# Federal Register Monitor — Rules & Comment Deadlines (`brick_joey_yto/federal-register-monitor`) Actor

Monitor the Federal Register — new rules, proposed rules, notices and comment deadlines. Agency watchlists, keyword monitors and Regulations.gov docket links. Official API, no key needed.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/brick\_joey\_yto/federal-register-monitor.md
- **Developed by:** [William Billings](https://apify.com/brick_joey_yto) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation, Business, Automation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$1.00 / 1,000 documents

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 Monitor

Monitor the **Federal Register** — the daily journal of the US government — via the official `federalregister.gov` API. No key, no browser, pure official data.

New rules, proposed rules, notices and presidential documents publish every business day. This actor turns them into a structured feed — and, critically, tracks **public comment deadlines** so your team never misses its window to respond.

### Modes

| Mode | What it returns |
|---|---|
| `feed` | Newest documents — filterable by agency, doc type, date range, significance |
| `deadlines` | Proposed rules whose **comment window closes within N days** (`closingWithinDays`) |
| `agency` | Everything published by one agency (e.g. `environmental-protection-agency`) |
| `search` | Keyword monitor across titles/abstracts (e.g. `artificial intelligence`, `airworthiness`) |
| `dockets` | Documents linked to Regulations.gov comment dockets — with live comment counts |

### Example inputs

**Comment deadlines closing in the next 14 days:**

```json
{"mode": "deadlines", "closingWithinDays": 14}
```

**Daily digest of new EPA actions (run on a schedule):**

```json
{"mode": "agency", "agency": "environmental-protection-agency", "publishedAfter": "2026-09-28"}
```

**Everything mentioning a topic this month:**

```json
{"mode": "search", "query": "artificial intelligence", "publishedAfter": "2026-09-01"}
```

**Full daily feed, only economically significant rules:**

```json
{"mode": "feed", "significantOnly": true, "publishedAfter": "2026-09-28"}
```

### Why deadlines matter

When an agency publishes a *proposed rule*, it opens a public comment window (usually 30–90 days). Comments are the only formal channel to influence the final rule — and the deadline is hard. `deadlines` mode + `daysUntilCommentClose` gives compliance teams a watchlist they can act on.

### Output fields

`documentNumber`, `title`, `docType` (Rule / Proposed Rule / Notice / Presidential Document), `agencies`, `publicationDate`, `effectiveOn`, `commentsCloseOn`, `daysUntilCommentClose`, `significant` (EO-12866 reviewed), `abstract`, `docketIds`, `regulationsGovDocumentId` + `regulationsGovUrl` + `regulationsGovCommentsCount`, `cfrReferences`, `htmlUrl`, `pdfUrl`.

### Agency slug cheat sheet

| Slug | Agency |
|---|---|
| `environmental-protection-agency` | EPA |
| `food-and-drug-administration` | FDA |
| `federal-aviation-administration` | FAA |
| `securities-and-exchange-commission` | SEC |
| `federal-communications-commission` | FCC |
| `centers-for-medicare-medicaid-services` | CMS |
| `defense-department` | DoD |
| `federal-reserve-system` | Federal Reserve |
| `transportation-department` | DOT |
| `energy-department` | DOE |

The full list: `federalregister.gov/api/v1/agencies` (each entry's `slug` field works directly).

### Monitoring pattern

Schedule the actor daily (weekdays) with `publishedAfter` = yesterday, or run `deadlines` weekly for a rolling comment-window watch. Ideal for regulatory affairs, trade associations, law firms, GovCon teams, journalists.

### Notes & limitations

- Data is the official Federal Register API — complete since 1994.
- `deadlines` scans recent proposed rules and filters client-side; very old rules with long windows are included when their close date is in range.
- Some proposed rules have no comment deadline (e.g. corrections) — they're excluded from `deadlines`.
- `significant` reflects the API's EO-12866 flag and is only populated on some documents.

### Pricing

Pay-per-event: ~$1 per 1,000 documents returned. No per-run fee.

# Actor input Schema

## `mode` (type: `string`):

feed = new documents by agency/type/date. deadlines = proposed rules with comment windows closing soon. agency = watchlist for one agency. search = keyword/topic monitor. dockets = proposed rules with their Regulations.gov docket info.

## `query` (type: `string`):

Search term for search mode (matches title/abstract). E.g. 'airworthiness', 'pesticide', 'artificial intelligence'.

## `agency` (type: `string`):

Filter to one agency. Slug form: 'environmental-protection-agency', 'food-and-drug-administration', 'federal-aviation-administration'. See README for a cheat sheet.

## `docTypes` (type: `array`):

RULE = final rules, PRORULE = proposed rules (commentable), NOTICE = notices, PRESDOCU = presidential documents.

## `publishedAfter` (type: `string`):

Only documents published on/after this date (YYYY-MM-DD). For scheduled monitoring set to your last run date.

## `publishedBefore` (type: `string`):

Only documents published on/before this date (YYYY-MM-DD).

## `closingWithinDays` (type: `integer`):

Deadlines mode: only proposed rules whose comment window closes within this many days. Default 30.

## `significantOnly` (type: `boolean`):

Restrict to documents flagged as economically/significantly important (EO 12866 review).

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Maximum rows to return (1–1000).

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "mode": "feed",
  "docTypes": [
    "RULE",
    "PRORULE",
    "NOTICE"
  ],
  "closingWithinDays": 30,
  "significantOnly": false,
  "maxResults": 100
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

Dataset containing lobbying disclosure records

# 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 = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("brick_joey_yto/federal-register-monitor").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 = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("brick_joey_yto/federal-register-monitor").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 '{}' |
apify call brick_joey_yto/federal-register-monitor --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

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/BOHytDolALdQkeSRp/builds/LwMhPV5aXbGschGVA/openapi.json