View source for Federal Register

{{Short description|Official journal of the US federal government}}
{{Program
|ProgramName=Federal Register
|ProgramType=Program
|OrgSponsor=National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
|CreationLegislation=Federal Register Act of 1935
|Purpose=To provide the public with official notice of administrative rules and notices of federal agencies and organizations, and to promote government transparency and accountability. It is the primary medium for announcing these actions to the public.
|Website=https://www.federalregister.gov
}}

The '''''Federal Register''''' ('''FR''' or sometimes '''Fed. Reg.''') is the [[government gazette|official journal]] of the [[federal government of the United States]] that contains government agency rules, proposed rules, and public notices.<ref>{{usc|44|1505}}</ref> It is published every weekday, except on [[Federal holidays in the United States|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 [[Codification (law)|codified]] in the ''[[Code of Federal Regulations]]'' (CFR), which is updated quarterly.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-08-15 |title=About the Code of Federal Regulations |url=https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/cfr/about.html |access-date=2023-05-10 |website=National Archives |language=en}}</ref>

The ''Federal Register'' is compiled by the [[Office of the Federal Register]] (within the [[National Archives and Records Administration]]) and is printed by the [[United States Government Publishing Office|Government Publishing Office]]. There are no [[copyright]] restrictions on the ''Federal Register''; as a [[Copyright status of work by the U.S. government|work of the U.S. government]], it is in the [[public domain]].<ref>{{CodeFedReg|1|2|6}}; "Any person may reproduce or republish, without restriction, any material appearing in any regular or special edition of the Federal Register."</ref>

==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]]s, proclamations and administrative orders.

Both proposed and final government rules are published in the ''Federal Register''. A [[Notice of Proposed Rulemaking]] (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 agencies|government agency]], 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]]. Publication of documents in the ''Federal Register'' also constitutes [[constructive notice]], and its contents are [[judicial notice|judicially noticed]].{{sfn|Kohlmetz|1948|p=58}}

The ''[[United States Government Manual]]'' is published as a special edition of the ''Federal Register''. Its focus is on programs and activities.<ref>{{CodeFedReg|1|9|1}}</ref>

== Format ==
Each daily issue of the printed ''Federal Register'' is organized into four categories:

* Presidential Documents ([[executive order]]s and [[presidential proclamation|proclamations]])
* 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 [volume] FR [page number] ([date]), ''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]]'' (CFR), which is updated annually.

== Availability ==
Copies of the ''Federal Register'' may be obtained from the U.S. Government Publishing Office. Most [[law library|law libraries]] associated with an [[American Bar Association]]-accredited law school will also have a set, as will [[Federal depository library|federal depository libraries]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://catalog.gpo.gov/fdlpdir/FDLPdir.jsp|title=FDLP Library Directory|work=Catalog of U.S. Government Publications|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090509072008/http://catalog.gpo.gov/fdlpdir/FDLPdir.jsp|archive-date=May 9, 2009}}</ref>

=== Free sources ===
The ''Federal Register'' has been available online since 1994. [[Federal Depository Library Program|Federal depository libraries]] within the U.S. also receive copies of the text, either in paper or [[microfiche]] 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.federalregister.com|title=Federal Register – Rules, notices, proposed rules|work=FederalRegister.com|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100102095859/http://federalregister.com/|archive-date=January 2, 2010}}</ref>

GovPulse.us,<ref>[http://govpulse.us govpulse.us] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100106061419/http://govpulse.us/ |date=January 6, 2010 }}</ref> a finalist in the Sunlight Foundation's Apps for America 2,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sunlightlabs.com/contests/appsforamerica2/|title=Apps for America 2: The Data.gov Challenge|work=Sunlight Labs|access-date=January 30, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110128020636/http://sunlightlabs.com/contests/appsforamerica2/|archive-date=January 28, 2011}}</ref> 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<ref>[http://federalregister.gov federalregister.gov] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101224165752/http://www.federalregister.gov/ |date=December 24, 2010 }}</ref> website went live.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2010/07/26/meet-the-new-federal-register/|title=Meet the New Federal Register|work=Sunlight Foundation|date=July 26, 2010|access-date=January 30, 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602095852/http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2010/07/26/meet-the-new-federal-register/|archive-date=June 2, 2013}}</ref> The new website is a collaboration between the developers who created GovPulse.us, the [[Government Publishing Office]] and the [[National Archives and Records Administration]].

