California
Translation and interpreting services in Los Angeles
The City of Los Angeles ranks 14 threshold languages in three tiers and requires its departments to translate all vital documents into the six Tier 1 languages, with 17 more Emergency Response Languages, including Indigenous languages of Mexico and Guatemala, for outreach in a crisis. The Superior Court, LAUSD, and the county's public hospitals each run their own interpreter programs.
Los Angeles’s 14 threshold languages
The city ranks its threshold languages in three tiers. Every department must translate all vital documents into the six Tier 1 languages; Tiers 2 and 3 require translated notices of free language services and vendors ready to serve.[1]
- Spanish
- Korean
- Armenian
- Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin)
- Filipino/Tagalog
- Farsi (Persian)
- Russian
- Vietnamese
- Japanese
- Thai
- Arabic
- Hindi
- Bengali
- Khmer (Cambodian)
Tier 1: all vital documents translatedTiers 2 and 3
Languages spoken in Los Angeles
56.4% of Los Angeles residents age 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, and 25% speak English less than “very well.” Spanish leads, followed by Tagalog, including Filipino and Korean.
| Language spoken at home | Residents | Speak English less than “very well” |
|---|---|---|
| Spanish | 1,439,364 | 668,719 |
| Other Indo-European languages | 192,760 | 71,312 |
| Tagalog, including Filipino | 85,207 | 27,781 |
| Korean | 84,148 | 51,723 |
| Chinese, including Mandarin and Cantonese | 62,141 | 27,302 |
| Other Asian and Pacific Island languages | 48,809 | 20,572 |
| Russian, Polish, and other Slavic | 46,460 | 19,566 |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates for Los Angeles city (tables C16001, C16002, B05002, B05006) (opens in a new tab). Figures with a wide margin of error are not shown.
Who needs language services in Los Angeles
- Citywide Language Access Plan
- Executive Directive 32 set up a Citywide Language Access Working Group led by the Community Investment for Families Department's Office of Immigrant Inclusion and Language Access; under the plan, departments must translate all vital documents into Tier 1 languages and, for Tier 2 and 3 languages, post translated notices of free language services, respond to requests, and procure vendors.[1]
- Emergency Response Languages
- The plan adds 17 Emergency Response Languages beyond the 14 threshold languages: Hebrew, French, Amharic, Punjabi, Urdu, Ilocano, Portuguese, Pashto, Yoruba, Ukrainian, Italian, Haitian Creole, and the Indigenous languages Q'anjob'al, Ayuujk, Zapotec, K'iche', and Chinantec.[1]
- City language-access spending and vendors
- In the city's first annual report (FY 2023-24), 30 of 41 departments translated 1,959 vital documents, departments contracted with 36 language service vendors, and the 24 departments that tracked costs spent $3,871,476 on language access.[1]
- City bilingual workforce
- The city has 3,909 certified bilingual employees in 38 departments, certified in 34 languages; Level 2 certification, which qualifies an employee to interpret, covers 18 languages.[1]
- Superior Court of Los Angeles County
- Interpreters are free; Spanish interpreters are available at each courthouse for eviction, small claims, civil, family law, probate, and traffic cases, while other languages must be requested before the court date through an online form offered in Armenian, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, and Vietnamese, and the court does not guarantee immediate availability.[2]
- Los Angeles Unified School District
- LAUSD reported 95,959 English learners in 2024-25; 89.8% speak Spanish, followed by Armenian (2,279 students), Russian (2,044), Farsi (576), and Korean (495).[3]
- LA County Department of Health Services
- The county's public health system, through its Office of Language Access and Inclusion, reports that about 54% of patient visits prefer a language other than English, including over 1.2 million Spanish-preferred visits a year, and that phone interpreters cover more than 240 languages around the clock.[4]
- LA County language-access complaints
- Residents who could not get county services because of a language barrier can file a complaint, with forms in Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Tagalog, Khmer, Vietnamese, Farsi, and Russian; the county acknowledges complaints within 10 business days and aims to resolve them within 90.[5]
Los Angeles by the numbers
- Residents
- 3,857,263
- Speak a language other than English at home
- 2,067,765 56.4%
- Speak English less than “very well”
- 917,250 25%
- Limited-English households
- 197,375 13.7%
- Born outside the U.S.
