The Language Control department of the State Language Centre:
- implements the national policy in regard to supervision and control of the conformity with laws and regulations in the field of the official language use;
- supervises the implementation of the Official Language Law.
Language use in private institutions, organisations, undertakings and with respect to self-employed persons shall be regulated if their activities affect the lawful interests of the public and to the extent that the necessary restriction which has been set in the lawful interests of the public is proportional to the rights and interests of private institutions, organisations and undertakings.
The Official Language Law does not apply to the use of language in unofficial communications of the inhabitants of Latvia, in internal communications of national and ethnic groups, or in services, ceremonies, rituals and other kinds of religious activity of religious organisations.
The State Language Centre performs the supervision and control of the Official Language Law in regard to:
- the official language use to the extent necessary for employees (Section 6);
- sittings and other official meetings in private and public sphere (Section 7);
- the use of official language in documents and record-keeping (Section 8);
- contracts of natural and legal persons regarding provision of medical treatment, health care, public safety and other public services in the territory of Latvia (Section 9);
- obligation to accept and examine documents drawn up in the official language in the private and public sphere (Section 10);
- language of events (Section 11);
- language of the court proceedings (Section 13);
- language of films to be exhibited in public (Section 17);
- and the use of language for information to be provided for public (Section 21).
The Official Language Law states that place names, names of institutions, organisations, undertakings founded in Latvia shall be created and used in the official language, whereas names of persons shall be presented in accordance with the traditions of the Latvian language which conform to the existing norms of the literary language.