in markets where CLI has limited presence.
• TransPerfect: TransPerfect is a global leader in translation, interpretation, and localization services, with a broad enterprise customer base spanning legal, financial, and life sciences. It competes with CLI in document translation, on-demand interpretation, and large enterprise language-services contracts.
• RWS Group: RWS (formerly SDL) is a global language and content services company offering translation, localization, and interpretation. It directly competes with CLI in enterprise document translation and is a recurring presence on the same Nimdzi 100 rankings that include CLI.
• Language Services Associates (LSA): LSA is a US-based language services provider offering phone, video, and on-site interpretation as well as translation services. It is a comparable mid-tier LSP competing with CLI in healthcare, insurance, and call-center verticals.
• Propio Language Services: Propio is a US-based interpretation and translation provider offering phone, video, and on-site interpreting. It is a comparable mid-tier LSP competing directly with CLI on VRI, OPI, and document translation for healthcare and enterprise customers.
• United Language Group: United Language Group is a US-based language services provider offering interpretation, translation, and localization for healthcare, government, and enterprise. It is a comparable mid-tier competitor to CLI in LSP rankings and customer segments.
• Stratus Video (AMN Healthcare): Stratus Video (now part of AMN Healthcare) provides video remote interpretation services primarily to healthcare providers. It competes head-to-head with CLI's MERFi platform in the hospital and health-system VRI market.

Emerging players

• Smartling: Smartling is a cloud-based translation management and localization platform serving digital content for enterprise customers. While more software-led than CLI, it represents the emerging technology-enabled competitor in translation services that could pressure CLI's document translation margins over time.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCoLNHtD3isSudsf-vyDC8oQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/pages/Certified-Languages-International/179741566207
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/certified-languages-international
• Xx.com/CertLangIntl

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Certified Languages International