This is an overview of federal administrative regulations — rules promulgated by federal executive branch agencies under authority delegated by Congress. This guide covers: where regulations are published; how to find them; how to update them. For advice about any aspect of administrative or regulatory research, ask a research librarian.
Federal regulations that are currently in force are published in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The major free and subscription options for the CFR are linked below.
The Federal Register, which is published every business day, includes proposed rules, new final rules, and other administrative agency notices.
Practitioners follow the Federal Register to stay on top of new or changed regulations. Because proposed and final rules are accompanied by background information, the Federal Register is useful for researching the purpose of regulations.
Regulations.gov is optimized for researchers who want to see proposed rules, comment on proposals, and view background documentation on proposed rules. So, even though the Federal Register also includes proposed rules, consider starting at Regulations.gov for any project where proposed rules play a major role.