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Federal Register

Definition / Background / Presidential Documents / Rules and Regulations
Proposed Rules / Notices / Meetings / Tip

Definition The Federal Register (FR) is a government document containing regulations and legal notices issued by Federal agencies and the President. It is produced by the Office of the Federal Register, and published every Federal working day.

Background Many laws enacted by Congress require agencies to issue regulations. All regulations must be published in the FR because it is the official document used to notify the public, and Federal and State agencies of recent government actions.
At the beginning of each document, a heading provides the name of the issuing agency, the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) title and parts affected, and a brief description of the subject covered within the document. In some cases, the agency will include the docket number, which identifies the document within the agency's internal filing system.
The preamble, which follows the heading, explains the basis and purpose of the regulatory text. This section must accompany the regulatory text of all final or proposed rules.
Actions published in the FR are grouped by Presidential Documents or by agencies. Within each agency, actions are further separated into one of the following categories: (1) rules and regulations, (2) proposed rules, (3) notices, or (4) meetings.

Presidential Documents Presidential documents in the FR are separated into the following categories: proclamations and executive orders, letters, memorandums, and reorganization plans.
Presidential proclamations are of two types: (1) ceremonial, designating periods of special observance, or (2) substantive, usually dealing with trade. Most proclamations address the general public, and may or may not have a legal effect.
Executive orders may cover a variety of topics, and are generally directed toward executive agencies. These documents are issued both as a means of implementing the President's constitutional and statutory responsibilities, and as a means of managing the operations of the executive branch of the government.
Presidential documents are compiled annually under Title 3 of the CFR.

Rules and Regulations
(Separated by Department) The rules and regulations section contains final, legally binding, regulatory documents. Documents are listed under the Federal agency that has regulatory authority (i.e., Energy Department, etc.). Eventually, most of these regulations will be codified in the CFR (usually within one year from the date of publication in the FR).

Proposed Rules
(Separated by Department) A proposed rule is an announcement to the public that a change to the CFR is under consideration. The purpose of publishing proposed rules is to enable interested persons to participate in the rule making process by submitting comments prior to adoption of the final rule.
Most proposed rules suggest changes to agency regulations in the CFR and request public comment on those suggested changes. Many agencies voluntarily publish proposed changes for the expressed purpose of soliciting comments.
The heading and preamble format are the same for both proposed and final rules. Within the preamble for proposed rules, an address and deadline date are generally provided for submission of comments.

Notices
(Separated by Department) The notices section contains documents other than rules or proposed rules that may be of interest to the public. Documents in this section are not codified in the CFR, and may include any of the following: (1) notices of hearings and investigation, (2) committee meetings, (3) agency decisions and rulings, (4) delegations of authority, (5) filing of petitions and applications, (6) issuance or revocation of licenses, (7) grant application deadlines, and (8) availability of environmental impact statements.

Meetings
(Separated by Department) Prior to March 1, 1996, the final category of documents appearing in the FR were announcements of upcoming meetings within the Federal government. Meeting announcements must be published in accordance with the Sunshine Act (5 USC 552b(e)(3)). However, as of March 1, 1996, all meeting announcements are to be incorporated into the Notices section of the FR.

Tip The terms "rules" and "regulations" are used interchangeably throughout the FR.
Each meeting notice is numbered, and a table of contents arranged by agency name and item number appears at the beginning of the section.
Searches in the Federal Register database can be defined by one or more of the following: (1) subject, (2) location, (3) agency, (4) issue volume or number, or (5) action. You will perform the most effective searches if you highlight all three Federal Register boxes. Also, this database archives previous issues (which are indicated by [ ]s), so you may retrieve entries further back than last months issue.
For example, if you performed a search air radiation, you would retrieve any entries that contained either "air" or "radiation", or both. As illustrated in this example, it is not necessary to include words such as AND, OR or NOT because they will be deleted by the filtering process of the search engine. Additionally, quotations may be used if you are interested in retrieving a specific phrase (i.e., "Environmental Impact Statement").

