Administrative

Code of Federal Regulations

 The Code of Federal Regulations

Introduction

The Code of Federal Regulations or CFR is the codification of the general and permanent rules and regulations published in theFederal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the federal government. The CFR is organized into 50 titles which represent broad areas subject to Federal regulation, similar to, but not the same as, U.S. Code titles. Some titles are the same, taxation is the topic of title 26 in both the U.S. Code and the CFR, while the topics covered in some CFR titles do not have representation in the U.S.C., CFR title 40 is Protection of the Environment with no corresponding U.S. Code title. Each title is divided into chapters which usually bear the name of the issuing agency. At the back of every CFR volume is an Alphabetical List of Agencies Appearing in the CFR which shows the title and chapter where an agency’s regulations are codified. Each chapter is further subdivided into parts covering specific regulatory areas. Large parts may be subdivided into subparts. All parts are organized in sections. Citations to the CFR are provided at the section level. The CFR is updated by amendments and new rules and regulations appearing in the daily Federal Register. See About the CFR (NARA) and Code of Federal Regulations: About (GPO Access) for more information.

Contents of the Code of Federal Regulations

Locating the CFR:

  • The CFR in pdf and plain text formats
  • The CFR on LexisNexis & Westlaw
  • The CFR in the Library
  • CFR Index and Finding Aids
  • List of CFR Sections Affected

Finding Rules & Regulations in the CFR:

  • when you have a CFR citation
  • when you have a topic or keyword
  • when you have a statute or Presidential document

The Code of Federal Regulations

The CFR contains only the text of final rules and regulations themselves and does not include any of the summary, explanatory and documentary information published in the Federal Register. Although not printed in the CFR, this information may be of great importance in determining the meaning and application of a final rule and regulation. A Source Note at the beginning of each CFR part provides the Federal Register citation and date where the part was published. If a particular section was added or amended later, a separate source note will follow that section.

The first edition of the CFR was published in 1939 containing regulations in force on June 1, 1938. Each year, CFR pamphlets are printed in a different color. At any given point in the year, a current set will usually contain pamphlets of two or more colors. Annual pamphlet volumes of the CFR are published in accordance with the following schedule:

  • Titles 1-16 Revised as of January 1
  • Titles 17-27 Revised as of April 1
  • Titles 28-41 Revised as of July 1
  • Titles 42-50 Revised as of October 1

User Aids available in every CFR pamphlet include:

  • A Cover and Title page showing title topic and number, the parts contained in the pamphlet, and the revision date of the pamphlet
  • A Table of Contents at the front showing the chapters and finding aids contained in the pamphlet
  • An Explanation with brief instructions on how to use and update the CFR
  • A This Title page giving a brief description of how the title is organized, which pamphlet contain a redesignation table, and the name of the chief editor of the pamphlet
  • A Table of Contents at the beginning of each chapter showing the parts contained in the chapter
  • A Table of Contents at the beginning of each part showing the sections contained in the part
  • An Authority note at the beginning of each part providing a citation for the statutory or executive authority under which the regulations in the part were promulgated
  • A Source Note at the beginning of each part providing the Federal Register cite and date where the part was last published in full (if a particular section is based on a different authority or was added or amended later, a separate source note will follow that section)
  • A Cross Reference Note providing citations to related CFR parts and sections (not always provided)
  • Finding Aids at the end of the pamphlet which includes: Material Approved for Incorporation by Reference; Table of CFR Titles and Chapters; Alphabetical List of Agencies Appearing in the CFR; Redesignation Tables; List of CFR Sections Affected (some pamphlets may also contain an agency-prepared index)

See A Research Guide to the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations and The Code of Federal Regulations: bibliography and guide to its use, 1939-1982 by Erwin C. Surrency and Robert E. Surrency (KF 70 .S84x 1986) for more information on the historical development and use of the CFR.

a.  Locating the CFR

The CFR is available in pdf format in an official version produced by the National Archives (NARA) and the Government Printing Office (GPO Access) and in a digital collection from HeinOnline. The e-CFR is in plain text but is extremely current. You may both browse and search the GPO, HeinOnline, e-CFR, LexisNexis, and Westlaw versions of the CFR. The CFR is available on LexisNexis and Westlaw in plain but highly searchable, very current text. The current edition of the CFR is available in the library in paper; past editions are available on microform.

