The ''Federal Register'' (FR or sometimes Fed. Reg.) is the
official journal
A government gazette (also known as an official gazette, official journal, official newspaper, official monitor or official bulletin) is a periodical publication that has been authorised to publish public or legal notices. It is usually establish ...
of the
federal government of the United States
The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States.
The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...
that contains government agency rules, proposed rules, and public notices. It is published every weekday, except on
federal holidays. The final rules promulgated by a federal agency and published in the ''Federal Register'' are ultimately reorganized by topic or subject matter and
codified in the ''
Code of Federal Regulations
In the law of the United States, the ''Code of Federal Regulations'' (''CFR'') is the codification of the general and permanent regulatory law, regulations promulgated by the executive departments and agencies of the federal government of the ...
'' (CFR), which is updated quarterly.
The ''Federal Register'' is compiled by the
Office of the Federal Register
The Office of the Federal Register is an office of the United States government within the National Archives and Records Administration.
The Office publishes the ''Federal Register'', ''Code of Federal Regulations'', '' Public Papers of the Presi ...
(within the
National Archives and Records Administration
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...
) and is printed by the
Government Publishing Office
The United States Government Publishing Office (USGPO or GPO), formerly the United States Government Printing Office, is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States federal government. The office produces and distributes informatio ...
. There are no
copyright
A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...
restrictions on the ''Federal Register''; as a
work of the U.S. government, it is in the
public domain
The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...
.
Contents
The ''Federal Register'' provides a means for the government to announce to the public changes to government requirements, policies, and guidance.
* Proposed new rules and regulations
* Final rules
* Changes to existing rules
* Notices of meetings and adjudicatory proceedings
* Presidential documents including
executive order
In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of the ...
s, proclamations and administrative orders.
Both proposed and final government rules are published in the ''Federal Register''. A
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
A notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) is a public notice that is issued by law when a U.S. federal agency wishes to add, remove, or change a rule or regulation as part of the rulemaking process. The notice is an important part of US administrat ...
(or "NPRM") typically requests public comment on a proposed rule and provides notice of any public meetings where a proposed rule will be discussed. The public comments are considered by the issuing
government agency
A government agency or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government (bureaucracy) that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, s ...
, and the text of a final rule along with a discussion of the comments is published in the ''Federal Register''. Any agency proposing a rule in the ''Federal Register'' must provide contact information for people and organizations interested in making comments to the agencies and the agencies are required to address these concerns when it publishes its final rule on the subject.
The notice and comment process, as outlined in the Administrative Procedure Act, gives the people a chance to participate in agency
rulemaking
In administrative law, rulemaking is the process that executive and independent agencies use to create, or ''promulgate'', regulations. In general, legislatures first set broad policy mandates by passing statutes, then agencies create more de ...
. Publication of documents in the ''Federal Register'' also constitutes
constructive notice
Constructive notice is the legal fictionThe phrase "legal fiction" should not be construed to mean that the concept of constructive notice is legally invalid. that signifies that a person or entity should have known, as a reasonable person would ha ...
, and its contents are
judicially noticed.
The ''
United States Government Manual
The ''United States Government Manual'' is the official handbook of the federal government, published annually by the Office of the Federal Register and printed and distributed by the United States Government Publishing Office. The first edition w ...
'' is published as a special edition of the ''Federal Register''. Its focus is on programs and activities.
Format
Each daily issue of the printed ''Federal Register'' is organized into four categories:
* Presidential Documents (
executive order
In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of the ...
s and
proclamations
A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...
)
* Rules and Regulations (including policy statements and interpretations of rules by federal agencies)
* Proposed Rules (including petitions to agencies from the public)
* Notices (such as scheduled hearings and meetings open to the public and grant applications)
Citations from the ''Federal Register'' are
olumeFR
age number(
ate, ''e.g.'', 71 FR 24924 (April 7, 2006).
The final rules promulgated by a federal agency and published in the ''Federal Register'' are ultimately reorganized by topic or subject matter and re-published (or "codified") in the ''
Code of Federal Regulations
In the law of the United States, the ''Code of Federal Regulations'' (''CFR'') is the codification of the general and permanent regulatory law, regulations promulgated by the executive departments and agencies of the federal government of the ...
'' (CFR), which is updated annually.
Availability
Copies of the ''Federal Register'' may be obtained from the U.S. Government Publishing Office. Most
law libraries
A law library is a specialist library used by law students, lawyers, judges and their legal assistants, and academics in order to research the law or its history. Law libraries can also be used by others who work in local government or leg ...
associated with an
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...
-accredited law school will also have a set, as will
federal depository libraries
Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to:
Politics
General
*Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies
*Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
.
Free sources
The ''Federal Register'' has been available online since 1994.
Federal depository libraries
Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to:
Politics
General
*Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies
*Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
within the U.S. also receive copies of the text, either in paper or
microfiche
A microform is a scaled-down reproduction of a document, typically either photographic film or paper, made for the purposes of transmission, storage, reading, and printing. Microform images are commonly reduced to about 4% or of the original d ...
format. Outside the U.S., some major libraries may also carry the ''Federal Register''.
As part of the Federal E-Government eRulemaking Initiative, the web site
Regulations.gov was established in 2003 to enable easy public access to agency dockets on rulemaking projects including the published ''Federal Register'' document. The public can use Regulations.gov to access entire rulemaking dockets from participating Federal agencies to include providing on-line comments directly to those responsible for drafting the rulemakings. To help federal agencies manage their dockets, the Federal Docket Management System (FDMS) was launched in 2005 and is the agency side of regulations.gov.
