The Justice Department has issued guidance directing federal agencies to move toward operating solely in English, building on President Donald Trump’s March 2025 executive order that designated English as the official language of the United States.
That original order stopped short of mandating changes, stating, “Nothing in this order, however, requires or directs any change in the services provided by any agency.” It left discretion with agency heads, noting they “are not required to amend, remove, or otherwise stop production of documents, products, or other services prepared or offered in languages other than English.”
The new DOJ guidance, published via the Federal Register, goes further, instructing agencies to prioritize English in communications with the public, forms, and programs, and to use English exclusively for regulations, guidance documents, policy statements, internal agency communications, and training materials.
“Agencies should strive to operate solely in English,” the guidance states, citing the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s August 17 removal of non-English languages from all departmental business and services as an example. It singles out websites and digital services as “some of the quickest and most significant opportunities where an agency should prioritize English.”
The guidance notes that the Departments of Homeland Security, Education, and Treasury have already begun removing non-English materials from their websites, and it “encourages other agencies to identify and remove non-English languages from their services.”
Exceptions for Legal and Mission Requirements
Agencies are directed to review whether their multilingual assistance programs are actually required by law or necessary to carry out their mission. Programs that fail both tests should be eliminated, according to the directive.
Where multilingual assistance is legally required — through federal statutes, the Constitution, binding judicial orders, or binding regulations — agencies must continue providing it. The guidance also lists areas where multilingual assistance may be necessary for an agency to fulfill its mission, including immigration enforcement, law enforcement and security operations, healthcare services, national security activities, and communications with foreign officials.
Even in those legally required or mission-necessary cases, the guidance instructs agencies to choose the “least burdensome and most cost-effective method available” for providing non-English assistance.
According to the Washington Sun, the guidance was distributed to agencies in September, and one effect has already surfaced: the General Services Administration shut down the Spanish-language version of USA.gov.
