The ''United States Government Manual'' is the official handbook of the

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...

, published annually 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 Presid ...

and printed and distributed by the

United States 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 ...

. The first edition was issued in 1935; before the 1973/74 edition it was known as the ''United States Government Organization Manual''. The ''Manual'' provides comprehensive information on the agencies of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches. It also includes information on quasi-official agencies; international organizations in which the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

participates; and boards, commissions, and committees. Appendices include a list of agency acronyms and a cumulative list of agencies terminated, transferred, or changed in name since 1933. A typical federal agency description includes: * A brief history of the agency, including its legislative or executive authority. * A description of its programs and activities. * A list of officials heading major operating units. * A summary statement of the agency's purpose and role in the Federal Government. * Information, addresses, websites and phone numbers to help users locate detailed information on consumer activities, contracts and grants, employment, publications, and other matters of public interest. Since 2011 the ''Manual'' has been freely offered online, in a continuously updated edition, with annual printed editions still made available.

GovInfo GovInfo is an official website of the United States government that houses U.S. government information. GovInfo replaces the Federal Digital System (FDsys), which in turn replaces GPOAccess, an information storage system to house electronic governme ...

offers freely downloadable PDF copies of the ''U.S. Government Manual'' for 1995-96 and all subsequent editions to the present, and ASCII text copies from 1995-96 to 2009-2010. The annual printed edition of the ''Manual'' was discontinued in 2015.

References

External links

''U.S. Government Manual''
official online version of the ''United States Government Manual'', continually updated.
''U.S. Government Manual''
official, freely downloadable PDFs of annual printed versions, 1995-present.
''U. S. Government Manuals'', 1935-1951

''U. S. Government Manuals'', 1935-2013, Hathitrust
{{USCongress Publications of the United States government