Whenever a deaf person communicates through an interpreter to any person under such circumstances that the communication would be privileged, and such person could not be compelled to testify as to the communications, this privilege shall also apply to the interpreter.
§ 8.01-400.1.Privileged communications by interpreters for the deaf (Supreme Court Rule 2:507 derived in part from this section).
Chapter 14. Evidence · Article 4. Witnesses Generally · Last amended 1978 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceThis short section extends whatever privilege would apply to a deaf person’s direct communication to the interpreter who conveyed it, so that when a deaf person’s statement to someone else would be privileged and unable to be compelled, the interpreter who relayed it is equally protected from being compelled to testify about it.
Full Text of § 8.01-400.1
Plain-English Summary
Privileges like the marital, clergy, or physician-patient protections work because two people talk directly to each other in confidence. But a deaf person communicating through a sign-language interpreter is technically talking through a third person — and without this section, that interpreter could become an unintended crack in the privilege, forced to testify to what neither side of the original conversation could be compelled to reveal.
Section 8.01-400.1 closes that gap. Whenever a deaf person communicates through an interpreter under circumstances where the communication would otherwise be privileged, and the person receiving it could not be compelled to testify about it, the same protection extends to the interpreter standing in the middle.
The rule is short but consequential: it means using an interpreter to access a doctor, a spouse, or a member of the clergy does not cost a deaf person the confidentiality protections that a hearing person would enjoy in the same conversation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does using a sign-language interpreter destroy an otherwise privileged communication?
No, this section extends the privilege to the interpreter when the underlying communication would be privileged and the recipient could not be compelled to testify about it.
Who is protected under this section — the deaf person, the interpreter, or both?
The privilege applies to the interpreter directly, ensuring the interpreter cannot be compelled to testify about a communication that would otherwise be privileged.
Does this section create a new, separate privilege of its own?
No, it extends an existing privilege that would already apply to the communication, rather than creating an independent privilege for interpreted communications generally.
Would this apply to an interpreter present during a privileged conversation with a doctor?
Yes, if the deaf person’s communication to the physician would be privileged and the physician could not be compelled to testify about it, that same protection extends to the interpreter who facilitated the communication.
Is this section limited to civil cases?
The statute’s text is not expressly limited to civil proceedings, but it appears within Title 8.01’s civil evidence provisions.
Amendment History
1978, c. 601.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Code of Virginia, published by the
Code of Virginia, Virginia Division of Legislative Automated Systems. Last verified July 16, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: virginia interpreter privilege deafva code 8.01-400.1virginia sign language interpreter confidentialitydeaf person privileged communication virginiainterpreter testify privilege virginia civil case