Research Guides: Federal Legal Research: Regulations

The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is a compilation of federal regulations currently in force that are organized by topic. The CFR is no longer updated in print, as an electronic version is available on the GPO's website. Also, note that federal regulations are not annotated in the same way as the statutory code. They will not contain references to secondary materials. You may, however, use West's KeyCite or Lexis' Shepard's to locate materials that discuss or analyze a particular regulatory code section. Finally, the history of each regulation code section is located at the bottom of the entry and refers to the Federal Register (Fed. Reg.), which is where federal rules are proposed and notices of adoption are published.

eCFR
The Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR) is a currently updated version of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). It is not an official legal edition of the CFR. The e-CFR is an editorial compilation of CFR material and Federal Register amendments produced by the National Archives and Records Administration's Office of the Federal Register (OFR) and the Government Publishing Office. The OFR updates the material in the e-CFR on a daily basis. The current update status appears at the top of all e-CFR web pages.
HeinOnline - CFR
HeinOnline contains the published print edition of the CFR back to its first edition in 1938.
GPO - CFR
The Government Publications Office (GPO) also publishes the CFR. Remember, the CFR is updated in parts every six months. For the most current changes, refer to the eCFR.
Regulations.gov
This is the portal for hosting regulatory proposals and public comments. When a regulation is first proposed, there will be a public comment period that follows where members of the public may submit comments regarding the proposal. The agency is expected to respond to substantive comments made and then make a final determination on whether to approve the proposal as proposed, or to modify/rescind the proposal in response to comments.

Federal Register

The Federal Register is the official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains government agency rules, proposed rules, and public notices. It is published every weekday, except on federal holidays.

HeinOnline - Federal Register
For historical issues of the Federal Register, refer to HeinOnline. It contains PDF copies back to its original issue from 1936.
Federal Register
For the current Federal Register, refer to its website. It contains the various components (notices of adoption, regulatory proposals, and presidential documents) in an authenticated format.