- 1,377,410 35.7%
Detailed languages in Los Angeles County, California
The Census Bureau publishes individual languages for counties, not for cities. These are the most-spoken languages other than English in Los Angeles County, California.
- Spanish3,489,855
- Chinese (incl. Mandarin, Cantonese)383,333
- Tagalog (incl. Filipino)224,158
- Armenian198,707
- Korean147,864
- Persian (incl. Farsi, Dari)74,454
- Vietnamese71,281
- Russian58,392
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, ACS 2024 1-year, table B16001, Los Angeles County, California.
Language access rules in California
- Court interpreter program
- Judicial Council of California, Court Interpreters Program (CIP), part of the Language Access Services Program in the Center for Families, Children & the Courts, which oversees interpreter recruitment, testing, licensing, discipline, and cross-assignments and maintains the statewide Master List of certified and registered court interpreters.
- Court-certified languages
- The Bilingual Interpreting Examination for certification is given in Arabic, Eastern Armenian, Cantonese, Farsi, Filipino (Tagalog), Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese; interpreters in all other spoken languages qualify as registered court interpreters by passing a written exam and oral proficiency exams. The Master List carries more than 1,700 certified and registered interpreters.
- The rule
- Article I, section 14 of the California Constitution gives a person unable to understand English who is charged with a crime the right to an interpreter throughout the proceedings, and Evidence Code section 756 (AB 1657, effective January 1, 2015) authorizes courts to provide interpreters to all parties in civil matters regardless of income; the Judicial Council has certified and registered court interpreters since 1993 under Government Code section 68562 et seq.
- Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services Act
- Under Government Code section 7290 et seq., a state department must provide information in another language when 5 percent or more of the public it serves requests services in that language, through bilingual staff, interpreters, or translated documents and forms, and must file a language survey with CalHR by October 1 of every even-numbered year.
- School notices in the home language
- Education Code section 48985 requires a public school where 15 percent or more of students speak a single primary language other than English to send parental notifications in both English and that language; the California Department of Education notifies districts of the qualifying schools and languages by August 1 each year.
- Language need
- The Judicial Council reports more than 200 languages spoken in California, with 6.6 million residents age five and older (18.1 percent) speaking English less than "very well" under 2014-2018 American Community Survey estimates.
- Refugee program
- The California Department of Social Services Refugee Programs Bureau has statewide administrative responsibility for the Refugee Resettlement Program, whose benefits and services are delivered locally by county welfare departments and refugee service providers.
Sources
- Judicial Council of California: Court Interpreters Program Fact Sheet (December 2024)
- CalHR: Bilingual Services / Language Access Program (Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services Act)
- California Department of Education: Clearinghouse for Multilingual Documents FAQ
- California Department of Social Services: Refugee Services
Where Los Angeles residents born abroad come from
Countries of birth point to the languages behind the Census groups above, and to the documents (birth certificates, diplomas, court records) that arrive for translation.
- Mexico424,738
- El Salvador160,004
- Guatemala119,892
- Philippines88,183
- Korea72,218
- Iran57,838
- Armenia40,847
- China, excluding Hong Kong and Taiwan34,474
Language services in Los Angeles
City vital documents
Certified translation of notices, applications, and web content into the Tier 1 languages (Spanish, Korean, Armenian, Chinese, Filipino, and Farsi), delivered with a signed statement of accuracy.
Public meetings and emergency outreach
Interpreters for city public events in Tier 2 languages such as Russian, Vietnamese, Japanese, and Thai, and emergency notices in Emergency Response Languages such as Zapotec and Punjabi.