i.  The CFR in pdf and plain text format

ii.  The CFR on LexisNexis & Westlaw

  • LexisNexis Code of Federal Regulations (Browse) (LexisNexis; Current year CFR; very current with daily updates; full-text, plain text)
  • LexisNexis Code of Federal Regulations Archive (LexisNexis; 1981 CFR edition to most current completed annual edition; full-text, plain text)
  • Westlaw Annotated Code of Federal Regulations (Browse) (Westlaw; Current year CFR; very current with daily updates; full-text, plain text)
  • Westlaw Code of Federal Regulations Archive (Westlaw; 1984 CFR edition to most current completed annual edition; full-text, plain text)
  • Westlaw Code of Federal Regulations Organized by Area of Practice (Westlaw; Current year CFR; very current with daily updates; full-text, plain text)

iii. The CFR in the Library

Code of Federal Regulations (KF 70 .A3 1949 and Microform Room Drawers 957-960; annual updates only; current edition only in print; 1938 CFR to present in microform)

iv. CFR Index and Finding Aids

  • CFR Index and Finding Aids (KF 70 .A3 Index and Microform Drawer 315; Current issue only in print; 1977 to current on microform; see the last CFR volume for the Index for CFR editions prior to 1977)
  • Index to the Code of Federal Regulations (KF 70 .A34 I46; coverage of 1977-2001 CFR only)
    Westlaw CFR Index (Westlaw; Current year CFR).

v.  List of CFR Sections Affected (LSA)

b.  Finding Rules & Regulations in the CFR

Three extremely common scenarios for finding rules and regulations in the CFR are:

  • you already have a citation is and just want to locate it;
  • you want to find rules & regulations on a particular topic; and
  • you have a statute or Presidential document and want to locate regulations promulgated in response to the statute.

i.  …when you have a CFR citation

A typical citation to the CFR looks like: 50 C.F.R. § 21.41 (2003)

  • Code of Federal Regulations (NARA, GPO Access; 1996 to present). Simply enter your citation in the handy template. Note: you can select for years 1996 to “most recent”and you can select file formats text, pdf or summary to view your results.
  • HeinOnline Code of Federal Regulations (HeinOnline; 1938-1983 CFR; full-text, pdf)
  • e-CFR (NARA, GPO Access; current year CFR only; very current with daily updates; full-text, plain text)
  • LII Code of Federal Regulations (Cornell LII). Simply enter your citation in the handy template. Note: you can search only the most recent version of the CFR.
  • LexisNexis Code of Federal Regulations (LexisNexis; current and historical, 1981 to present; LexisNexis ID required). Select the Get a Document service and enter your citation in a format like: 50 cfr 21.41. Note: to retrieve a CFR section from other than the current CFR, you must search the CFR source for that year. For instance, to find this section in the 1995 CFR, locate the 1995 CFR source, and then conduct a search like: cite(50 cfr 21.41)
  • Westlaw Annotated Code of Federal Regulations (Westlaw; current and historical, 1984 to present; Westlaw password required) Select the Find a Document service and then simply enter your citation in the appropriate box. You may simplify the citation as follows: 50 cfr s 21.41. Note: to retrieve a CFR section from other than the current CFR, you must search the CFR database for that year. For instance, to find this section in the 1995 CFR, select the 1995 CFR database, and then conduct a search like: ci(“50 cfr s 21.41”)
  • Code of Federal Regulations (KF 70 .A3 1949 and Drawers 957-960). In paper, locating the CFR citation requires you merely pull the appropriate pamphlet. With the above citation for instance, locate the pamphlets for title 50, determine which pamphlet contains part 21, and then flip to § 21.41. But what if you are interested in seeing how § 21.41 looked in 1997 or 1989? Simple, just go to the CFR for that year. (If the title has been reorganized, a redesignation table will appear in the pamphlet. Check the table of contents.) If needed, you can track changes to a section over time online by using the List of CFR Sections Affected (LSA) (NARA, GPO Access) and in print by using the List of CFR Sections Affected (LSA) (NARA, KF 70 .A34 C6).

ii.  …when you have a topic or keyword

The CFR has a quick, easy to use 1 volume index. More often than not, assuming a CFR database is available for your time period, you will begin your research for rules & regulations on your topic online using LexisNexis, Westlaw, or the web. Use LexisNexis and Westlaw segments and fields to add precision to your search.