In April 2009, Citation Technologies created a free, searchable website for ''Federal Register'' articles dating from 1996 to the present.
GovPulse.us, a finalist in the Sunlight Foundation's Apps for America 2, provided a Web 2.0 interface to the ''Federal Register'', including sparklines of agency activity and maps of current rules, but is no longer available.
On July 25, 2010, the Federal Register 2.0 website went live. The new website is a collaboration between the developers who created GovPulse.us, the
Government Publishing Office
The United States Government Publishing Office (USGPO or GPO), formerly the United States Government Printing Office, is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States federal government. The office produces and distributes informatio ...
and the
National Archives and Records Administration
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent agency of the United States government within the executive branch, charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It is also task ...
.
On August 1, 2011, the Federal Register announced a new
application programming interface
An application programming interface (API) is a connection between computers or between computer programs. It is a type of software Interface (computing), interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that des ...
(API) to facilitate programmatic access to the Federal Register content. The API is fully
RESTful
REST (Representational State Transfer) is a software architectural style that was created to describe the design and guide the development of the architecture for the World Wide Web. REST defines a set of constraints for how the architecture of ...
, utilizing the
HATEOAS
Hypermedia as the engine of application state (HATEOAS) is a constraint of the REST software architectural style that distinguishes it from other network architectural styles.
With HATEOAS, a client interacts with a network application whose appl ...
architecture with results delivered in the
JSON
JSON (JavaScript Object Notation, pronounced or ) is an open standard file format and electronic data interchange, data interchange format that uses Human-readable medium and data, human-readable text to store and transmit data objects consi ...
format. Details are available at the developers page and
Ruby
Ruby is a pinkish-red-to-blood-red-colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sapph ...
and
Python client
libraries
A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...
are available.
Paid sources
In addition to purchasing printed copies or subscriptions, the contents of the ''Federal Register'' can be acquired via several commercial databases:
* Citation Technologies offers the complete Federal Register and Code of Federal Regulations (CFRs) through subscription-based web portals such as
CyberRegs.
*
HeinOnline
HeinOnline (HOL) is a commercial internet database service launched in 2000 by William S. Hein & Co. (WSH Co), a Buffalo, New York publisher specializing in legal materials. The company was founded in Buffalo, New York, in 1961, and is currently ...
(1936–): Full coverage available dating back to 1936 in an image-based searchable PDF format.
*
LexisNexis
LexisNexis is an American data analytics company headquartered in New York, New York. Its products are various databases that are accessed through online portals, including portals for computer-assisted legal research (CALR), newspaper searc ...
(July 1, 1980–): Searchable text format since .
*
Westlaw
Westlaw is an Computer-assisted legal research, online legal research service and proprietary database for lawyers and legal professionals available in over 60 countries. Information resources on Westlaw include more than 40,000 databases of ca ...
(January 1, 1981–): Searchable text format since . The Unified Agenda and the official English text of the 1980
, which became effective January 1, 1988, are included. Sunshine Act Meeting Notices are not available prior to 1991. Unified Agenda documents are not available prior to October 1989.
History
The ''Federal Register'' system of publication was created on July 26, 1935, under the Federal Register Act. The first issue of the ''Federal Register'' was published on March 16, 1936. In 1946 the
Administrative Procedure Act required agencies to publish more information related to their rulemaking documents in the ''Federal Register''.
See also
* ''
Emergency Federal Register''
*
Government gazette
A government gazette (also known as an official gazette, official journal, official newspaper, official monitor or official bulletin) is a periodical publication that has been authorised to publish public or legal notices. It is usually establish ...
– for other similar government publications in other countries
*
Regulations.gov
* ''
California Regulatory Notice Register''
* ''
Florida Administrative Register''
* ''
Illinois Register''
* ''
New Jersey Register''
* ''
New York State Register''
* ''
Pennsylvania Bulletin''
* ''
United States Reports
The ''United States Reports'' () are the official record (law reports) of the Supreme Court of the United States. They include rulings, orders, case tables (list of every case decided), in alphabetical order both by the name of the petitioner ( ...
''
* ''
United States Statutes at Large
The ''United States Statutes at Large'', commonly referred to as the ''Statutes at Large'' and abbreviated Stat., are an official record of Acts of Congress and concurrent resolutions passed by the United States Congress.
Each act and resolu ...
''
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
External links
* from the
Office of the Federal Register
The Office of the Federal Register is an office of the United States government within the National Archives and Records Administration.
The Office publishes the ''Federal Register'', ''Code of Federal Regulations'', '' Public Papers of the Presi ...
''Federal Register''(official) on
GovInfo from the
Government Publishing Office
The United States Government Publishing Office (USGPO or GPO), formerly the United States Government Printing Office, is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States federal government. The office produces and distributes informatio ...
Federal Register 2.0(official but not authoritative) from the Office of the Federal Register
List of CFR Sections Affectedon GovInfo from the Government Publishing Office
Office of the Federal Registerin the ''Federal Register''
Administrative Committee of the Federal Registerin the ''Federal Register''
Sources and Tools to the Federal Registerfree and commercial from LLSDC.org
{{Authority control
Government gazettes
Publications established in 1935
Publications of the United States government
United States administrative law
United States official journals