National Contact Center 1-800-FED-INFO

GSA’s National Contact Center (NCC), part of Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies, serves as a single 

point of contact for citizens with questions about federal agencies, programs, and services. 

Citizens can contact the NCC in several ways:

 Ask questions and speak with an agent (in English or Spanish) by calling 1-800-FED-INFO (800-333-4636), 8 am 

to 8 pm EST, M - F

 E-mail questions at www.usa.gov/questions/

 Chat with an agent by visiting www.usa.gov/chat, 8 am to 8 pm EST, M - F

 Listen to recorded information at 1-800-FED-INFO, 24 hours a day 

 Find information at Answers.USA.gov

In fiscal year 2011, the NCC answered nearly 1 million calls, 77,000 emails, 16,000 chat sessions and had almost 7 

million visits to Answers.USA.gov. 

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the History of the NCC?

Since 1966, people have been contacting the NCC 

(previously known as the Federal Information 

Center) to get answers to questions about the 

government. Initially, the service was only available 

in person or via local telephone numbers in key 

metropolitan areas. Starting in 1990, the NCC 

began responding to public questions with a toll-free 

telephone number. Eager to meet the public’s 

changing needs, the NCC added FAQs and email 

in 2003 and web chat in 2006.

Can you tell me more about the specific channels?

Finding an answer to a question about the 

federal government can seem impossible. The 

NCC’s variety of communications channels allow

you to pick the resource that fits your 

needs. You can get information about the 

federal government when and how you want it. 

Phone (1-800-FED-INFO*) 

Trained telephone agents are eager to help you 

find the answer to your question. Each agent 

has access to great information about the 

agencies, programs, and activities that make up 

the federal government. Agents answer 

questions in English and Spanish. Anyone in the 

U.S. or Canada can call toll-free to between 8 

a.m. and 8 p.m. eastern time, M-F 

*Recorded information on frequently requested 

subjects is available around the clock.

Email 

You can e-mail your questions about the federal 

government in English or Spanish — by going to 

USA.gov and clicking on “E-mail” at the top of 

the page. All questions will receive an e-mail 

response within two business days.

Chat

For those who prefer the immediacy of live chat, 

the NCC offers this channel for questions in 

English from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., eatsern time, M-F. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) in 

Spanish and English

You can access the same great information 

available to agents by visiting Answers.usa.gov

(for English) or Respuestas.gobiernousa.gov (for 

Spanish.)

What are the questions most frequently asked by 

the American public?

The NCC receives questions on every topic you 

can imagine related to the federal 

government. Questions about foreign travel, 

visas, and passports; about immigration and 

naturalization; and about Federal loans and 

grants are common. Other popular topics include 
Federal jobs, Social Security, buying surplus 

government property, and how to contact your 

members of Congress. 

Does the contact center do other things?

In addition to general questions about the 

government, the NCC works with a few agencies to 

respond to their more specific public inquiries via 

telephone. Here are two:

 Department of State, Overseas Citizens 

Services - questions about status of 

Americans abroad, international adoptions, 

international abductions of children - 888-

407-4747

 Department of the Interior, US Fish and 

Wildlife Service - questions about wildlife 

refuges, endangered species, and permits -

800-344 WILD (800-344-9453)

And the NCC helps GSA and Benefits.gov respond to 

e-mail inquiries on their sites.

How about accessibility?

The NCC works very hard to assure full compliance 

with federal laws on its websites. TTY users may 

use the nationwide 711 relay to call any of the 

numbers; agents can give you our direct-dial 

number during the call for future reference. 

For More Information on the National Contact 

Center and Related Programs

If you are interested in obtaining 

additional information or want to explore 

working with the National Contact 

Center, please call Mary Ann Monroe at 

(202) 501-0854 or e-mail her at 

maryann.monroe@gsa.gov
How do agents find the right answer?

the NCC information agents

U.S. General Services 

Administration 1800 F 

Street, NW

Washington, DC 20405-

0002 www.gsa.gov
For More Information on the National 

Contact Center and Related Programs

If you are interested in obtaining additional 

information or want to explore working with the 

National Contact Center, please call Henry Lai at 

(202) 501-0854 or e-mail him at 

henry.lai@gsa.gov.