Federal Register

Agencies by rulemaking volume

Agencies ranked by the number of Federal Register documents (rules, notices, etc.) issued (as collected).

An organization of public government data, not an official U.S. government site. Aggregates cover collected data, and rankings are based on name-level aggregation.

What the data shows

The most prolific issuers are departments that broadly regulate industry and daily life — Commerce, Transportation, and Health and Human Services. Fields such as safety standards, trade, environment, and health require frequent rule updates. Volume is a rough gauge of how granularly an agency governs society.

Top 50 of 119

#	Agency	Count
1	Commerce Department	114
2	Transportation Department	111
3	Securities and Exchange Commission	99
4	Health and Human Services Department	93
5	Homeland Security Department	83
6	Interior Department	80
7	Energy Department	67
8	Federal Energy Regulatory Commission	62
9	National Park Service	45
10	Federal Aviation Administration	44
11	International Trade Administration	42
12	Coast Guard	42
13	International Trade Commission	38
14	Environmental Protection Agency	37
15	Defense Department	34
16	National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration	33
17	Food and Drug Administration	31
18	Education Department	28
19	Treasury Department	26
20	National Institutes of Health	25
21	Foreign-Trade Zones Board	25
22	National Highway Traffic Safety Administration	24
23	Labor Department	24
24	Agriculture Department	22
25	Fish and Wildlife Service	22
26	Justice Department	20
27	State Department	20
28	Nuclear Regulatory Commission	18
29	Federal Emergency Management Agency	18
30	Small Business Administration	16
31	Surface Transportation Board	14
32	Housing and Urban Development Department	13
33	Federal Reserve System	12
34	Internal Revenue Service	11
35	Veterans Affairs Department	11
36	Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services	11
37	Maritime Administration	10
38	Foreign Assets Control Office	10
39	Centers for Disease Control and Prevention	10
40	Postal Regulatory Commission	9
41	Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration	9
42	National Aeronautics and Space Administration	8
43	Civil Rights Commission	8
44	Children and Families Administration	8
45	Executive Office of the President	7
46	Federal Communications Commission	7
47	Trade Representative, Office of United States	7
48	Federal Railroad Administration	7
49	U.S. Customs and Border Protection	7
50	Federal Transit Administration	6

Aggregates cover each source's collected data. Names use the original data as-is.

FAQ

What does this ranking show?

Agencies that issue the most Federal Register documents (rules, notices), ordered by document count.

Why look at rule-making volume?

A high volume signals which areas of the economy and society an agency actively regulates.

What is the source?

Federal Register documents aggregated per issuing agency.

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