Title 10, Armed ForcesRelease 119-110

§1596b Foreign Language Proficiency: National Foreign Language Skills Registry

Title 10 › Subtitle A — General Military Law › PART II — PERSONNEL › CHAPTER 81 — CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES › § 1596b

Last updated Sep 22, 2026|Official source

Summary

Allows the Secretary of Defense to set up and run the National Foreign Language Skills Registry. It can list people who know one or more designated critical foreign languages, are willing to help the United States with translation or interpretation in times of war or a national emergency, and meet eligibility rules. To join, a person must be a U.S. citizen or a lawful permanent resident, agree in the form the Secretary requires to provide services and to be listed, and meet language and other standards the Secretary sets. The Registry will include names and other details the Secretary thinks are useful. The Secretary can keep that information private under section 552a of title 5 (the Privacy Act). The Secretary will name which languages are “critical” when the country lacks enough translators or interpreters to meet national security needs. “Linguistic services” means translation or interpretation.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §1596b

Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Establishment.—

(1)The Secretary of Defense may establish and maintain a registry of persons who—

(A)have proficiency in one or more critical foreign languages;

(B)are willing to provide linguistic services to the United States in the interests of national security during war or a national emergency; and

(C)meet the eligibility requirements of subsection (b).

(2)The registry shall be known as the “National Foreign Language Skills Registry” (in this section referred to as the “Registry”).

(b)Eligible Persons.—

To be eligible for listing on the Registry, a person—

(1)must be—

(A)a national of the United States (as defined in section 101(a)(22) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(22))); or

(B)an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence (as defined in section 101(a)(20) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(20)));

(2)shall express willingness, in a form and manner prescribed by the Secretary—

(A)to provide linguistic services for a foreign language as described in subsection (a); and

(B)to be listed on the Registry; and

(3)shall meet such language proficiency and other selection criteria as may be prescribed by the Secretary.

(c)Registered Information.—

The Registry shall consist of the following:

(1)The names of eligible persons selected by the Secretary for listing on the Registry.

(2)Such other information on such persons as the Secretary determines pertinent to the use of such persons to provide linguistic services as described in subsection (a).

(d)Protection of Privacy.—

The Secretary may withhold from public disclosure the information maintained in the Registry in accordance with section 552a of title 5.

(e)Designation of Critical Foreign Languages.—

The Secretary shall designate those languages that are critical foreign languages for the purposes of this section. The Secretary shall make such a designation for any foreign language for which there is a shortage of experts in translation or interpretation available to meet requirements of the Secretary or of the head of any other department or agency of the United States for translation or interpretation in the national security interests of the United States.

(f)Linguistic Services Defined.—

In this section, the term “linguistic services” means translation or interpretation of communication in a foreign language.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 1596b

Title 10, Armed Forces

Last Updated

Sep 22, 2026

Release point: 119-110