How to Cite the Federal Register?

The Federal Register is the official journal issued by the United States federal government that contains related government-framed rules and public notices. The US government printed the first edition of the Federal Register in 1936, and since then, it has been published every weekday except on federal holidays.

It brought order to the US administrative process, forming a uniform system for filing and publishing documents. It also ensured that the American public had access to all government information.

To cite the Federal Register, you can use the following format:

[Title of document], Federal Register [Volume number] [Issue number] (Year), [Page number]

For example:

“Title of Document,” Federal Register 81, no. 234 (2016), 123456

If you are citing a specific section or paragraph within the document, you can include the section or paragraph number after the page number:

“Title of Document,” Federal Register 81, no. 234 (2016), 123456, sec. 7.

In case you want to cite an online version of the US Federal Register, you can include a URL or a link to the document in your citation. In the official register, you must also inclide the date on which you accessed the document.

“Title of Document,” Federal Register, accessed [Date], [URL].

For example:

“Title of Document,” Federal Register, accessed January 1, 2020, https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/01/01/2020-00001/title-of-document.

You may also want to include a reference to the specific agency or office that published the document.

“Title of Document,” Federal Register 81, no. 234 (2016), 123456, published by the [Agency/Office].

Following the techniques mentioned earlier, you can quickly site the federal register.