Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations

(44 U.S.C. Chapter 15)

§ 1501. Definitions

§ 1502. Custody and printing of Federal documents; appointment of Director

§ 1503. Filing documents with Office; notation of time; public inspection; transmission for printing

§ 1504. “Federal Register”; printing; distribution; price

§ 1505. Documents to be published in Federal Register

§ 1506. Administrative Committee of the Federal Register; establishment and composition; powers and duties

§ 1507. Filing document as constructive notice; publication in Federal Register as presumption of validity; judicial notice; citation

§ 1508. Publication in Federal Register as notice of hearing

§ 1509. Cost of publication; appropriations authorized; penalty mail privilege

§ 1510. Code of Federal Regulations

§ 1511. International agreements excluded from provisions of chapter

§ 1501. Definitions

As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires--

“document” means a Presidential proclamation or Executive order and an order, regulation, rule, certificate, code of fair competition, license, notice, or similar instrument, issued, prescribed, or promulgated by a Federal agency;

“Federal agency” or “agency” means the President of the United States, or an executive department, independent board, establishment, bureau, agency, institution, commission, or separate office of the administrative branch of the Government of the United States but not the legislative or judicial branches of the Government;

“person” means an individual, partnership, association, or corporation; and

“National Archives of the United States” has the same meaning as in section 2901(11) of this title.

§ 1502. Custody and printing of Federal documents; appointment of Director

The Archivist of the United States, acting through the Office of the Federal Register, is charged with the custody and, together with the Public Printer, with the prompt and uniform printing and distribution of the documents required or authorized to be published by section 1505 of this title. There shall be at the head of the Office a director, appointed by, and who shall act under the general direction of, the Archivist of the United States in carrying out this chapter and the regulations prescribed under it.

§ 1503. Filing documents with Office; notation of time; public inspection; transmission for printing

The original and two duplicate originals or certified copies of a document required or authorized to be published by section 1505 of this title shall be filed with the Office of the Federal Register, which shall be open for that purpose during all hours of the working days when the National Archives Building is open for official business. The Archivist of the United States shall cause to be noted on the original and duplicate originals or certified copies of each document the day and hour of filing. When the original is issued, prescribed, or promulgated outside the District of Columbia, and certified copies are filed before the filing of the original, the notation shall be of the day and hour of filing of the certified copies. Upon filing, at least one copy shall be immediately available for public inspection in the Office. The original shall be retained by the National Archives and Records Administration and shall be available for inspection under regulations prescribed by the Archivist, unless such original is disposed of in accordance with disposal schedules submitted by the Administrative Committee of the Federal Register and authorized by the Archivist pursuant to regulations issued under chapter 33 of this title; however, originals of proclamations of the President and Executive orders shall be permanently retained by the Administration as part of the National Archives of the United States. The Office shall transmit immediately to the Government Printing Office for printing, as provided by this chapter, one duplicate original or certified copy of each document required or authorized to be published by section 1505 of this title. Every Federal agency shall cause to be transmitted for filing the original and the duplicate originals or certified copies of all such documents issued, prescribed, or promulgated by the agency.

§ 1504. “Federal Register”; printing; contents; distribution; price

Documents required or authorized to be published by section 1505 of this title shall be printed and distributed immediately by the Government Printing Office in a serial publication designated the “Federal Register.” The Public Printer shall make available the facilities of the Government Printing Office for the prompt printing and distribution of the Federal Register in the manner and at the times required by this chapter and the regulations prescribed under it. The contents of the daily issues shall be indexed and shall comprise all documents, required or authorized to be published, filed with the Office of the Federal Register up to the time of the day immediately preceding the day of distribution fixed by regulations under this chapter. There shall be printed with each document a copy of the notation, required to be made by section 1503 of this title, of the day and hour when, upon filing with the Office, the document was made available for public inspection. Distribution shall be made by delivery or by deposit at a post office at a time in the morning of the day of distribution fixed by regulations prescribed under this chapter. The prices to be charged for the Federal Register may be fixed by the Administrative Committee of the Federal Register established by section 1506 of this title without reference to the restrictions placed upon and fixed for the sale of Government publications by sections 1705 and 1708 of this title.

§ 1505. Documents to be published in Federal Register

(a) Proclamations and Executive Orders; documents having general applicability and legal effect; documents required to be published by Congress.

There shall be published in the Federal Register--

(1) Presidential proclamations and Executive orders, except those not having general applicability and legal effect or effective only against Federal agencies or persons in their capacity as officers, agents, or employees thereof;

(2) documents or classes of documents that the President may determine from time to time have general applicability and legal effect; and

(3) documents or classes of documents that may be required so to be published by Act of Congress. For the purposes of this chapter every document or order which prescribes a penalty has general applicability and legal effect.

(b) Documents authorized to be published by regulations; comments and news items excluded.

In addition to the foregoing there shall also be published in the Federal Register other documents or classes of documents authorized to be published by regulations prescribed under this chapter with the approval of the President, but comments or news items of any character may not be published in the Federal Register.

(c) Suspension of requirements for filing of documents; alternate systems for promulgating, filing, or publishing documents; preservation of originals. In the event of an attack or threatened attack upon the continental United States and a determination by the President that as a result of an attack or threatened attack--

(1) publication of the Federal Register or filing of documents with the Office of the Federal Register is impracticable, or

(2) under existing conditions publication in the Federal Register would not serve to give appropriate notice to the public of the contents of documents, the President may, without regard to any other provision of law, suspend all or part of the requirements of law or regulation for filing with the Office or publication in the Federal Register of documents or classes of documents.

The suspensions shall remain in effect until revoked by the President, or by concurrent resolution of the Congress. The President shall establish alternate systems for promulgating, filing, or publishing documents or classes of documents affected by such suspensions, including requirements relating to their effectiveness or validity, that may be considered under the then existing circumstances practicable to provide public notice of the issuance and of the contents of the documents. The alternate systems may, without limitation, provide for the use of regional or specialized publications or depositories for documents, or of the press, the radio, or similar mediums of general communication. Compliance with alternate systems of filing or publication shall have the same effect as filing with the Office or publication in the Federal Register under this chapter or other law or regulation. With respect to documents promulgated under alternate systems, each agency shall preserve the original and two duplicate originals or two certified copies for filing with the Office when the President determines that it is practicable.

§ 1506. Administrative Committee of the Federal Register; establishment and composition; powers and duties

The Administrative Committee of the Federal Register shall consist of the Archivist of the United States or Acting Archivist, who shall be chairman, an officer of the Department of Justice designated by the Attorney General, and the Public Printer or Acting Public Printer. The Director of the Federal Register shall act as secretary of the committee. The committee shall prescribe, with the approval of the President, regulations for carrying out this chapter. The regulations shall provide, among other things--

(1) the manner of certification of copies required to be certified under section 1503 of this title, which certification may be permitted to be based upon confirmed communications from outside the District of Columbia;

(2) the documents which shall be authorized under section 1505(b) of this title to be published in the Federal Register;

(3) the manner and form in which the Federal Register shall be printed, reprinted, compiled, indexed, bound, and distributed;

(4) the number of copies of the Federal Register, which shall be printed, reprinted, and compiled, the number which shall be distributed without charge to Members of Congress, officers and employees of the United States, or Federal agency, for official use, and the number which shall be available for distribution to the public; and

(5) the prices to be charged for individual copies of, and subscriptions to, the Federal Register and reprints and bound volumes of it.

§ 1507. Filing document as constructive notice; publication in Federal Register as presumption of validity; judicial notice; citation

A document required by section 1505(a) of this title to be published in the Federal Register is not valid as against a person who has not had actual knowledge of it until the duplicate originals or certified copies of the document have been filed with the Office of the Federal Register and a copy made available for public inspection as provided by section 1503 of this title. Unless otherwise specifically provided by statute, filing of a document, required or authorized to be published by section 1505 of this title, except in cases where notice by publication is insufficient in law, is sufficient to give notice of the contents of the document to a person subject to or affected by it. The publication in the Federal Register of a document creates a rebuttable presumption--

(1) that it was duly issued, prescribed, or promulgated;

(2) that it was filed with the Office of the Federal Register and made available for public inspection at the day and hour stated in the printed notation;

(3) that the copy contained in the Federal Register is a true copy of the original; and

(4) that all requirements of this chapter and the regulations prescribed under it relative to the document have been complied with. The contents of the Federal Register shall be judicially noticed and without prejudice to any other mode of citation, may be cited by volume and page number.

§ 1508. Publication in Federal Register as notice of hearing

A notice of hearing or of opportunity to be heard, required or authorized to be given by an Act of Congress, or which may otherwise properly be given, shall be deemed to have been given to all persons residing within the States of the Union and the District of Columbia, except in cases where notice by publication is insufficient in law, when the notice is published in the Federal Register at such a time that the period between the publication and the date fixed in the notice for the hearing or for the termination of the opportunity to be heard is--

(1) not less than the time specifically prescribed for the publication of the notice by the appropriate Act of Congress; or

(2) not less than fifteen days when time for publication is not specifically prescribed by the Act, without prejudice, however, to the effectiveness of a notice of less than fifteen days where the shorter period is reasonable.

§ 1509. Costs of publication, etc.

(a) The cost of printing reprinting, wrapping, binding, and distributing the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations, and, except as provided in subsection (b), other expenses incurred by the Government Printing Office in carrying out the duties placed upon it by this chapter shall be charged to the revolving fund provided in section 309. Reimbursements for such costs and expenses shall be made by the Federal agencies and credited, together with all receipts, as provided in section 309(b).

(b) The cost of printing, reprinting, wrapping, binding, and distributing all other publications of the Federal Register program, and other expenses incurred by the Government Printing Office in connection with such publications, shall be borne by the appropriations to the Government Printing Office and the appropriations are made available, and are authorized to be increased by additional sums necessary for the purposes, the increases to be based upon estimates submitted by the Public Printer.

§ 1510. Code of Federal Regulations

(a) The Administrative Committee of the Federal Register, with the approval of the President, may require, from time to time as it considers necessary, the preparation and publication in special or supplemental editions of the Federal Register of complete codifications of the documents of each agency of the Government having general applicability and legal effect, issued or promulgated by the agency by publication in the Federal Register or by filing with the Administrative Committee, and are relied upon by the agency as authority for, or are invoked or used by it in the discharge of, its activities or functions, and are in effect as to facts arising on or after dates specified by the Administrative Committee.

(b) A codification published under subsection (a) of this section shall be printed and bound in permanent form and shall be designated as the “Code of Federal Regulations.” The Administrative Committee shall regulate the binding of the printed codifications into separate books with a view to practical usefulness and economical manufacture. Each book shall contain an explanation of its coverage and other aids to users that the Administrative Committee may require. A general index to the entire Code of Federal Regulations shall be separately printed and bound.

(c) The Administrative Committee shall regulate the supplementation and the collation and republication of the printed codifications with a view to keeping the Code of Federal Regulations as current as practicable. Each book shall be either supplemented or collated and republished at least once each calendar year.

(d) The Office of the Federal Register shall prepare and publish the codifications, supplements, collations, and indexes authorized by this section.

(e) The codified documents of the several agencies published in the supplemental edition of the Federal Register under this section, as amended by documents subsequently filed with the Office and published in the daily issues of the Federal Register, shall be prima facie evidence of the text of the documents and of the fact that they are in effect on and after the date of publication.

(f) The Administrative Committee shall prescribe, with the approval of the President, regulations for carrying out this section.

(g) This section does not require codification of the text of Presidential documents published and periodically compiled in supplements to Title 3 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

§ 1511. International agreements excluded from provisions of chapter

This chapter does not apply to treaties, conventions, protocols, and other international agreements, or proclamations thereof by the President.