Free Online Legal Research

This site provides the official version of the Code of Federal Regulations, which contains the "general and permanent" regulations (rules) of the various federal executive and independent government agencies, organized by subject. This site contains PDF versions of both the most recent annual print edition of the CFR as well as older print versions going back to 1996. On this site, one can locate CFR sections by browsing the contents of each of the 50 CFR Titles. One can also use the main GovInfo search page to search for CFR sections by keyword. To do so, 1) click on the orange Search button near the top right portion of this CFR page, 2) select the "Advanced" search option, 3) check off the box next to "Code of Federal Regulations," 4) enter key terms in the search box, and 5) click on the orange Search button below the search box.

The e-CFR is a more up-to-date version of the Code of Federal Regulations produced by the National Archives and Records Administration's Office of the Federal Register (OFR) and the Government Publishing Office. The OFR updates the material in the e-CFR on a daily basis.

This unofficial version of the CFR is maintained by Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute (LII). CFR sections can be found by opening up and browsing the tables of contents for the various CFR subdivisions or by entering key terms in the Search box. This version of the CFR also includes hyperlinks to definitions of terms referenced in the CFR as well as links to cited primary sources.

"The List of CFR Sections Affected lists proposed, new, and amended Federal regulations that have been published in the Federal Register since the most recent revision date of a CFR title. Each [monthly] LSA issue is cumulative [covering all changes since the latest CFR revision dates] and contains the CFR part and section numbers, a description of its status (e.g., amended, confirmed, revised), and the Federal Register page number where the change(s) may be found."

The Federal Register is the "official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents." This site includes PDF versions of all daily issues of the Federal Register (1936-present). PDFs of individual sections within each issue are also available for the more recent volumes (1994-present). One can browse the contents of the various Federal Register issues as well as use the main GovInfo search page to search for relevant content by keyword. To conduct a keyword search, 1) click on the orange Search button near the top right portion of this Federal Register page, 2) select the "Advanced" search option, 3) check off the box next to "Federal Register," 4) enter key terms in the search box, and 5) click on the orange Search button below the search box.

This website administered jointly by the National Archives and Records Administration's Office of the Federal Register and the U.S. Government Publishing Office is designed to provide a more user-friendly version of the Federal Register than the version published on the GovInfo.gov site. While not official, the Federal Register documents on this site "are organized and displayed in an easier to read format with extensive navigation aids and links to related material, such as the Code of Federal Regulations and the United States Code." The site also offers additional browsing and searching options not available on the official GovInfo.gov site.

This federal government website was launched in 2003 to make it easier for citizens "to find and comment on proposed regulations and related documents published by participating U.S. Federal government agencies." Among the types of federal agency documents included on this site are proposed and final regulations, comments submitted by the public, notices, scientific and technical findings, documents related to agency adjudications, and guidance documents.

This site, maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration's Office of the Federal Register, provides access to the text of Presidential Proclamations and Executive Orders "with general applicability and continuing effect," issued between April 13, 1945 and January 20, 1989. Proclamations and Orders can be accessed by topic (Alphabetical Index), broader subject area(s) (Chapter Index), and document number (Numeric Index). This page also includes a link to the Executive Orders Disposition Tables, which provides information on the current status of Executive Orders (beginning with E.O. 7532, January 8, 1937 and ending with E.O. 13764, January 17, 2017), with links to subsequent amendments.

This collection of presidential documents "consists of the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents (1993 - January 20, 2009) and the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents (January 20, 2009 - present) which are the official publications of materials released by the White House Press Secretary."

This site (maintained by attorney Joyce Green) identifies and links to all presidential signing statements from 2001 to the present. While this is not an official website, the links provided are to the official Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents and Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents.

This collection consists of the digitized volumes of the official Public Papers of the Presidents series. "Each Public Papers volume contains the papers and speeches of the President of the United States that were issued by the Office of the Press Secretary during the specified time period. The material is presented in chronological order, and the dates shown in the headings are the dates of the documents or events." The series covers all of the presidential administrations from Herbert Hoover to Barack Obama (with the exception of Franklin Roosevelt).

This publication containing the text of all federal agency regulations also includes various types of presidential documents, including executive orders and proclamations. It is helpful to know the date or citation for a particular presidential document in order to locate it in this version of the Federal Register. When using GovInfo's Advanced Search feature to locate a presidential document in the Federal Register, one can filter one's search to executive branch documents by 1) clicking on "+ Additional Criteria" under the full-text search box, 2) opening up the new drop-down menu that appears and selecting "Branch," and 3) opening up the "Choose Value" drop-down menu that appears and selecting "Executive."

One can search for presidential documents on this version of the Federal Register by selecting the "Advanced Document Search" option under the Search pull-down menu at the top and then selecting "Presidential Document" as the "Document Category." One can then select one or more specific "Presidential Document Type[s]" and/or one or more specific "President[s]."

This paper, available on SSRN and written by Neil Kinkopf and Peter M. Shane, updates the authors' "2007 compilation of Bush 43 Administration signing statements that objected on constitutional grounds to one or more provisions of the laws President Bush was signing. [This paper] offers what is now a complete compilation for both the first and second Bush 43 Administrations."

Provides comprehensive information on the agencies of the federal government. Also includes information on quasi-official agencies and international organizations in which the U.S. participates.

Alphabetical, hyperlinked list of federal agencies.

Researchers can identify federal agency publications by searching by authorizing agency, title, subject, or general keyword. Includes descriptive records for historical and current publications and provides links to those that are available online.

An archive created by the Univ. of North Texas Libraries & the U.S. GPO, designed to provide permanent public access to the Web sites and publications of defunct U.S. government agencies and commissions. The site is no longer being updated.