# Federal Register API: US Rules, Notices & Docs (`best_apis/federal-register-api`) Actor

Search and export US Federal Register documents via the official API: rules, proposed rules, notices and presidential documents. Filter by term, agency, type and dates. $3 per 1,000 documents.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/best_apis/federal-register-api.md
- **Developed by:** [A Q](https://apify.com/best_apis) (community)
- **Categories:** News, Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

Pay per event

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Federal Register API: US Rules, Notices & Docs

**Federal Register API** searches and exports official **US Federal Register** documents — **rules, proposed rules, notices and presidential documents** — through the government's public JSON API. Filter by keyword, agency, document type and publication date. **$3 per 1,000 documents**. Near-zero legal risk: official open-government data.

### What can this Federal Register scraper / API do?

- 📜 Full-text **search** across the Federal Register corpus.
- 🏛️ Filter by **agency**, **document type** (RULE / PRORULE / NOTICE / PRESDOCU) and **publication date range**.
- 🔗 Structured output: document number, title, type, abstract, agencies, HTML/PDF/public-inspection URLs, topics, CFR references and RINs.
- ⚡ Paginated up to your `maxItems` with a hard stop on max cost per run.
- 🤖 Flat input for Zapier, Make, n8n and the **Apify MCP** server.

### Why use a Federal Register API?

- Compliance and regulatory monitoring for legal, policy and govtech teams.
- Track AI, climate, finance or health rulemaking with keyword alerts.
- Research presidential documents, proclamations and executive actions.
- Feed enrichment pipelines without scraping HTML.

### How to use it

1. Enter a **search term** (optional) and any **agencies** / **document types**.
2. Optionally set **publication date from/to**.
3. Set **Max documents** (keep small for Try it).
4. Click **Start** or call the API.

### Input

```json
{
  "term": "artificial intelligence",
  "maxItems": 5,
  "order": "newest"
}
```

Empty input returns 5 newest **Presidential Documents** as a safe demo.

### Output example

```json
{
  "documentNumber": "2026-20972",
  "title": "Columbus Day, 2026",
  "type": "Presidential Document",
  "abstract": null,
  "agencies": ["Executive Office of the President"],
  "publicationDate": "2026-10-13",
  "effectiveDate": null,
  "htmlUrl": "https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/10/13/2026-20972/columbus-day-2026",
  "pdfUrl": "https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-10-13/pdf/2026-20972.pdf",
  "publicInspectionUrl": "https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2026-20972.pdf",
  "topics": [],
  "cfrReferences": [],
  "regulationIdNumbers": [],
  "scrapedAt": "2026-10-13T05:00:00.000Z"
}
```

### How much does it cost?

| | This Actor |
|---|---|
| Per 1,000 documents | **$3.00** |
| Actor start | $0.005 |
| Empty / failed query (0 docs) | run fails loudly — you are not charged for document events |

Examples: 100 docs ≈ $0.31, 1,000 docs ≈ $3.01. Set a **maximum cost per run** to cap spend.

### How to use the API (Python, JavaScript, cURL)

Every run is available through the [Apify API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2). Get your API token in **Apify Console → Settings → API & Integrations**.

#### Python

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("best_apis/federal-register-api").call(run_input={"term": "artificial intelligence", "maxItems": 20, "order": "newest"})
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)
```

#### JavaScript / Node.js

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN' });
const run = await client.actor('best_apis/federal-register-api').call({"term": "artificial intelligence", "maxItems": 20, "order": "newest"});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);
```

#### cURL (run and get documents in one request)

```bash
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/best_apis~federal-register-api/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"term": "artificial intelligence", "maxItems": 20, "order": "newest"}'
```

#### Integrations

Connect results to **Google Sheets, Slack, email, Zapier, Make, n8n, Airbyte, webhooks** or AI agents through the **Apify MCP server**. Use **Schedules** for daily regulatory alerts. Export as **JSON, CSV, Excel, XML or HTML**.

### FAQ

**Is this the official Federal Register API?** Yes — this Actor wraps `https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/` and adds Apify scheduling, datasets, billing and integrations.

**Do I need a proxy?** Usually no. The default is direct. Enable Apify proxy only if your environment blocks the government domain.

**What document types are supported?** `RULE`, `PRORULE` (proposed rule), `NOTICE`, `PRESDOCU` (presidential document).

**Is it legal?** Federal Register content is U.S. government public information. This Actor only calls the official public API.

### Related Actors

- [Government Tenders Scraper](https://apify.com/best_apis/government-tenders-scraper): UK, EU TED and SAM.gov tenders with daily alerts
- [Google Trends API](https://apify.com/best_apis/google-trends-api): interest over time, regions, related queries and Trending Now
- [Steam Reviews Scraper](https://apify.com/best_apis/steam-reviews-scraper): Steam store reviews and app details
- [App Store & Google Play Reviews Scraper](https://apify.com/best_apis/app-store-play-reviews): reviews, ratings and app details from both app stores
- [YouTube Transcript Scraper](https://apify.com/best_apis/youtube-transcript-scraper): bulk YouTube transcripts, subtitles and captions

Questions, bugs or feature requests? Open an issue on the **Issues** tab. We usually reply within 24 hours.

# Actor input Schema

## `term` (type: `string`):

Full-text search query (Federal Register conditions\[term]). Leave empty for newest documents.

## `agencies` (type: `array`):

Agency slugs or names as accepted by conditions\[agencies]\[], e.g. "environmental-protection-agency", "federal-trade-commission".

## `documentType` (type: `array`):

Federal Register type codes. Leave empty for all types.

## `publicationDateFrom` (type: `string`):

Inclusive start date YYYY-MM-DD (conditions\[publication_date]\[gte]).

## `publicationDateTo` (type: `string`):

Inclusive end date YYYY-MM-DD (conditions\[publication_date]\[lte]).

## `order` (type: `string`):

Sort order for results.

## `perPage` (type: `integer`):

Federal Register per_page (API allows up to 1000).

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Hard cap of documents to return.

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Usually not needed — federalregister.gov is a public government API. Enable only if your network blocks it.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "term": "artificial intelligence",
  "agencies": [],
  "documentType": [],
  "publicationDateFrom": "2024-01-01",
  "publicationDateTo": "2026-12-31",
  "order": "newest",
  "perPage": 100,
  "maxItems": 5,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `overview` (type: `string`):

No description

## `full` (type: `string`):

No description

## `stats` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "term": "artificial intelligence",
    "order": "newest",
    "maxItems": 5
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("best_apis/federal-register-api").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "term": "artificial intelligence",
    "order": "newest",
    "maxItems": 5,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("best_apis/federal-register-api").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "term": "artificial intelligence",
  "order": "newest",
  "maxItems": 5
}' |
apify call best_apis/federal-register-api --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,best_apis/federal-register-api"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/ScDxptegIZO5TSGs0/builds/oz8VqUVsXBiAIZsrw/openapi.json