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Introduction to Regulations

• Federal Register. Proposed Regulations must first appear in the Federal Register which is available online at GPO Access. The Law Library keeps complete microfiche backfiles of this publication. Citations to the Federal Register follow this form: [volume no.] FR [page no.]. The Register also contains additional governmental information, including some Presidential documents. All official meetings of governmental agencies must also be announced in the Register.
• Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Once the Regulations are in force, they appear in the CFR in summary form. The CFR is also available from GPO Access, where you can do a keyword search or browse by sections (called "titles") which cover broad subject areas. It is updated continually. The Law Library keeps complete microfiche backfiles. Citations to the CFR look like this: [title no.] CFR [section no.]. For example, the section of the CFR that deals with launch licenses for commercial space transportation is section 415 of title 14, so the citation would be 14 CFR 415. Between the annual issuances of a particular section, the monthly publication CFR List of Sections Affected (also at GPO Access) keeps information current.

Other than the actual index to the CFR, (which is received in paper and kept on top of the microfiche cabinets in the Blume Library) there are few official aids to finding regulatory information. Several commercial products exist, however, which are designed to keep people in business, and other fields, abreast of new developments which may affect their work. The Law Library subscribes to many of these services in different areas. Ask a Law Librarian for assistance.

The General Services Administration makes this handy chart, the Reg Map, available in PDF format. It outlines the process of regulation-making from the beginning idea to the promulgation of the final, binding rule. And the National Archives has this extensive online guide to using the Federal Register.

Sources of Regulations

GPO Access. Recent years (1994 to the present) of the Federal Register are searchable on GPO Access. Choose the Federal Register link, under "Executive Resources," from their main page, or follow the link above. When you choose "Federal Register" from the "Regulatory" page, note that the most recent year of the Federal Register is the default, but you can search earlier years a bit further down the page. You may perform a simple keyword search, look in particular volumes or issues, or browse the table of contents for the most recent issue of the Register, or back issues (to 1998), in either PDF or HTML format. The current edition and back issues (to 1996) of the CFR are available from GPO Access's main page as well, or by following this link. You may search the entire code by keyword or search by a particular citation. Citations may be entered in the keyword search box, or on a guided search page; choose "Retrieve by CFR citation" for this option. If you choose "Browse and/or search the CFR," you may search a single title or combination of titles from the current and/or back issues available. Completing GPO Access' comprehensive suite of regulatory information is a database of CFR List of Sections Affected from 1986 to the present. (Searchable since 1997.) There is not a link to this database on the main GPO Access page, but there is one under "Executive Resources." Or just follow the link above. Searching this material gives any updated regulations that have been enacted since the last annual edition of the CFR. You can search the Lists or browse them by section.

If you want to comment on pending regulations, check Regulations.gov, where you can search by agency, browse by topic, and also see what regulations have just been released for comments and which ones have comments due on the current date. The National Archives also makes this listing of individual agencies' electronic rulemaking sites available. Congressional Universe. This database is available for use AT THE LAW LIBRARY ONLY. In addition, there are several guides to regulatory information freely available on the Internet, as well as sites with links to regulatory information.  Here are some suggested  additional sites: Fedlaw (from General Services Administration; includes laws and regulations) Federal Regulations Guide (Cornell Law Library) Reginfo.gov (from General Services Administration; includes Regulatory Agenda, links to OMB sites and other information on regulatory developments and priorities) Regulations:  A Research Guide (from Rebecca Knight at the University of Delaware) Another useful source is maintained at Cornell's Legal Information Institute: a hypertext version of the Congressional Research Service's Annotated Constitution, with links to pertinent Supreme Court opinions, U.S. Code sections and Code of Federal Regulations citations.

The University of Virgina makes this listing of Administrative Decisions by Agency available. These decisions are outside of the scope of the CFR or Federal Register, but can be important sources of information regarding agency actions.

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