Limited English Proficiency (LEP)

This section includes documents pertaining to persons with Limited English Proficiency (LEP). This means persons who are unable to communicate effectively in English because their primary language is not English and they have not developed fluency in the English language. A person with Limited English Proficiency may have difficulty speaking or reading English. An LEP person will benefit from an interpreter who will translate to and from the person’s primary language. An LEP person may also need documents written in English translated into his or her primary language so that person can understand important documents related to health and human services. Information on OCR's work in the area of nondiscrimination on the basis of national origin can be found at www.hhs.gov/ocr/nationalorigin.

LEP Resources and Tools

• Guidance to Federal Financial Assistance Recipients Regarding Title VI Prohibition Against National Origin Discrimination Affection Limited English Proficient Persons
• Questions and Answers Regarding the Department of Health and Human Services Guidance to Federal Financial Assistance Recipients Regarding Title VI Prohibition Against National Origin Discrimination Affecting Limited English Proficient Persons
• Summary of the Guidance to Federal Financial Assistance Recipients Regarding Title VI Prohibition Against National Origin Discrimination Affecting Limited English Proficient Persons
• Fact Sheet on Guidance to Federal Financial Assistance Recipients Regarding Title VI Prohibition Against National Origin Discrimination Affecting Limited English Proficient (LEP) Persons
• Limited English Proficiency Video (captioned)
• Summary of Selected OCR LEP Complaint Investigations and Compliance Reviews
• OCR Guidance
• HHS Strategic Plan To Improve Access To HHS Programs and Activities By Limited English Proficient (LEP) Persons (2000)
• HHS Language Access Plan (2013)
• Other Federal resources (includes documents, references from other HHS components, promising practices and other Federal agencies)
• State and Local Government resources (includes documents, references from State and Local Governments and promising practices)
• Non-Government resources (includes documents, references from Non-Government agencies and promising practices)