United States Code of Federal Regulations

United States Code of Federal Regulations
Name	United States Code of Federal Regulations
Abbr	CFR
Established	1938
Jurisdiction	Washington, D.C.
Publisher	Government Publishing Office
Website	Government Publishing Office

Contents

United States Code of Federal Regulations is the codification of rules and regulations issued by United States federal agencies, compiled into a format parallel to the United States Code and used by practitioners, scholars, and officials across institutions such as the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Department of Justice, the Department of Defense (United States), and the Securities and Exchange Commission. It interfaces with statutory law enacted by the United States Congress and with administrative processes involving entities like the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Communications Commission, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Internal Revenue Service.

Overview

The CFR organizes agency regulations into fifty subject-title volumes aligned with federal topical responsibilities, linking authoritative texts used by the United States Court of Appeals, the United States District Court, the United States Court of Federal Claims, and tribunals such as the National Labor Relations Board and the Banking Committee of the Senate (United States). It operates alongside publication vehicles like the Federal Register and reference works used by the Library of Congress, the Legal Information Institute, and academic publishers at institutions such as Harvard Law School and Yale Law School.

Origins trace to reforms following the New Deal era and the passage of the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946, which standardized notice-and-comment rulemaking and drove systematic compilation. Early codification efforts involved the Public Printer and later the Government Printing Office; legislative oversight and judicial review by courts including the United States Supreme Court and the D.C. Circuit shaped its evolution. Key moments include developments under administrations such as the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration, regulatory responses during the Great Depression, and later modernization initiatives during the Reagan administration and the Clinton administration.

The CFR is published annually in print by the Government Publishing Office and maintained electronically alongside the Federal Register; digital access is provided via platforms used by the Government Accountability Office, the Congressional Research Service, the National Archives and Records Administration, and legal repositories at Columbia Law School and Stanford Law School. Researchers and practitioners consult the CFR when preparing filings for jurisdictions such as the United States Tax Court or petitions to agencies including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Federal Trade Commission.

Amendments originate from proposed rules published in the Federal Register following procedures established by the Administrative Procedure Act. Stakeholders including industry groups like the American Bar Association, unions such as the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, trade associations, and advocacy organizations submit comments, while oversight bodies such as the Office of Management and Budget and the Congressional Oversight Committee may review economically significant rules. Judicial review by courts including the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit or the United States Supreme Court can invalidate or remand agency actions under doctrines developed in cases like those decided by judges formerly on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Although the CFR is prima facie evidence of agency rules, statutory authority derives from acts of the United States Congress and is interpreted in federal courts including the Supreme Court of the United States and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Citation conventions mirror those used in opinions and briefs filed with tribunals such as the International Trade Commission and the United States Court of International Trade, with practitioners often referencing the Bluebook and guidance from offices like the Office of the Federal Register and the Executive Office of the President.

The CFR shapes enforcement and compliance across sectors regulated by agencies such as the Federal Reserve System, the Department of Commerce (United States), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the Federal Housing Finance Agency. It informs litigation strategies in venues such as the United States Bankruptcy Courts and regulatory policymaking at entities including the National Institutes of Health and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Academic analysis from scholars at institutions like the University of Chicago Law School, the Georgetown University Law Center, and the New York University School of Law examines its role in administrative governance, rulemaking transparency, and separation-of-powers questions litigated before courts like the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.