Translation Services for Government Agencies: What to Know

Government agencies face a specific combination of pressures around language services: legal obligations to serve limited-English-proficient (LEP) residents, procurement rules that govern how they buy, and tight budgets. Here’s how the pieces fit.

The obligations

• Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. § 2000d) prohibits national-origin discrimination across federally assisted programs, long read to include meaningful access for LEP residents (Lau v. Nichols, 414 U.S. 563 (1974)).
• Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. § 18116) applies to health-related programs.
• State and local language access laws, plus assurances written into grant terms and contracts, may bind you directly.
• ADA Title II requires accessible digital content (WCAG 2.1 AA), phased across 2027–2028 by population.

Note that Executive Order 13166, which for twenty-five years directed agencies to issue LEP guidance, was revoked on March 1, 2025 by Executive Order 14224, and that guidance has since been rescinded. The Title VI statute is unchanged, so the obligation survives — but plans citing EO 13166 need re-anchoring. See what language access requires of public agencies now.

Most agencies formalize their approach in a language access plan — see how to build a Title VI language access plan.

Buying without a new procurement

Agencies don’t necessarily have to run a fresh competitive bid to get translation and interpretation. Cooperative contract vehicles let you order against an already-competed agreement:

• GSA Multiple Award Schedule — federal buyers can issue task orders against an existing Schedule. Taika holds a GSA Schedule under SIN 541930 (Language Services). See GSA translation services.
• NASPO ValuePoint — a cooperative purchasing program for state and local entities, used within a state through a Participating Addendum.

Whether a specific path is available for your agency depends on the agreement and any addendum in place, so the practical step is to confirm your ordering path with the vendor before you buy.

What agencies typically need

• Certified and standard translation of vital documents and public notices.
• Interpretation — OPI/VRI for service encounters, on-site for hearings and meetings.
• Digital accessibility — Section 508 / WCAG remediation of sites and documents.

Getting started

Taika serves federal, state, and local agencies — see government language services and find your state under Locations. To confirm a contract vehicle and ordering path, request a procurement consultation.