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Understanding the Federal Register

Reader Aids

Reader Aids help people use FederalRegister.gov and understand the federal rulemaking process. Reader Aids information is not published in the Federal Register.

This section of our Reader Aids is designed to help you gain a greater understanding of the Federal Register and the regulatory system that is a part of. The items in this section are not geared towards specific FederalRegister.gov features.

Reader aid items in this section

  • Federal Register Statistics

    Statistics Federal Register & CFR Publication Statistics – Aggregated Charts PDF XLS Federal Register & CFR Publication Statistics – Individual Charts Federal Register Pages Published (1936-2019) (PDF) Federal Register Documents Published (1936-2019) (PDF) Federal Register Documents – Annual Percentage Change (1976-2019) (PDF) Code of Federal Regulations Total Pages and Volumes 1938-2019 Code of Federal Regulations Actual … Continue reading “Federal Register Statistics”

  • Document Drafting & Research

    These links can help you better understand the document drafting process and research Federal Register documents. Drafting Document Drafting Handbook Incorporation by Reference (IBR) Handbook Federal Register Bulletins Final Guidance on Implementing the Plain Writing Act of 2010 (PDF) Federal Register Plain Language Tools PlainLanguage.gov Thesaurus of Indexing Terms List of Subjects by CFR Title GPO Page … Continue reading “Document Drafting & Research”

  • Related Resources

    Here are external resources that are helpful for understanding the Federal Register, its parent and partner agencies, and the rulemaking process. Regulations.gov (Official Docket System for Public Comments) RegInfo.gov (Unified Agenda & Regulations Under Review) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST – database of standards incorporated by … Continue reading “Related Resources”