British Sign Language
British Sign Language (BSL) is a vibrant and important language, with its own grammar, syntax and vocabulary. Many Scottish citizens use this language to participate and contribute to our communities, our culture, and our economy. For many deaf and deafblind people in Scotland, BSL is their first language.
Scotland holds a significant place in the rich culture and history of BSL. Moray House at the University of Edinburgh was one of three institutions in the UK that confirmed BSL is a language, and the name ‘British Sign Language’ was first published from Moray House in 1975.
Our ambition is to make Scotland the best place in the world for BSL users to live, work, visit and learn.
Contact Scotland BSL
We fund Contact Scotland BSL, a free national video relay service. It allows Deaf and Deafblind BSL users to make phone calls using devices with internet access, through video interpreters at any time.
A new Contact Scotland BSL service launches on 1 December 2025. We have worked with the BSL community and service users to design the new service.
Deaf and Deafblind BSL users
From 1 December 2025, access Contact Scotland BSL by:
- downloading the new Contact Scotland BSL app (available from Apple and Android app stores)
- visiting contactscotland-bsl.org
If you use the current app
The current app will stop working on 1 December 2025. You will be redirected to download the new app after midnight on 1 December.
Learn more in BSL
Watch this BSL video about the new service.
Organisations and businesses
To return a call to a BSL user, call 0141 530 8113 and provide their email address or mobile number.
Watch this video to see how to return a call.
Updating your website
You do not need to update general links to Contact Scotland BSL.
Direct call links: update to contactscotland-bsl.org before 1 December 2025.
Phone number for returning calls: 0141 530 8113 (unchanged)
About the service
Contact Scotland BSL uses Scottish BSL interpreters, and some English interpreters trained in Scottish signs. The service also has a community liaison officer from the BSL community in Scotland.
We plan to pilot video remote interpreting, allowing BSL users to access interpreters remotely in live settings. Further details will be provided when the pilot is ready.
British Sign Language (BSL): national plan
We worked with Deaf communities across Scotland to develop and publish the British Sign Language (BSL): national plan 2023 to 2029 in November 2023.
The plan sets out the steps we will take between 2023 and 2029 to achieve our overall vision: to make Scotland the best place in the world to live, work and visit for people whose first or preferred language is BSL.
Developing the BSL national plan 2023 to 2029
We ran a consultation on a national plan for BSL in 2023 and published an analysis of consultation responses in December 2023.
This plan leads on from the first BSL national plan 2017-2023 and reflects the further priorities we have identified based on discussions with the BSL community and the organisations representing them.
BSL Implementation Advisory Group
The British Sign Language (Scotland) Act 2015 came into force in October 2015. It promotes the use of BSL in Scotland, primarily by requiring certain authorities to develop BSL plans that outline how they will promote and raise awareness of the language. Listed authorities including local authorities, territorial NHS boards and universities and colleges were required to publish their own BSL plans within six months of the publication of the 2023-2029 BSL National Plan as per the British Sign Language (Scotland) Act 2015.
We set up a BSL Implementation Advisory Group (IAG) to monitor and support the delivery of the national plan. The IAG is made up of key organisations that work with, and support Deaf BSL users in Scotland:
- British Deaf Association Scotland
- Deaf Action
- National Deaf Children’s Society
- Deafblind Scotland
- Scottish Minority Ethnic Deaf Charity (SEMDC)
- ALLIANCE Scotland
We also support groups such as the British Deaf Association, Deafblind Scotland, and Scottish Minority Ethnic Deaf Charity through the Equality and Human Rights Fund.