Federal Register Deadline Monitor

Find open Federal Register comment deadlines and effective dates in clean rows.

This Actor searches the official Federal Register API and returns deadline-focused data for compliance teams, policy researchers, legal research support, journalists, and AI-agent workflows. It is built for practical regulatory deadline monitoring: search by keyword, agency, document type, publication date, comment deadline, effective date, RIN, docket ID context, and CFR references.

It uses official public FederalRegister.gov API data. It does not require login, does not use proxies, does not scrape protected pages, and does not collect private or personal data.

What You Get

Each saved row is one Federal Register document normalized around the date that matters:

• Federal Register comment deadline.
• Rule effective date.
• Days until the next deadline.
• Agency names and slugs.
• CFR references.
• Regulation ID numbers (RINs).
• Docket IDs.
• Official FederalRegister.gov HTML link.
• Official govinfo.gov PDF link when available.

Use this as a Federal Register API helper, regulatory deadline monitor, proposed rule comment deadline finder, EPA rule monitor, FDA notices tracker, or structured input for an AI agent.

FederalRegister.gov is an informational XML rendition of Federal Register documents. Always verify legal conclusions against the official PDF on govinfo.gov and consult qualified counsel when decisions matter.

Copy-Paste Examples

EPA Upcoming Comment Deadlines

{
  "query": "climate",
  "agencies": ["environmental-protection-agency"],
  "documentTypes": ["PRORULE", "NOTICE"],
  "includeCommentDeadlines": true,
  "includeEffectiveDates": false,
  "onlyWithDeadlines": true,
  "onlyUpcoming": true,
  "maxResults": 5,
  "maxPages": 2,
  "requestDelaySeconds": 0.25,
  "sort": "newest"
}

FDA Effective Dates

{
  "query": "drug",
  "agencies": ["food-and-drug-administration"],
  "documentTypes": ["RULE", "NOTICE"],
  "includeCommentDeadlines": false,
  "includeEffectiveDates": true,
  "onlyWithDeadlines": true,
  "onlyUpcoming": true,
  "maxResults": 5,
  "maxPages": 2,
  "requestDelaySeconds": 0.25,
  "sort": "newest"
}

Broad Agency Monitoring

{
  "query": "",
  "agencies": ["labor-department"],
  "documentTypes": ["PRORULE", "RULE", "NOTICE"],
  "includeCommentDeadlines": true,
  "includeEffectiveDates": true,
  "onlyWithDeadlines": true,
  "onlyUpcoming": true,
  "maxResults": 10,
  "maxPages": 3,
  "requestDelaySeconds": 0.25,
  "sort": "newest"
}

Example Output

{
  "document_number": "2026-13302",
  "title": "Integrated Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal",
  "type": "Proposed Rule",
  "agency_names": ["Nuclear Regulatory Commission"],
  "agency_slugs": ["nuclear-regulatory-commission"],
  "publication_date": "2026-07-01",
  "next_deadline_date": "2026-08-17",
  "next_deadline_type": "comment_close",
  "days_until_next_deadline": 43,
  "deadline_status": "upcoming",
  "deadline_types": ["comment_close"],
  "comments_close_on": "2026-08-17",
  "effective_on": null,
  "is_new": true,
  "significant": false,
  "citation": "91 FR 40290",
  "cfr_references": ["10 CFR 20", "10 CFR 61", "10 CFR 73", "10 CFR 150"],
  "regulation_id_numbers": ["3150-AI92"],
  "docket_ids": ["NRC-2011-0012, NRC-2015-0003, and NRC-2017-0081"],
  "html_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/07/01/2026-13302/integrated-low-level-radioactive-waste-disposal",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-07-01/pdf/2026-13302.pdf",
  "source": "FederalRegister.gov API"
}

Pricing

This Actor uses Apify pay-per-event pricing.

Configured price: $1.50 per 1,000 saved deadline rows ($0.0015 per row).

No proxy cost is added. No external API subscription is required. Runs that return only a few rows should cost only fractions of a cent to a few cents, depending on the result count.

FAQ

Does this require a Federal Register API key?

No. It uses the public FederalRegister.gov API and requires no upstream API key.

Does this scrape private or protected data?

No. It uses official public API responses only. It does not use proxies, browser automation, private data, logged-in data, or paywalled data.

Why did my run return zero rows?

The most common reason is that the filters are too narrow or there are no upcoming deadlines for the selected topic. Try increasing maxPages, clearing the query, broadening documentTypes, or turning off onlyUpcoming.

How does stateful monitoring work?

Set stateKey to a stable key such as epa-climate-watch and set emitOnlyNew to true. The Actor will remember previously emitted document numbers in the default key-value store and emit only new matching rows in later runs.

Can I use this as legal advice?

No. This is a research and automation tool. Verify important deadlines against the official PDF on govinfo.gov and consult qualified counsel when legal decisions matter.

When Not To Use This

Do not use this Actor for:

• Legal advice or guaranteed compliance.
• Trading, investing, or speculation signals.
• Automated public comment submission.
• Spam outreach or lead generation.
• Replacing the official Federal Register, govinfo.gov, or qualified counsel.

Local Run

python3 -m venv .venv
. .venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
PYTHONPATH=src python -m fedreg_deadline_monitor.cli --input examples/input.json --output storage/local-output.json --state-file storage/state.json

Test

$PYTHONPATH=src python -m unittest discover -s tests

Apify Run

The Apify entrypoint is main.py. It reads Actor input with Actor.get_input(), writes rows with Actor.push_data(), and can optionally persist seen document numbers in the default key-value store when stateKey is provided.

Ethical Use

Good uses:

• Compliance monitoring.
• Policy research.
• Legal research support.
• Journalism and public-interest monitoring.
• AI-agent data retrieval from official public data.

Avoid claims that this provides legal advice, guarantees compliance, or replaces the official Federal Register source documents.