Research Guides: Criminology, Law & Society: Federal Regulations

Open Access

Federal Register.gov - The Daily Journal of the United States Government
"The Office of the Federal Register (OFR) of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), and the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) jointly administer the FederalRegister.gov website. We developed this website to make it easier for citizens and communities to understand the regulatory process and to participate in Government decision-making."
Library of Congress. Federal Register
"The Federal Register is the official daily publication for Presidential Documents, Executive Orders, proposed, interim, and final rules and regulations, and notices by Federal Agencies, as well as notices of hearings, decisions, investigations, and committee meetings. The Federal Register has been published by the National Archives and Records Administration since 1936 and consists of several distinct parts..."
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"A citation to the Federal Register–for example "77 Fed. Reg. 58945 (Sept. 25, 2012)"–gives you several pieces of information, including the volume number (in this example, the citation refers you to volume 77), the page number of that volume (here, page number 58945), and the date of the issue of the Federal Register where the publication appears (here, September 25th, 2012). The Law Library of Congress blog provides a Beginner's Guide that may be of assistance with your research in the Federal Register."
Regulations.gov
On average, federal agencies and departments issue nearly 8,000 regulations per year. Each day, public users may submit comments on these regulations using Regulations.gov. Below, we've summarized federal regulations, related documents and public comments posted on Regulations.gov. Look for more data and displays as we continue to enhance our site. Please note, all data reflects Year-to-Date activity and is updated at midnight EST.– Hompage
U.S. Government Publishing Office - Code of Federal Regulations. GovInfo
"The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) annual edition is the codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the departments and agencies of the Federal Government. It is divided into 50 titles that represent broad areas subject to Federal regulation. "
U.S. Government Publishing Office. Federal Register
"Published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the Federal Register is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents."
U.S. Government Publishing Office. Office of the Federal Register
"The Federal Register system is an official legal information service of the United States government. The Federal Register legal system operates under the general authority of the Administrative Committee of the Federal Register (ACFR), and the specific statutory and regulatory authority of the Office of the Federal Register (OFR). The OFR functions as the Secretariat for the ACFR, and is a component of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)."

Coming Soon -- ProQuest regulatory insight*

ProQuest regulatory insight*
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"Regulatory Insight seeks to facilitate teaching and learning about administrative law by legal researchers, as well as academic researchers from many other disciplines. Regulatory Insight contains administrative law histories organized by public law, and provides functionality similar to the functionality found in Legislative Insight, to facilitate research. Longer term, ProQuest will create separate modules and offer content and functionality to enable users to engage in a wide variety of research tasks related to both historic and current administrative law."

Regulations Background

U.S. Government Manual - GovInfo
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"As the official handbook of the Federal Government, the United States Government Manual provides comprehensive information on the agencies of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches. It also includes information on quasi-official agencies; international organizations in which the United States participates; and boards, commissions, and committees. The Manual begins with reprints of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution."
Reg Map Informal Rulemaking
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Using the Reg Map: "The Reg Map is based on general requirements. In some cases, more stringent or less stringent requirements are imposed by statutory provisions that are agency specific or subject matter specific. Also, in some cases more stringent requirements are imposed by agency policy. In a typical case, a rulemaking action would proceed from step one through step nine with a proposed rule and a final rule."

Federal Register

Federal Register. - U.S. Government Publishing Office. Office of the Federal Register
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"Published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the Federal Register is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents."
Federal Register. 1936 - current. HeinOnline*
Federal Register. 1980 - current. Nexis Uni*
Federal Register. 1981 - current. WestlawNext*
Federal Register : what it is and how to use it (online tutorial)
Guide to the Rule Making Process
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Prepared by the Office of the Federal Register.
Library of Congress. Federal Register
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"The Federal Register is the official daily publication for Presidential Documents, Executive Orders, proposed, interim, and final rules and regulations, and notices by Federal Agencies, as well as notices of hearings, decisions, investigations, and committee meetings. The Federal Register has been published by the National Archives and Records Administration since 1936 and consists of several distinct parts."

Federal Regulations

"After Congressional bills become laws, Federal Departments and Agencies are responsible for enforcing those laws through regulations. Departments and Agencies develop regulations through the Federal rulemaking process, most commonly through a notice-and-comment process. In general, Departments and Agencies publish proposed rules that are open for public comment, and after a specified timeframe, the Department or Agency publishes a final rule based on public comments and other information.

Regulations.gov users can find Federal proposed and final rules published every business day by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in the U.S. government's Federal Register, and submit comments through the web site to the Agencies on proposed rules that are open for public comment..."

CFR - Code of Federal Regulations : WestlawNext*
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This database includes all 50 titles comprising the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) and incorporates recent changes that appear in the Federal Register.
CFR - Code of Federal Regulations : Nexis Uni*
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The CFR - Code of Federal Regulations file contains the full text of all titles from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The CFR is a codification of the general and permanent rules and regulations published originally in the Federal Register by executive departments and agencies of the federal government.
CFR - Code of Federal Regulations : Hein Online* | Complete: 1938-Present
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The CFR is the codification of the general & permanent rules & regulations (sometimes called administrative law) published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government of the United States. The CFR is a multivolume set divided into 50 titles that represent broad areas subject to Federal regulation. While new regulations are continually becoming effective, the physical printing of the CFR is updated once every calendar year.
CFR - Code of Federal Regulations - GovInfo
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The CFR is the codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government...
CFR - Code of Federal Regulations. LII / Legal Information Institute
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This front-end to the CFR is generated from and links to the most recent version of the CFR placed on the Internet by the Government Printing Office...
Regulations.gov
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Submit your comments on proposed regulations and related documents published by the U.S. Federal government. You can also use this site to search and review original regulatory documents as well as comments submitted by others. A source for all regulations (or rulemakings) issued by U.S. government agencies, including All Federal regulations that are open for public comment (i.e.,proposed rules) and closed for comment (i.e., final rules) as published in the Federal Register...