Code of Federal Regulations

Code of Federal Regulations
U.S. Government Printing Office · Public domain · source
Name	Code of Federal Regulations
Abbreviation	CFR
Country	United States
Subject	Administrative law; federal regulations
Publisher	Office of the Federal Register; Government Publishing Office

Contents

Code of Federal Regulations

The Code of Federal Regulations is the official codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by executive departments and agencies of the United States. It consolidates regulations from agencies such as the Department of Justice, Department of the Treasury, Department of Defense, Department of Health and Human Services, and Department of Homeland Security into a structured, numbered set of titles used by practitioners, scholars, and courts including the Supreme Court of the United States and the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The compilation is essential for understanding regulatory frameworks affecting entities ranging from the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Communications Commission to the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration.

Overview

The CFR is divided into fifty titles corresponding to subject areas used by agencies like the Federal Trade Commission, the National Labor Relations Board, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Each title contains chapters, parts, and sections that cite regulatory authority potentially traceable to statutes enacted by the United States Congress and signed by Presidents such as Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Barack Obama. Codification practices align with standards adopted by the Government Publishing Office and editorial processes overseen by the National Archives and Records Administration. Cross-references often involve rules implementing laws like the Clean Air Act, the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Regulations initially appear as proposed or final rules in the Federal Register published by the Office of the Federal Register under the National Archives and Records Administration. Agencies such as the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Bureau of Land Management, and the United States Postal Service follow notice-and-comment procedures established by the Administrative Procedure Act and influenced by executive actions from administrations like Jimmy Carter and Donald Trump. The annual revision schedule and interim amendments are coordinated with printing and digital distribution managed by the Government Publishing Office and digital initiatives linked to projects at institutions like the Library of Congress.

Text in the CFR reflects agency rules that carry the force of law when authorized by statutes such as those passed by the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives and signed by the President of the United States. Courts including the United States Supreme Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit treat CFR provisions as evidence of regulatory obligations, with judicial doctrines developed in cases like Skidmore v. Swift & Co. guiding deference. Challenges to regulatory validity may involve review under the Administrative Procedure Act and enforcement actions by entities including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Legal professionals, agencies, and scholars access the CFR through platforms and repositories maintained by the Government Publishing Office, the Library of Congress, and legal publishers such as West Publishing and LexisNexis. Practitioners at firms litigating before venues like the United States District Court for the District of Columbia or engaging in rulemaking with agencies including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rely on annotated versions that integrate citations to statutes, precedent from courts like the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and guidance from offices such as the Office of Management and Budget. Educational courses at institutions like the Georgetown University Law Center and the University of Chicago Law School teach navigation of the CFR alongside statutory research.

The codification that became the CFR developed in response to the expanding administrative state in the early twentieth century, with institutional evolution involving the National Archives and Records Administration and the Government Printing Office. Key legislative and administrative milestones include enactments like the Administrative Procedure Act and administrative reforms initiated during presidencies of Woodrow Wilson, Herbert Hoover, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Scholarly commentary and reforms have been discussed in venues such as the American Bar Association, the Brookings Institution, and journals produced by Yale Law Journal and Harvard Law Review, tracing changes in editorial practice, publication technology, and judicial treatment from the New Deal era through contemporary rulemaking debates.