The Code of Federal Regulations is the codification of the general and permanent rules and regulations published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the federal government of the United States.

What is the Code of Federal Regulations?

The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) annual edition is the codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the departments and agencies of the Federal Government.

The online CFR is a joint project authorized by the publisher, the National Archives and Records Administration's (NARA) Office of the Federal Register (OFR), and the Government Publishing Office (GPO) to provide the public with enhanced access to Government information.

Note: In the official paper bound version and the official PDF versions of 2007 edition of Title 49 volume 6 parts 400-599, the header incorrectly reads "(10-1-06 Edition)" and should have read "(10-1-07 Edition)".

When is it updated?

The CFR on govinfo is current with the published print version of the CFR. When the print editions are released, the online version is also made available. If a CFR Title or volume is not listed in the CFR browse, that volume has not yet been published.

The 50 subject matter titles contain one or more individual volumes, which are updated once each calendar year, on a staggered basis. The annual update cycle is as follows:

• titles 1-16 are revised as of January 1
• titles 17-27 are revised as of April 1
• titles 28-41 are revised as of July 1
• titles 42-50 are revised as of October 1

What is available?

• govinfo currently contains titles from 1996 to the present. CFR volumes are added concurrent with the release of the paper editions. When revised CFR volumes are added, the prior editions remain on govinfo as a historical set.
• Bulk data downloads of Code of Federal Regulations XML files are available to the general public via Data.gov  and GPO's Bulk Data Repository. Information on the legal status, authenticity, and schema of the Code of Federal Regulations XML renditions can be found in the User Guide Document - Code of Federal Register XML Rendition.
• To see more recently updated titles of the CFR, visit the electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR),  a regularly updated, unofficial editorial compilation of CFR material and Federal Register amendments. The eCFR is updated on a daily basis.
• To see a cumulative list of CFR sections that have been changed at any time since each CFR title was last updated, view the List of CFR Sections Affected (LSA)
• To find final and proposed rules that affect the CFR and have been published in the Federal Register within the past 24 hours, week, month, or within a specific date range, browse the CFR Parts Affected from the Federal Register

How is it organized?

The CFR is divided into 50 titles that represent broad areas subject to Federal regulation. Each title is divided into chapters, which usually bear the name of the issuing agency. Each chapter is further subdivided into parts that cover specific regulatory areas. Large parts may be subdivided into subparts. All parts are organized in sections, and most citations to the CFR refer to material at the section level.

What is the structure of a CFR citation (e.g. 21 CFR 310.502 Revised as of April 1, 1997)?

The following describes how information is contained in a CFR citation.

• Title: The numeric value to the left of "CFR"
• Part: The numeric value to the right of "CFR" and preceding the period (".")
• Section/Subpart: The numeric value to the right of the period (".") A subpart is a letter of the alphabet (A-Z) that is used to retrieve an entire subpart of the CFR rather than many individual sections. For example: Subpart E.
• Revision Year: Four digit year from the "Revised as of" text represents the year being cited. The revision year is not always available when the CFR is cited.

Example: 21 CFR 310.502 Revised as of April 1, 1997

• Title: 21
• Part: 310
• Section: 502
• Year: 1997

Parallel Table of Authorities and Rules for the Code of Federal Regulations and the United States Code 

The Parallel Table of Authorities and Rules lists rulemaking authority (except 5 U.S.C. 301) for regulations codified in the Code of Federal Regulations. Also included are statutory citations which are noted as being interpreted or applied by those regulations.

The table is divided into four segments and within each segment the citations are arranged in numerical order:

1. For the United States Code citations, by title and section;
2. For the United States Statutes at Large citations, by volume and page number;
3. For public laws citations, by number;
4. For Presidential documents (Proclamations, Executive orders, and Reorganization plans) citations, by document number.

Entries in the table are taken directly from the rulemaking authority citation provided by Federal agencies in their regulations. Federal agencies are responsible for keeping these citations current and accurate. Because Federal agencies sometimes present these citations in an inconsistent manner, the table cannot be considered all-inclusive. The portion of the table listing the United States Code citations is the most comprehensive, as these citations are entered into the table whenever they are given in the authority citations provided by the agencies. United States Statutes at Large and public law citations are carried in the table only when there are no corresponding United States Code citations given.

Beginning in 2017, the table is available in volumes of the CFR Index and Finding Aids publication on govinfo. You can download the entire CFR Index and Finding Aids volume or just the Parallel Table of Authorities and Rules.

• 2016: PDF | Text
• 2015: PDF | Text
• 2014: PDF | Text
• 2013: PDF | Text
• 2011: PDF | Text
• 2009: PDF | Text

Searching the Code of Federal Regulations

• Using Basic Search for keyword and metadata fielded searches,
• Using Advanced Search; fields specific to the CFR will display after you select Code of Federal Regulations in the Refine by Collection column,
• Using Citation Search to retrieve a single Code of Federal Regulations document in PDF format if you know the Volume and Page of the document,
• Refining search results by clicking on links in the Refine Your Search panel on the left hand side of the page (the sections under Refine Your Search correspond to the metadata available for the documents), and
• Browsing the Code of Federal Regulations browse page.

Search Examples

Search by Citation- For example, 7 CFR 1951.7 from 2016.

• Using Basic Search, enter: collection:cfr and citation:"7 CFR 1951.7" and publishdate:2016
• Using Advanced Search, select Code of Federal Regulations under Refine by Collection, then under Search In select Citation in the first box and enter “7 CFR 1951.7" in the second box
• Using Citation Search, select Code of Federal Regulations from Select Collection box, select 2016 from Select Year box, select 7 from Select Title Number box, and enter 1951.7 in Section box

Search by Title Number- For example, CFR documents from Title 7.

• Using Basic Search, enter: collection:cfr and cfrtitlenum:7
• Using Advanced Search, select Code of Federal Regulations under Refine by Collection, then under Search In select CFR Title Number in the first box and enter 7 in the second box

Search by Title and Part Number- CFR documents from Title 7, Part 1951.

• Using Basic Search, enter: collection:cfr and cfrtitlenum:7 and cfrpartnum:1951
• Using Advanced Search, select Code of Federal Regulations under Refine by Collection, then under Search In select CFR Title Number in the first box, enter 7 in the second box, click + Additional Criteria, select CFR Part Number from the resulting box, and enter 1951 in the next box

Search by Keyword- For example, Code of Federal Regulations documents with “emissions” in the full text of the publication.

• Using Basic Search, enter: emissions and collection:cfr
• Using Advanced Search, select Code of Federal Regulations under Refine by Collection, then under Search In enter emissions in the second box

Sample Code of Federal Regulations URLs

• Granule ID for the Code of Federal Regulations is used to identify the specific section, part, subpart, chapter, or subchapter within a volume of the publication.
• Package ID is used to identify an individual volume of the publication.