SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Public Participation

Interested persons are invited to provide comments or feedback by submitting written data, views, or arguments on the attached memorandum.

Please note that all comments received are considered part of the public record and made available for public inspection at www.regulations.gov. Such information includes personally identifiable information (such as your name, address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the commenter.

The Department may withhold from public viewing information provided in comments that it determines is offensive, that may adversely impact the privacy of a third party, or for other legitimate reasons. For additional information, please read the privacy notice that is available through the link in the footer of www.regulations.gov.

II. Discussion

On March 6, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order 14224, titled “Designating English as the Official Language of the United States,” 90 FR 11363. The Attorney General subsequently issued a memorandum to all Federal agencies about the implementation of E.O. 14224. See Memorandum from the Attorney General, Implementation of Executive Order No. 14,224: Designating English as the Official Language of the United States of America (July 14, 2025), www.justice.gov/​ag/​media/​1407776/​dl. Per that memorandum, on September 1, 2026, the Attorney General issued to all Executive departments and agencies a memorandum titled “Guidance on Implementing English as the Official Language.” That notice was subsequently revised on October 22, 2026, in light of Executive Order 14434, “Inaugurating the Era of Super Intelligence,” 91 FR 63129. The memorandum is attached as an appendix to this Notice.

Through this Notice, the Department is publishing the October 22, 2026, memorandum and invites public comment on it. As the memorandum states, after reviewing the comments, the Department will determine whether modifications are necessary or desirable, but the Department will not respond to the comments.

Appendix

MEMORANDUM FOR ALL EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES

FROM: THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

SUBJECT: Guidance on Implementing English as the Official Language

Background

On March 6, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order 14224, titled “Designating English as the Official Language of the United States,” 90 FR 11363. The Attorney General then issued a memorandum to all Federal agencies about the implementation of E.O. 14224. See Memorandum from the Attorney General, Implementation of Executive Order No. 14,224: Designating English as the Official Language of the United States of America (July 14, 2025), www.justice.gov/​ag/​media/​1407776/​dl. To satisfy a directive from that memorandum, on September 1, 2026, the Attorney General issued a memorandum titled “Guidance on Implementing English as the Official Language.” See Memorandum from the Attorney General, Guidance on Implementing English as the Official Language (Sept. 1, 2026) (initial English Language Guidance). Thereafter, on October 2, 2026, President Trump issued Executive Order 14434, titled “Inaugurating the Era of Super Intelligence,” 91 FR 63129. To ensure compliance with E.O. 14434, the Attorney General has revised the English Language Guidance as set forth below.

Before developing the initial English Language Guidance, the Office of Legal Policy (OLP) sought input and recommendations from Federal agencies about programs and policies to be implemented in an English-only format. OLP solicited feedback from several Department components and fifty-three Federal agencies. OLP received responses from twenty Federal agencies and one component.

The respondents provided OLP with valuable feedback concerning the implementation of E.O. 14224. The responses fell into the following categories: (a) actions taken to implement E.O. 14224; (b) notification of compliance with E.O. 14224; (c) background information on languages other than English being used or supported, with an explanation; (d) future plans to comply with E.O. 14224; and (e) “no input.” These responses assisted OLP in developing the initial English Language Guidance.

The below revised English Language Guidance incorporates the principles of E.O. 14424 and other non-substantive revisions.

The Department seeks public comments on the English Language Guidance and, after reviewing the comments, will determine whether modifications are necessary or desirable. The Department will not respond to public comments.

Executive Departments and Agencies should update any relevant regulations that are inconsistent with E.O. 14224 and these Guidelines.

Guidance Pursuant to Executive Order 14224, Titled “Designating English as the Official Language of the United States”

I. Introduction ^[1]

Though not officially designated in the past, English has been our common language since before this Nation's founding. This fact is reflected in our Nation's governing documents, history and tradition, and daily interactions. Our shared national language has played an indispensable role in forming a cohesive society and ensuring consistency across government operations.

E.O. 14224 designated English as the official language of the United States. This English Language Guidance helps Federal agencies implement E.O. 14224 by providing clear, practical guidelines on how to prioritize the English language in government operations.^[2] The English Language Guidance also provides guidelines to assist agencies in determining when multilingual assistance may be required by law or necessary to ( printed page 72924) accomplish an agency's mission, and how to provide such assistance.

II. English Is the Sole Official Language

English is now the official language of the United States. Consequently, agencies should prioritize the English language over all other languages. After evaluating feedback from Department components and Federal agencies, the Department has identified opportunities where agencies should solely use English. For example, agencies should conduct official business, communicate with the public, develop forms and publications, administer programs, and provide services solely in English—unless, as explained further below, multilingual assistance is required by law or necessary to accomplish an agency's mission. The following is a non-exhaustive list of when agencies should solely use English:

a. official correspondence;

b. regulations, guidance documents, and policy statements;

c. public notices and announcements;

d. forms and applications;

e. Websites and digital services;

f. outreach and educational materials;

g. internal agency communications and training materials; and

h. super intelligence tools.

