Guides: Law: Regulations

Regulations

Regulations and administrative law refer to the regulations and federal policy set forth by federal and state agencies. Similar to statutes, regulations are published chronologically and then codified into a subject-based code of regulations. Agency rules and policy have the force of law similar to acts of legislative bodies. Regulations are found in the Federal Register, which is a dailey journal of the workings of the U.S. federal government. Regulations are distilled off of the Federal Register and are found in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Both are available online through government sites and also via HeinOnline.

Federal Register This link opens in a new window
Published daily by the Federal government containing new and proposed regulations (rules) of the executive agencies, e.g. IRS, EPA, FDA and etc. The President's proclamations and executive orders may also be found here. All final rules will later be published by subject (titles 1-50) in the Code of Federal Regulations. Published electronically by GPO Access (1996-) and HeinOnline (1936-).
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) This link opens in a new window
An annual codification of the regulations of the Federal government. It is completely revised each year to reflect regulations currently in effect. New regulations first appear in the daily Federal Register and then are codified in the CFR. An electronic version is available on GPO Access (1996-) and HeinOnline (1938-).

CFR

The CFR contains 50 titles. Each title represents a federal agency or department; and the particular agency is indicated in the "Authority" note in each title. Following this note is a Source note which indicates the regulation's source in the Federal Register. To locate the codified version of a regulation:

1. Use the CFR Index and Finding Aids volume, which is the official index for the entire set.

or,

2. Use the CFR in HeinOnline (below) by selecting the "field" option when searching by subject. For example, "pesticides" brings up many relevant regulations dealing with the regulations of pest control in agriculture.

3. Use the Parallel Table of Authorities and Rules to find the rulemaking auhtority for regulations. Cross references are provided to the United States Code, United States Statutes at Large, Public Laws, and Presidential Documents.

HeinOnline Code of Federal Regulations This link opens in a new window
The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), which is the codification of the general and permanent rules and 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. The coverage offered in HeinOnline begins from the CFR's inception in 1938.
The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), which is the codification of the general and permanent rules and regulations (sometimes called administrative law) published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government of the United States. While new regulations are continually becoming effective, the physical printing of the CFR is updated once every calendar year and is scheduled on a quarterly basis.