Ethics play an enormous role in the profession of interpreting, whether on the community level or the conference level. Various interpreting associations have published ethics guidelines for interpreters to follow. One of the most widely recognized and respected ethics code is that created by the International Association of Conference Interpreters (AIIC). While this set of guidelines is directed toward conference interpreters, there are also guidelines created specifically for community interpreting. These include ethics codes such as:

The National Council on Interpreting in Health Care (NCIHC) - medical interpreting

The National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators (NAJIT) - legal interpreting

"Ethics for Community Interpreters" by M. Eta Trabing (first published in the CATI Quarterly Fall 2003 and then in the ATA Chronicle, April 2004)

Here is a list of desired ethical behavior of interpreters, some of which was taken from the AIIC ethics code.