Government services for deaf people and sign language interpreters

It is the set of services the Deaf Community Liaison Office provides so a deaf person can use Government services: interpretation, liaison with the agency, case assistance, referrals and coordination. Since 2026 the law also requires it to publish a catalogue of every available government service, in accessible formats.

Deaf or hearing-impaired people who need access to Government of Puerto Rico services. The public policy the law sets is that no one be excluded from receiving basic Government services because of hearing impairment or deafness. The catalogue Act 48-2026 orders is aimed at that community, though the article itself clarifies that creating it does not limit, replace or restrict deaf people's right to access all public services on equal terms with everyone else.

• Being a deaf or hearing-impaired person who needs access to a Government of Puerto Rico service. The law sets no admission process or prior certification to receive interpretation or liaison.Verified against the official source

• Neither of the two laws we read publishes a document list to request interpretation, liaison or case assistance. We do not invent one.

1. 1

   Step 1: Know what the agency owes you

   The public policy the law sets is that no one be excluded from receiving basic Government services because of hearing impairment or deafness. The Liaison Office is the Official Interpreter of the Government of Puerto Rico and provides interpretation, liaison, case assistance, referral and coordination services among the different agencies for exactly that reason.

2. 2

   Step 2: Look for the Catalogue of Government Services for the Deaf Community

   The Article 21 added by Act 48-2026 orders the Liaison Office to create and maintain a catalogue of every service Government agencies provide that is available to the deaf community. It must be published in physical and electronic media, in formats compatible with digital accessibility standards, including sign language interpreters, Spanish and English captions and visual aids. The law was certified on 27 March 2026 and gave the Office six months to report to the Legislative Assembly on the catalogue's content; we did not verify whether it is published yet, and we do not link to an address we cannot cite.

3. 3

   Step 3: Ask the agency for its own accessible information

   The law does not leave the burden on the Liaison Office alone. Every agency, public corporation or instrumentality is obliged to give the Office up-to-date information on its available services, including description, eligibility requirements, contact channels and sign language interpreter availability; and it must also reproduce and link that content in its own electronic and physical media.

4. 4

   Step 4: Expect the catalogue to be kept current

   The article provides that the catalogue be updated at least every two years to keep it current with services implemented or developed in future. The Liaison Office coordinates with the Puerto Rico Innovation and Technology Service (PRITS) on technological administration, secure storage and distribution, and with Health, Family, Education, Transportation and Public Works, Housing and other direct-service agencies on gathering, validating and updating the information.

With the Deaf Community Liaison Office with the Government of Puerto Rico, an entity attached to the Disabled Persons Advocacy Office. The laws we read publish no address, phone or portal, so we do not reproduce them here.

• Believing the catalogue replaces the right of access: the article itself says creating it does not limit, replace or restrict deaf people's right to access all public services on equal terms.
• Thinking the duty falls only on the Liaison Office: every agency must give it updated information and also reproduce and link it in its own media.
• Assuming the catalogue can be published in any format: the law requires accessible formats, with sign language interpreters, Spanish and English captions and visual aids.
• Supposing the Liaison Office belongs to a department: it is attached to the Disabled Persons Advocacy Office, with fiscal, programmatic and administrative autonomy.
• Expecting the catalogue to be updated only on request: the law sets a minimum of one update every two years.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Portal de Servicios del Gobierno de Puerto Rico (PR.gov)

  PR.gov

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov

• Act 22-2021, Deaf Community Liaison Office with the Government of Puerto Rico Act

  OGP

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov