University of Michigan Documents Center:
Finding Current Federal Regulations



Once a law is passed by Congress and signed by the president. the executive branch and independent agencies issue detailed regulations to carry out the intent of the law. The Code of Federal Regulations and the Federal Register are the mediums which disseminate these regulations to the public. The regulations first appear as agency documents and are published in the daily Federal Register as proposed rules so interested parties have the opportunity to respond to them. The final rule is also published in the Federal Register with the date it will become effective. These final rules are then codified annually in the Code of Federal Regulations.

To identify a regulation:

  1. Locate the title and part you are searching for in the CFR Index and Finding Aids volume. This volume Is organized by subject and law number.

To update the Code of Federal Regulations the following steps must be taken:

  1. First locate the title and part in the LSA-List of CFR Sections Affected. This is a monthly publication that includes amended rules not yet codified in the annual CFR.

  2. Two additional lists which appear In the Federal Register must also be consulted:


5/93 L. Haack [an error occurred while processing this directive]