On August 1, 2011, the Federal Register announced a new [[application programming interface]] (API) to facilitate programmatic access to the Federal Register content. The API is fully [[Representational state transfer|RESTful]], utilizing the [[HATEOAS]] architecture with results delivered in the [[JSON]] format. Details are available at the developers page<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.federalregister.gov/reader-aids/developer-resources |title=Reader Aids |work=Federal Register |access-date=December 16, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181129210856/https://www.federalregister.gov/reader-aids/developer-resources |archive-date=November 29, 2018}}</ref> and [[Ruby (programming language)|Ruby]] and [[Python (programming language)|Python]] client [[Library (computing)|libraries]] 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]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cyberregs.com/pub/cr/inside-cyberregs/index.htm/|title=Welcome to CyberRegs|work=CyberRegs|access-date=January 30, 2011|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708215123/http://www.cyberregs.com/pub/cr/inside-cyberregs/index.htm/|archive-date=July 8, 2011}}</ref>
* HeinOnline (1936–): Full coverage available dating back to 1936 in an image-based searchable PDF format.
* LexisNexis (July 1, 1980–): Searchable text format since {{USFR|45|44251}}.
* [[Westlaw]] (January 1, 1981–): Searchable text format since {{USFR|46|1}}. The Unified Agenda and the official English text of the 1980 United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, 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.{{sfn|Kohlmetz|1948|p=58}}<ref>{{USStatute|74|220|49|500|1935|07|26}}. {{Usc-title-chap|44|15}}.</ref> The first issue of the ''Federal Register'' was published on March 16, 1936.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/the-federal-register/history.pdf|publisher=National Archives and Records Administration|title=A Brief History Commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the Publication of the First Issue of the Federal Register March 14, 1936|access-date=February 13, 2014|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611100009/http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/the-federal-register/history.pdf|archive-date=June 11, 2014}}</ref> In 1946 the [[Administrative Procedure Act (United States)|Administrative Procedure Act]] required agencies to publish more information related to their rulemaking documents in the ''Federal Register''.<ref>{{UnitedStatesCode|5|551}}</ref>

==See also==
* ''[[Emergency Federal Register]]''
* [[Government gazette]] – 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]]''
* ''[[United States Statutes at Large]]''

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
* {{cite web|title=About the ''Federal Register''|date=August 15, 2016|publisher=Office of the Federal Register|url=https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/the-federal-register/about.html}}
* {{cite web|title=A Research Guide to the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations|first=Richard J.|last=McKinney|date=June 12, 2016|publisher=Law Librarians' Society of Washington, D.C.|url=http://www.llsdc.org/fr-cfr-research-guide}}
* {{cite book|title=Counting Regulations: An Overview of Rulemaking, Types of Federal Regulations, and Pages in the Federal Register|first=Maeve P.|last=Carey|date=May 1, 2013|publisher=[[Congressional Research Service]]|url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43056.pdf}}
* {{cite journal|last=Kohlmetz|first=William J.|title=Administrative Law—The Effect of Publication in the Federal Register|journal=[[Marquette Law Review]]|year=1948|volume=32|issue=1|pages=58–64|url=http://scholarship.law.marquette.edu/mulr/vol32/iss1/5}}
<!--* Relyea, Harold. [http://www.c-span.org/Watch/Media/2010/10/23/AHTV/A/39592/75th+Anniversary+of+the+Federal+Register.aspx "75th Anniversary of the Federal Register,"]{{dead link|date=February 2014}} National Archives. October 23, 2010.--><!-- Relyea told audience at National Archives that text of speech would be published in Federal Register, but when? -->

==External links==
{{Scholia|venue}}
* {{Official website|https://www.archives.gov/federal-register/}} from the [[Office of the Federal Register]]
* [https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/FR/ ''Federal Register''] (official) on [[GovInfo]] from the [[United States Government Publishing Office|Government Publishing Office]]
* [https://www.federalregister.gov/ Federal Register 2.0] (official but not authoritative) from the Office of the Federal Register
* [https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/LSA/ List of CFR Sections Affected] on GovInfo from the Government Publishing Office
* [https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/federal-register-office Office of the Federal Register] in the ''Federal Register''
* [https://www.federalregister.gov/agencies/federal-register-administrative-committee Administrative Committee of the Federal Register] in the ''Federal Register''
* [http://www.llsdc.org/sources-and-tools-to-the-federal-register Sources and Tools to the Federal Register] free and commercial from LLSDC.org

{{US Administrative law}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Government gazettes]]
[[Category:Publications established in 1935]]
[[Category:Publications of the United States government]]
[[Category:United States administrative law]]
[[Category:United States official journals]]