Customers’ Frequently Asked Questions

Below are answers to frequently asked questions from NVTC customers.

How does my agency use the NVTC services?

Please complete a customer inquiry form. An NVTC representative will contact you to learn more about your requirement. Once it is established that the NVTC is authorized to support your organization, an NVTC representative will work with you to meet your translation needs.

Who can request translation services from the NVTC?

You must be a federal government employee working within a civilian or defense intelligence community agency, a Department of Defense military organization, or any other civilian federal government agency.

What types of material does the NVTC translate?

NVTC can translate all types of material that fall within your federal agency’s purview. NVTC linguists cannot appear in court, so please contact us to discuss arrangements if you need support for an ongoing investigation.

Don’t federal agencies already employ linguists?

Yes, but members of the federal government are faced with a large volume of material requiring translation, some of which is in uncommon languages or dialects. The NVTC was not established to replace the foreign language translation efforts of existing agencies but to augment and supplement those capabilities. In many cases, NVTC linguists have been used to summarize large quantities of documents so the customer has a way to prioritize material.

How do you select your linguists?

The NVTC hires and contracts with highly skilled linguists in a large number of languages. Linguists are tested both in English and the foreign language to ensure first-class translation quality. Some may work directly for the NVTC as government employees or independent contract linguists, while others work for vendor companies and other government agencies and departments. The NVTC also recruits and employs retired government and military personnel with the appropriate and desired language skills.

I still have questions; can you help me?

Yes, complete a customer inquiry form to ask any other questions you may have about NVTC.