Agencies should strive to operate solely in English. For example, on August 17 of this year, the Department of Housing and Urban Development removed non-English languages from all departmental business and services. Feedback from Department of Justice components and Federal agencies revealed that websites and digital services are some of the quickest and most significant opportunities where an agency should prioritize English. In addition to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Departments of Homeland Security, Education, and Treasury have already begun removing materials from their website that were previously provided in languages other than English. The Department encourages other agencies to identify and remove non-English languages from their services.

Moving forward, agencies should promptly identify and review all multilingual assistance programs. Agencies should then determine whether multilingual assistance is required by law or necessary to accomplish an agency's mission. If multilingual assistance is neither legally required nor necessary to accomplish the agency's mission, then the agency should eliminate assistance in favor of English-only operations. If multilingual assistance is legally required or necessary to accomplish the agency's mission, then the English language version of any agency communication shall constitute the official and authoritative version unless otherwise required by law.

III. When and How To Provide Multilingual Assistance

Agencies should consult the below to determine when multilingual assistance may be required by law or necessary to accomplish an agency's mission and how to provide such assistance.

A. When Multilingual Assistance Is Required by Law

Agency feedback identified various instances where multilingual assistance is required by law. Agencies must provide multilingual assistance when it is required by law. Agencies should, however, only provide multilingual assistance to the extent that it is legally required. Examples of legal authorities that may require multilingual assistance are:

a. the Constitution;

b. federal statutes;

c. binding judicial orders;

d. binding regulations; and

e. international obligations having the force of law.

Furthermore, until recently, Executive Order No. 13166, 65 FR 50121 (Aug. 16, 2000) directed agencies to enhance access to federal programs for persons with limited English proficiency and required them to tailor guidance for recipients of federal funding under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. However, E.O. 14224 rescinded E.O. 13166 and thus multilingual assistance predicated on E.O. 13166 is no longer legally required. Feedback indicated that most agencies have discontinued, or are in the process of discontinuing, multilingual assistance predicated on E.O. 13166. For example, several agencies reported that the recission of E.O. 13166 allowed them to amend or fully remove their agency's Language Access Plans. Accordingly, agencies should continue evaluating whether multilingual assistance predicated on E.O. 13166 is necessary to accomplish the agency's mission and if not, agencies should eliminate the assistance in favor of English-only operations.

B. When Multilingual Assistance Is Necessary To Accomplish an Agency's Mission

Multilingual assistance may be necessary when an agency determines that the inability to communicate in a language other than English would materially impair the agency's ability to carry out its statutory responsibilities, administer programs, protect the public, or deliver efficient government services. The following are instances where multilingual assistance may be necessary:

a. national security activities;

b. immigration enforcement activities;

c. law enforcement and security operations;

d. emergency preparedness and disaster response;

e. communications related to public health, public safety, or emergencies;

f. healthcare services;

g. surveys and data collection;

h. communications with foreign officials;

i. court proceedings; and

j. communications with crime victims or witnesses, or cooperating individuals.

For example, the Department of Homeland Security reported that given the security mission of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the large volume of international travelers who may have limited English proficiency, the TSA will continue to utilize an automated helpline that is available in several languages. However, when an agency determines that multilingual assistance is necessary to accomplish the agency's mission, as in this instance, the agency should provide that assistance only to the extent needed to accomplish its mission.

C. How To Provide Multilingual Assistance

When multilingual assistance is legally required or necessary to accomplish the agency's mission, an agency should select the least burdensome and most cost-effective method available. When multilingual assistance is necessary to accomplish the agency's mission, such information should be translated accurately and include a clear disclaimer—in both English and the non-English language—that English is the official language and the authoritative version of all federal information.

Technological advances in translation services permit agencies to produce cost-effective methods for bridging language barriers and reducing inefficiencies with the translation process. For example, the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Homeland Security are currently evaluating, developing, and testing superintelligence and machine translation programs that would allow them to more efficiently communicate with individuals who may have limited English proficiency. The Department encourages other agencies to consider the use of superintelligence and machine translation to communicate with individuals who may have limited English proficiency.

IV. Conclusion

This English Language Guidance is intended to equip agencies with practical guidelines to implement E.O. 14224, while complying with the law and upholding their core missions. The Department appreciates the agencies who provided critical feedback on how they have thus far implemented E.O. 14224. The Department looks forward to partnering with agencies to fully implement English as the official language of the United States.

91 FR 72923