State Seal of Biliteracy Resources

All 50 states and Washington D.C. have adopted the Seal of Biliteracy. Explore ACTFL proficiency level requirements by state.

Growth of the Seal of Biliteracy

2011
California passes first legislation
2012
New York follows; first seals awarded in CA
2014
Momentum builds (4 more states)
2015
Rapid expansion (10+ states)
2017
Majority of states adopt
2024
All 50 states + D.C.
Alaska Alabama Arkansas Arizona California Colorado Connecticut District of Columbia Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Iowa Idaho Illinois Indiana Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Massachusetts Maryland Maine Michigan Minnesota Missouri Mississippi Montana North Carolina North Dakota Nebraska New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico Nevada New York Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Virginia Vermont Washington Wisconsin West Virginia Wyoming
District Evidence
Intermediate Low
Intermediate Mid
Intermediate High
Advanced Low

States by ACTFL Proficiency Level Requirement

Advanced Low

12 states offer this tier
Delaware (Tier 2), Florida (Tier 2)*, Kansas (Tier 2), Massachusetts (Tier 2), Minnesota (Tier 2), Mississippi (Tier 2), Missouri (Tier 2), Montana (Tier 2), Oklahoma (Tier 2), Rhode Island (Tier 2), South Carolina (Tier 3), Tennessee (Tier 2)

Intermediate High

20 states
Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana*, Maryland, Massachusetts (Tier 1), Michigan, Minnesota (Tier 1), Nebraska (Tier 2)*, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota (Tier 2), Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina (Tier 2), Texas*, Wisconsin, Wyoming (Tier 2)

Intermediate Mid

31 states & D.C.
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware (Tier 1), District of Columbia, Florida (Tier 1)*, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas (Tier 1), Kentucky, Maine, Mississippi (Tier 1), Missouri (Tier 1), Montana (Tier 1), Nebraska (Tier 1)*, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina*, Oklahoma (Tier 1), Rhode Island (Tier 1), South Carolina (Tier 1), Tennessee (Tier 1), Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wyoming (Tier 1)

Intermediate Low

1 state
North Dakota (Tier 1)

District Evidence

2 states
California*, Colorado*

* States with asterisks have special notes or conditions. States with multiple tiers offer different levels of recognition. Data sourced from The Global Seal of Biliteracy.