The Language Access Act of 2004 provides greater access and participation in public services, programs and activities for District residents with limited or no-English proficiency (LEP/NEP). The Act requires four actions from District government programs, departments, and services with major public contact:

1. Assess the need for and offer oral language services.
2. Provide written translation of vital documents to any non-English language spoken by a LEP/NEP population that makes up 3% or 500 individuals, whichever is less, of the population served or encountered, or likely to be served or encountered.
3. Establish and implement a language access plan.
4. Identify a language access coordinator.

The DC Council has identified five languages, besides English, as those largely spoken in the District and served by the District government: Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and Amharic. 

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ተተረጎሙ DOB ሰነዶች ከዚህ በታች ያለውን ቁልፍ ጠቅ ያድርጉ.

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번역된 DOB 문서를 보려면 아래 버튼을 클릭하세요.

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The Office of Human Rights (OHR) is the agency designated by the Act to oversee the Language Access Program.

• “I Speak… Amharic”
• “I Speak… Arabic”
• “I Speak… Chinese”
• “I Speak… French”
• “I Speak… Korean”
• “I Speak… Portuguese”
• “I Speak… Russian”
• “I Speak… Spanish”
• “I Speak… Tagalog”
• “I Speak… Vietnamese”

Under the Language Access Act, covered entities with major public contact must provide translations of their vital documents, which are written materials intended for the public. A document is considered vital if it contains information that is critical to accessing your covered entity’s services, or if conveying the information is required by law. Vital documents may be in either electronic or print form. DOB seeks to ensure that vital documents are available to speakers of other languages. 

If you need interpretation assistance while conducting business at DOB, please contact (202) 671-3500.