Association of Sign Language Interpreters

What Association of Sign Language Interpreters does

The Association of Sign Language Interpreters (ASLI) is a UK professional membership association established in 1987 and registered as Association of Sign Language Interpreters Ltd in England and Wales (Company Number 04766613). Its stated mission is to encourage good practice in sign language interpreting and to represent the interests of BSL/English interpreters and translators across the United Kingdom. ASLI operates as a nonprofit, member-supported body with a small staff of approximately 23 employees and a volunteer board of directors, currently chaired by Tessa Slaughter.

ASLI's core offering is a ToucanTech-powered online membership platform that bundles member login, an online directory, a resource library of 116 documents, regional club access (31 groups), and a mentorship pool (57 mentors). The portfolio is rounded out by the searchable Professional Practitioners Directory used by NHS, legal, educational, and corporate buyers to locate registered interpreters; a library of specialised best-practice guidance covering legal, mental health, healthcare, education, workplace, social care, and video interpreting; the Deaf Interpreter Network (DIN) webinar series; and the quarterly Newsli magazine archived back to 2000. ASLI does not sell a SaaS product; its commercial model rests on individual membership subscriptions (offered via monthly instalments or annual payment), with value to external buyers delivered indirectly through directory listings.

Name

Association of Sign Language Interpreters

Legal name

Association of Sign Language Interpreters Ltd

Website

https://asli.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Association of Sign Language Interpreters (ASLI) is a UK nonprofit professional membership association founded in 1987 that supports British Sign Language interpreters and translators through training, best-practice guidance, a practitioner directory, regional clubs, and the quarterly Newsli magazine.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association Services

NAICS

Translation and Interpretation Services (54193), Labor Unions and Similar Labor Organizations (81393)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Sign language interpreting
• Professional membership association
• BSL interpreter services
• Interpreter professional development
• Deaf interpreter network

Headquarters

HQ city

Chester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ASLI is a UK professional membership association for British Sign Language interpreters and translators, providing member-only access to an online platform with a Professional Practitioners Directory, Best Practice Guidance Documents covering specialized settings (legal, mental health, healthcare, education, workplace, social care, video interpreting), DIN Webinars for continuing professional development, and the quarterly Newsli Magazine. Services also include a regional club network, mentoring programme, and professional community resources supporting registered BSL/English interpreters.

Product overview

ASLI operates as a professional membership association and support network for British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters and translators in the UK, established in 1987. Its core offering is a ToucanTech-powered online membership platform providing members with login-based access to a suite of interconnected resources. The portfolio includes a Professional Practitioners Directory for locating and booking registered interpreters, a collection of Best Practice Guidance Documents covering specialised interpreting settings (legal, mental health, healthcare, education, workplace, social care, and video interpreting), DIN Webinars (recorded professional development content from ASLI's Deaf Interpreter Network), and the quarterly Newsli Magazine with archived issues dating back to 2000. ASLI does not offer a commercial software product in the traditional SaaS sense; its offering is the collective body of professional guidance, community resources, and membership services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Deaf Interpreter Network (DIN): A specialized network within ASLI for deaf interpreters, providing webinars, resources, and professional development for deaf sign language interpreters.
• Newsli
• Equality and Diversity Working Group (EDI)

Products and services

• ASLI Online Membership Platform A ToucanTech-powered membership management platform providing ASLI members with login access, online profiles, a directory, resources, event management, and community features for British Sign Language interpreters and translators.
• Professional Practitioners Directory An online searchable directory of qualified BSL/English interpreters and translators, allowing members of the public and organisations to locate and book registered practitioners.
• Best Practice Guidance Documents A library of authoritative guidance documents covering specialised interpreting settings including legal, mental health, healthcare, educational, workplace (Access to Work), social care, and video interpreting contexts.
• DIN Webinars A library of recorded webinar content produced by ASLI's Deaf Interpreter Network (DIN), covering topics relevant to deaf interpreters and the wider interpreting community.
• Newsli Magazine ASLI's quarterly member magazine featuring articles, research, professional development content, and cover stories on topics relevant to the sign language interpreting profession, with archived issues dating back to 2000.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• NRCPD: UK registration body for interpreters working with deaf and deafblind people (status now defunct as a register, but historically the formal accreditation mechanism). Comparable because NRCPD and ASLI both defined who counted as a 'qualified' interpreter and influenced employer booking decisions in the UK.
• British Deaf Association (BDA): UK charity representing deaf people and the primary community counterpart to ASLI. Relevant as a peer because both organisations convene the BSL community, advocate for deaf rights under the Equality Act, and operate membership-style engagement with overlapping constituencies.

Broad incumbents

• International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC): Global professional association for conference interpreters across spoken languages. Comparable to ASLI as a peer because it is a long-established membership body governing interpreter standards, codes of conduct, and professional development in its modality, paralleling ASLI's role for BSL interpreters.
• RNID (Royal National Institute for Deaf People): UK charity for deaf and hard of hearing people. Comparable because it represents the same end-user community ASLI's interpreter members serve, advocates for accessible services, and overlaps with ASLI on Equality Act-related policy and access to interpreting.
• Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIoL): UK professional body for linguists, translators, and interpreters. Comparable because it provides chartered status and continuing professional development across languages, including sign language, overlapping with ASLI's professional development and community positioning.
• WASLI (World Association of Sign Language Interpreters): Global umbrella organisation for national sign language interpreter associations. Comparable because ASLI is a national member association within the WASLI federation, sharing mission, governance models, and conference activities.

Regional players

• ASLIA: Australian Sign Language Interpreters Association, the analogous national professional body for Auslan interpreters. Comparable as a peer because it operates the same professional membership model for sign language interpreters in a different geography (Australia), making it a structural mirror to ASLI.
• AVLIC (Association of Visual Language Interpreters of Canada): Canadian national association for sign language interpreters. Comparable as a peer because it plays the same role for Canadian LSQ/ASL interpreters that ASLI plays for BSL interpreters in the UK — membership body, professional standards, advocacy.

Emerging players

• Signature: The UK awarding organisation for BSL and other sign language qualifications. Comparable to ASLI because both operate at the intersection of BSL interpreter professionalisation in the UK, but Signature focuses on certification rather than the broader professional community ASLI serves.
• Deaf Ex-Mainstreamers Group: UK community organisation supporting deaf people educated in mainstream settings. Comparable as an adjacent peer because it represents part of the deaf community whose demand for accessible services and interpreters overlaps directly with ASLI's downstream market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/association-of-sign-language-interpreters

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Association of Sign Language Interpreters