Federal Register — all

How to read it

• The document type tells you decided from not-yet-decidedA Rule is final and its effect is settled; a Proposed Rule is still open for comment. A Notice covers meetings, applications, and approvals, and a Presidential Document covers executive orders and proclamations. Reading the type first tells you what the document actually is.
• Anyone can comment while a rule is still proposedU.S. administrative procedure gives the public a set window to file comments on a proposed rule, and the agency must respond to them in the final rule. Industry and local-government comments reshaping a proposal is not unusual.
• Publication date and effective date are differentA final rule normally carries an effective date separate from its publication date. Being published does not mean it applies that day, so the effective date is what practitioners check.