SECTION 1.  PURPOSE.

.01    This Order establishes English as the official language of the Department of Commerce (Department) and provides guidance on Department policy related to the prioritization and use of English.

.02    This Order is issued under the authority of 5 U.S.C. §§ 301, 302 and 15 U.S.C. §§ 1511, 1512.

.03    This Order is consistent with, but issued independent of, Executive Order 14224, “Designating English as the Official Language of The United States” (March 1, 2025).

SECTION 2.  BACKGROUND.

.01    The United States of America has long been recognized as the land of opportunity, where persons of all backgrounds can achieve success through hard work, talent, and initiative. The Department strives to help make that vision a reality by creating and fostering conditions for economic growth and opportunity for all Americans. One critical such condition is the existence of a shared language to facilitate productive interaction and exchange.

.02    The official recognition and adoption of a single, shared language for domestic government operations carries immense benefits. It allows for the development of a single body of written law, which is essential not only for communicative reliability and efficiency but also for the foundational legal concepts of fair notice and equal treatment under the law. It also promotes social cohesion and forestalls fractionalization, given the relationship that exists between language and identity.

.03    Although often well-intentioned, calls to operate and administer domestic government programs and services in multiple languages place too much weight on the short-term and readily-apparent benefits associated with inclusivity and accommodation, and not enough weight on the long-term and hidden costs to efficiency, fairness, and national unity.

.04    As part of the effort to combat waste, fraud, and abuse, it is imperative that the Federal government conduct domestic contracting and grantmaking activities in a single, shared language to maximize clarity and accountability in connection with the use of public funds.

SECTION 3.  POLICY.

.01    It is the Department’s policy to conduct all domestic, non-public safety operations and activities in English—and only English—to the maximum extent permitted, consistent with applicable law.

.02     For purposes of this Order, English shall include Latin phrases, foreign loanwords that have been adopted into English (e.g., café, kindergarten), American Sign Language, Braille, and programming languages.

.03    The Department may continue to conduct operations and activities directly related to foreign affairs (e.g., communicating with foreign officials, displaying foreign flags for diplomatic purposes) or public safety (e.g., issuing hazardous weather warnings) in languages other than English, as necessary and appropriate.

.04     Insofar as the law provides certain Department officers and employees with discretion regarding language usage, such officers and employees shall properly consider and weigh the benefits described in Section 2 of this Order.

.05    This Order shall not be interpreted to conflict with any constitutional, statutory, regulatory, or other legal provision.

SECTION 4.  ASSIGNMENT OF RESPONSIBILITIES.

.01    Secretarial officers and heads of Departmental offices and primary operating units shall:

a.      Review the activities of their respective organizations for consistency with this Order; and

b.      Ensure that all employees within their respective organizations are familiar with the provisions of this Order.

.02    The Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Secretary for Administration (CFO/ASA), the Department’s Senior Procurement Executive and Director for Acquisition Management, heads of contracting activity, senior bureau procurement officials, and senior executives within primary operating units responsible for financial assistance or other agreement administration, as relevant, shall take steps necessary to:

a.     Ensure that all domestic financial assistance awards, contracts, and other agreements entered into by the Department are governed by terms written in English; and

b.     Ensure that all recipients of Federal financial assistance from the Department are fluent enough in English to understand the terms governing their assistance.

.03    The CFO/ASA, the Director of the Office of Facilities and Environmental Quality, heads of primary operating units, and chief administrative officers or other senior executives within primary operating units responsible for real property operation and management, as relevant, shall, to the maximum extent permitted, remove from facilities and property under the Department’s custody and control or for which it is responsible for operation and management all posters and other signage that contain any language other than English, consistent with policy set forth in Section 3.

SECTION 5.  EFFECT ON OTHER ORDERS.

.01    This Order establishes Department Administrative Order 201-46, Designating English as the Official Language for Department Programs and Activities.

.02    This Order supersedes any Department order, policy, or requirement insofar as it is contrary to the provisions of this Order.

Signed by: Secretary of Commerce