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Immigration
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Statehood
Ending E.O. 13166,
the "Multilingual Mandate"
Contact us:
1601 N. Kent St.
Suite 1100
Arlington, VA
22209
ph: (703) 816-8821
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English in the 50 states
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Click on the map, or the state's
postal abbreviation (below) to find that state's
current official English law (if any),
proposed official English legislation (if any), demographic information,
and other information about the status of English in that state.
AL, AK,
AZ, AR, CA,
CO, CT, DE,
FL, GA, HI,
ID , IL, IN,
IA, KS, KY,
LA, ME, MD,
MA, MI, MN,
MS, MO, MT,
NE, NV, NH,
NJ, NM,NY,
NC, ND, OH,
OK, OR, PA,
RI, SC, SD,
TN, TX, UT,
VT, VA, WA,
WV, WI, WY
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No official English |
.. |
Official English |
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The 50 states at a glance
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States with Official English (30):
Alabama: Constitutional amendment
(1990) passed by ballot.
Alaska: Statutory voter initiative
(1998).
Arizona: Constitutional amendment
(2006)
Arkansas: Statute (1987)
California: Constitutional
Amendment (1986).
Colorado: Constitutional
Amendment (1988).
Florida: Constitutional Amendment
(1988). Petition initiative
Georgia: Legislative Statute
(1986, 1996).
Hawaii: Constitutional Amendment
(1978) by the legislature.
Idaho: Legislative
Statute (2007)
Illinois: Statute (1969)
Indiana: Statute (1984)
Iowa: Legislative Statute (2002)
Kansas: Legislative
Statute (2007)
Kentucky: Statute (1984)
Louisiana: The formerly
predominantly French Territory of Louisiana adopted English as its
official language as a precondition for its admission into the Union
as a state (1807)
Massachusetts: The
original constitution was interpreted as having established an official
language (1975).
Mississippi: Legislative
Statute (1987)
Missouri:
Constitutional
Amendment (2008) by popular vote
Montana: Legislative Statute
(1995)
Nebraska: Constitutional
Amendment (1920) by popular vote
New Hampshire: Legislative
Statute (1995)
North Carolina: Legislative
Statute (1987)
North Dakota: Legislative
Statute (1987)
South Carolina: Legislative
Statute (1987)
South Dakota: Legislative
Statute (1987)
Tennessee (1984) Legislative
Statute
Utah: Statute (2000) passed
by petition initiative.
Virginia: Legislative Statutes
(1981, 1996)
Wyoming: Statute (1996)
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States without official English
(20):
* Official English Legislation has been introduced in the current
legislative session.
States with private rights of actions (5):
A private right of action is the right of an individual to sue, or
otherwise take legal action against a state for failure to enforce
or implement a law. The following states' official English laws include
private rights of action:
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona |
California
South Dakota
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States requiring English for driver's licenses
Alaska
Kentucky
Maine
New Hampshire
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Oklahoma
South Dakota
Wyoming |
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