The Federal Relay Service was established by Congress under Public Law 100-542, the Telecommunications Accessibility Act of 1988. The Federal Relay Service Provides Relay Operators and Video Interpreters (VI) who act as transparent telecommunication conduits for the transmittal of information through TTY, Videophone, CapTel phone, and Internet browser for individuals with hearing and speech disabilities.
The Federal Relay service enables Federal employees to conduct official duties & broadens employment and advancement opportunities for deaf, hard-of-hearing and speech disabled individuals by ensuring them access to the Federal and Public Telecommunications System. The Federal Relay Service allows the general public (constituents) the ability to conduct business with the Federal government and its agencies. Additionally, The Federal Relay Service enables Federal Government agencies to meet their obligation under Section 504 of The Rehabilitation Act for their employees and constituents with hearing and speech disabilities in workplace and public.
Federal Relay is accessible for both domestic and non-domestic locations. Domestic locations are those within the fifty United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Marianas. All other locations are defined as non-domestic. Certain services of Federal Relay may have geographical restrictions and there are no restrictions on the number, length or type of calls (i.e. Inbound International via TTY or IP Relay overseas). All calls are strictly confidential and no records of any conversations are maintained.
The Federal Relay Service contract is for the use of all Federal agencies, authorized Federal contractors, agency-sponsored universities and laboratories; the general public to access Federal agencies; and when authorized by law or regulation, state, local, and tribal governments, and other organizations listed in GSA Order 4800.2E. _ The Government reserves the right to restrict the use of Federal Relay authorized users as defined above at any time
Service Offerings
Telephonically-Based Services:
- TTY/Voice/ASCII (a.k.a. TRS)
- Captioned Telephone (CapTel)
- Speech-to-Speech (STS)
Internet-Based Services:
- Video Relay Service (VRS)
- Internet Protocol (IP) Relay
- Relay Conference Captioning (RCC)
Service Operations
Traditional Relay Service/TRS (TTY/Voice/ASCII), Speech-To-Speech, IP Relay, and CapTel are available 24/7/365
Video Relay Service (VRS) is available M-F from 7am to 11pm ET excluding Federal Holidays.
Relay Conference Captioning (RCC) is available M-F from 8am to 5pm local time excluding Federal Holidays.
* Hours are in reference to English language.
How to Request Federal Relay Services
• Federal Relay and/or contract, go to www.federalrelay.us, call Federal Relay Customer Service at 1-800-877-0996 (Voice/TTY) or email federalrelay@sprint.com
• Questions about change from “centralized” to “direct” billing, contact GSA – Federal Relay Program Office at (703) 306-6308.