Administrative Law: Federal Regulations

Federal administrative law is published in two places: the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and the Federal Register (FR).

Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)

Final regulations are arranged by subject in the CFR similar to the way that statutes are arranged in the United States Code (USC). The CFR is revised annually and is organized into 50 titles which represent broad subject areas.

The CFR is available on Westlaw, Lexis+, and Bloomberg (passwords required).

Federal Register (FR)

Regulations are published chronologically in the Federal Register. This publication is updated daily. Regulations are first published as a proposed rule. A thirty-day comment period on the proposed regulation follows. At the conclusion of the comment period the regulation may be revised and re-issued for additional comment or issued in its final state. Proposed, temporary, and final regulations all appear for the first time in the Federal Register. Some of the types of materials included in the Federal Register are: 

• Rules and regulations of federal agencies
• Proposed rules and regulations
• Agency notices
• Presidential documents of general applicability or legal effect
• Sunshine Act meetings

The FR is available on Westlaw, Lexis+, and Bloomberg (passwords required).