  • Code of Federal Regulations (NARA, GPO Access; 1996 to present) The link, Search the entire set of CFR databases by keyword, enables you to search all 50 titles. This option is particularly useful if you do not have any idea what title to search. However, because you are searching all 50 titles, this search will take a few minutes to process. This function searches the most recent volumes. Enter search terms in the space below. Phrases must be in quotation marks (” “). The operators ADJ (adjacent), AND, OR and NOT can be used, but must be in capital letters. For example: “prescriptions” AND “drug enforcement administration”. You can search for a CFR citation by surrounding it with quotation marks, for example “20CFR404.1576”. If you are not sure of the exact CFR citation you can truncate the citation so you will receive all sections contained in the part. For example, “20CFR404”. If you know the CFR citation (title and section) you can take advantage of the “retrieval function” by using the “Retrieve available CFR sections by citation” link. This provides you with the capability to execute a very specific search and immediately retrieve the document in PDF or ASCII text format. This function allows you to search the most recent and/or historical volumes. The link, “Search your choice of CFR titles and/or volumes,” enables you to limit the search to one or more titles and/or volumes. A table is provided which lists the subject of each title and allows you to choose current or historical versions. Because this option allows you to limit your search, you will get a very specific search results list that will appear more quickly than if you search all the CFR titles. This function allows you to search the most recent and/or historical volumes. (See Search Tips for more help searching the CFR.)

More:

  • HeinOnline Code of Federal Regulations (HeinOnline; 1938-1983 CFR; full-text, pdf)
    e-CFR (NARA, GPO Access; current year CFR only; very current with daily updates; full-text, plain text)
  • LII Code of Federal Regulations (Cornell LII). Simply enter your citation in the handy template.
  • Code of Federal Regulations ( LexisNexis) & Code of Federal Regulations (Westlaw). Make searching the CFR on LexisNexis and Westlaw more efficient by using segment searches on LexisNexis and field searches on Westlaw. The CFR on both LexisNexis and Westlaw are kept very current, usually updated up to within a few weeks of the present. When reading a section, note the current through statement. On Westlaw, CFR sections which have been amended by a final rule published in the Federal Register which has not yet been incorporated into the section’s language will contain an UPDATE link to the amending material.
  • CFR Index and Finding Aids (published by the Office of the Federal Register); is one volume and is usually located at the end of the CFR; it provides access to the CFR by subject and agency name; there are also several very useful sections in addition to the index: List of Agency-prepared Indexes Appearing in Individual CFR Volumes; a Parallel Table of Authorities and Rules; a table of Acts Requiring Publication in the Federal Register; List of CFR Titles, Chapters, Subchapters, and Parts; and Alphabetical List of Agencies Appearing in the CFR
  • CIS Index to the Code of Federal Regulations (1977-2001, KF 70 .A34 I46 ) is a massive four volumes with supplements providing a subject and agency name index to the CFR; and a number of supplemental indexes including a Geographic Index; a Geographic Proper Name Index; an Index of New and Revised CFR Section Numbers; a List of Descriptive Headings; and a List of Reserved Headings; etc. The CIS Index to the CFR is takes several years to produce. The time-lag is usually 2-3 years.

iii. …when you have a statute or Presidential document

From time to time, Congress will pass legislation authorizing the promulgation of particular rules and regulations on a particular topic. These are known as authorities. The following are selected resources for locating regulations associated with a particular statute:

  • The Parallel Table of Authorities and Rules in the CFR Index and Finding Aids, located at the end of the CFR
  • Look the statute up in the USCS or USCA and check the annotations for references to CFR sections
  • Search the USCS on LexisNexis or the USCA on Westlaw and check the annotations for references to CFR sections
  • Use a looseleaf or other service that provides access by statute and check the annotations for references to CFR sections.

Note: We linked the resources to archive.org in an effort to decrease the number of broken links cited.

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