Legal matters outside the courtroom
Court-certified interpreters for depositions, attorney-client meetings, and mediations in Armenian, Korean, Farsi, and other languages the court cannot staff on demand.
LAUSD family meetings
Qualified interpreters for IEP and parent conferences in Spanish, Armenian, Russian, Farsi, and Korean, on-site, by phone, or by video.
County hospital care
CCHI-certified medical interpreters on-site or by video for county clinics and hospitals where more than half of visits prefer a language other than English.
Los Angeles questions
Which languages must City of Los Angeles departments translate vital documents into?
The six Tier 1 languages: Spanish, Korean, Armenian, Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin), Filipino/Tagalog, and Farsi. Tier 2 (Russian, Vietnamese, Japanese, Thai) and Tier 3 (Arabic, Hindi, Bengali, Khmer) carry lighter duties: translated notices, responsiveness to requests, and vendor coverage.
Does the Los Angeles Superior Court charge for interpreters?
No. Spanish interpreters are available at each courthouse for eviction, small claims, civil, family law, probate, and traffic cases without an advance request. For any other language, request an interpreter before the court date through the court's online form.
What are Los Angeles's Emergency Response Languages?
Seventeen languages the city uses for crisis outreach beyond its 14 threshold languages: Hebrew, French, Amharic, Punjabi, Urdu, Ilocano, Portuguese, Pashto, Yoruba, Ukrainian, Italian, Haitian Creole, Q'anjob'al, Ayuujk, Zapotec, K'iche', and Chinantec.
Which languages do LAUSD English learners speak?
In 2024-25, 89.8% of LAUSD's 95,959 English learners spoke Spanish. The next largest groups were Armenian, Russian, Farsi, and Korean speakers.
What languages are spoken in Los Angeles?
56.4% of Los Angeles residents age 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, and 25% speak English less than “very well.” Spanish leads, followed by Tagalog, including Filipino and Korean. The most common countries of birth among residents born abroad are Mexico, El Salvador, and Guatemala.
How many Los Angeles households have limited English?
197,375 of 1,439,097 households (13.7%), according to the Census Bureau: households in which no one age 14 or older speaks only English or speaks English “very well.” These are the households most likely to need an interpreter or translated documents.
How are court interpreters credentialed in California?
Judicial Council of California, Court Interpreters Program (CIP), part of the Language Access Services Program in the Center for Families, Children & the Courts, which oversees interpreter recruitment, testing, licensing, discipline, and cross-assignments and maintains the statewide Master List of certified and registered court interpreters. The Bilingual Interpreting Examination for certification is given in Arabic, Eastern Armenian, Cantonese, Farsi, Filipino (Tagalog), Korean, Mandarin, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese; interpreters in all other spoken languages qualify as registered court interpreters by passing a written exam and oral proficiency exams. The Master List carries more than 1,700 certified and registered interpreters.
Do you provide on-site interpreters in Los Angeles?
Yes. We schedule interpreters in person in Los Angeles and across California, and by phone and video nationwide, in 250+ languages including Spanish and ASL. Book less common languages as early as you can.
Do you provide conference and meeting interpreters in Los Angeles?
Yes. We staff conferences, conventions, trade shows, seminars, corporate training, and client meetings in Los Angeles with simultaneous or consecutive interpreters. For simultaneous interpreting, our own technicians deliver, run, and strike the booths, transmitters, and receivers, shipped from our own inventory.
Sources
- City of Los Angeles, Community Investment for Families Department: FY 2023-24 Citywide Language Access Annual Report, Council File 22-1262 (May 9, 2025, PDF) (opens in a new tab)
- Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles: Interpreter services (opens in a new tab)
- California Department of Education, DataQuest: English Learners by Language, Los Angeles Unified, 2024-25 (opens in a new tab)
- LA County Health Services (Oct. 30, 2023; updated May 21, 2025): Language Access in the Spotlight (opens in a new tab)
- Los Angeles County Chief Executive Office: Language Access (opens in a new tab)
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