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Definition	The Federal Register (FR) is a government document containing regulations and legal notices issued by Federal agencies and the President. It is produced by the Office of the Federal Register, and published every Federal working day.
Background	Many laws enacted by Congress require agencies to issue regulations. All regulations must be published in the FR because it is the official document used to notify the public, and Federal and State agencies of recent government actions. At the beginning of each document, a heading provides the name of the issuing agency, the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) title and parts affected, and a brief description of the subject covered within the document. In some cases, the agency will include the docket number, which identifies the document within the agency's internal filing system. The preamble, which follows the heading, explains the basis and purpose of the regulatory text. This section must accompany the regulatory text of all final or proposed rules. Actions published in the FR are grouped by Presidential Documents or by agencies. Within each agency, actions are further separated into one of the following categories: (1) rules and regulations, (2) proposed rules, (3) notices, or (4) meetings.
Presidential Documents	Presidential documents in the FR are separated into the following categories: proclamations and executive orders, letters, memorandums, and reorganization plans. Presidential proclamations are of two types: (1) ceremonial, designating periods of special observance, or (2) substantive, usually dealing with trade. Most proclamations address the general public, and may or may not have a legal effect. Executive orders may cover a variety of topics, and are generally directed toward executive agencies. These documents are issued both as a means of implementing the President's constitutional and statutory responsibilities, and as a means of managing the operations of the executive branch of the government. Presidential documents are compiled annually under Title 3 of the CFR.
Rules and Regulations (Separated by Department)	The rules and regulations section contains final, legally binding, regulatory documents. Documents are listed under the Federal agency that has regulatory authority (i.e., Energy Department, etc.). Eventually, most of these regulations will be codified in the CFR (usually within one year from the date of publication in the FR).
Proposed Rules (Separated by Department)	A proposed rule is an announcement to the public that a change to the CFR is under consideration. The purpose of publishing proposed rules is to enable interested persons to participate in the rule making process by submitting comments prior to adoption of the final rule. Most proposed rules suggest changes to agency regulations in the CFR and request public comment on those suggested changes. Many agencies voluntarily publish proposed changes for the expressed purpose of soliciting comments. The heading and preamble format are the same for both proposed and final rules. Within the preamble for proposed rules, an address and deadline date are generally provided for submission of comments.
Notices (Separated by Department)	The notices section contains documents other than rules or proposed rules that may be of interest to the public. Documents in this section are not codified in the CFR, and may include any of the following: (1) notices of hearings and investigation, (2) committee meetings, (3) agency decisions and rulings, (4) delegations of authority, (5) filing of petitions and applications, (6) issuance or revocation of licenses, (7) grant application deadlines, and (8) availability of environmental impact statements.
Meetings (Separated by Department)	Prior to March 1, 1996, the final category of documents appearing in the FR were announcements of upcoming meetings within the Federal government. Meeting announcements must be published in accordance with the Sunshine Act (5 USC 552b(e)(3)). However, as of March 1, 1996, all meeting announcements are to be incorporated into the Notices section of the FR.
Tip	The terms "rules" and "regulations" are used interchangeably throughout the FR. Each meeting notice is numbered, and a table of contents arranged by agency name and item number appears at the beginning of the section. Searches in the Federal Register database can be defined by one or more of the following: (1) subject, (2) location, (3) agency, (4) issue volume or number, or (5) action. You will perform the most effective searches if you highlight all three Federal Register boxes. Also, this database archives previous issues (which are indicated by [ ]s), so you may retrieve entries further back than last months issue. For example, if you performed a search air radiation, you would retrieve any entries that contained either "air" or "radiation", or both. As illustrated in this example, it is not necessary to include words such as *AND, OR or NOT* because they will be deleted by the filtering process of the search engine. Additionally, quotations may be used if you are interested in retrieving a specific phrase (i.e., "*Environmental Impact Statement*").