# Federal Register API with Text & Agency Filters (`devone-studio/federal-register-api`) Actor

Daily US federal agency rules, proposed rules, notices, presidential documents. Filter by date, agency, type, text, abstract. Public domain.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/devone-studio/federal-register-api.md
- **Developed by:** [Ti Gg](https://apify.com/devone-studio) (community)
- **Security:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.00 / 1,000 results

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, Proposed Rules, and Notices

Daily US Federal Register: agency rules, proposed rules, notices, and
presidential documents, plus structured metadata (agency, CFR
references, dockets, public comment deadlines). Built for **policy
analysts**, **compliance teams**, and **AI agents** that need grounded
US regulatory evidence.

### Free trial

A free Apify account gives you about **5 USD of monthly credits**,
enough to pull a full week of Federal Register activity before paying.

### Use cases

1. **Regulatory change watch** — daily cron pulling all `Rule` and
   `Proposed Rule` documents published by `epa-narrative-se` (EPA),
   filtered to last 24 h, then emailed to the compliance team.
2. **Comment-period tracker** — fetch documents with
   `is_open_for_comment=true` and export `(document_number, days_until_comment_close)`
   for a Slack reminder pipeline.
3. **CFR research audit** — given a CFR part (e.g. `40 CFR 60`), return
   all documents with `cfr_references_count > 0` touching that citation.

### Input

```json
{
  "publication_date_from": "2026-09-25",
  "publication_date_to": "2026-09-30",
  "agency_slug": "executive-office-of-the-president",
  "max_results": 10
}
```

| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `publication_date_from` | string | `2026-09-25` | Earliest `publication_date` (`YYYY-MM-DD`). |
| `publication_date_to` | string | `2026-09-30` | Latest `publication_date`. |
| `agency_slug` | string | `""` | Agency slug (e.g. `epa-narrative-se`). Empty = all. |
| `document_type` | string | `""` | `RULE`, `PRORULE`, `NOTICE`, `PRESDOCU`. |
| `presidential_only` | boolean | `false` | Restrict to presidential documents. |
| `max_results` | integer | `20` | Cap on returned documents. |

### Output (real run)

```json
[
  {
    "document_number": "2026-20093",
    "title": "Gold Star Mother's and Family's Day, 2026",
    "type": "Presidential Document",
    "is_rule": false,
    "is_presidential": true,
    "abstract": null,
    "publication_date": "2026-09-30",
    "effective_date": null,
    "comment_close_date": null,
    "is_open_for_comment": false,
    "days_until_comment_close": null,
    "docket_id": null,
    "agency_names": ["Executive Office of the President"],
    "agency_slugs": ["executive-office-of-the-president"],
    "agencies_count": 1,
    "first_agency": "Executive Office of the President",
    "first_agency_slug": "executive-office-of-the-president",
    "html_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/09/30/2026-20093/gold-star-mothers-and-familys-day-2026",
    "pdf_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/09/30/2026-20093/pdf",
    "page_count": 2,
    "page_views": 0
  },
  {
    "document_number": "2026-20089",
    "title": "Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Determination for the Whitebark Pine",
    "type": "Rule",
    "is_rule": true,
    "is_presidential": false,
    "abstract": "We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, determine endangered status for the whitebark pine.",
    "publication_date": "2026-09-30",
    "effective_date": "2026-10-30",
    "comment_close_date": null,
    "is_open_for_comment": false,
    "docket_id": "FWS-R6-ES-21-0014",
    "agency_names": ["Fish and Wildlife Service"],
    "agency_slugs": ["fish-and-wildlife-service"],
    "html_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/09/30/2026-20089",
    "pdf_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/09/30/2026-20089/pdf",
    "page_count": 28,
    "significant": true
  }
]
```

| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `document_number` | string | Federal Register document number. |
| `title` | string | Document title. |
| `type` | string | `Rule`, `Proposed Rule`, `Notice`, `Presidential Document`. |
| `is_rule` / `is_presidential` | boolean | Type flags. |
| `abstract` | string | First paragraph summary (or null). |
| `publication_date` | string | Published date. |
| `effective_date` | string | Effective date (or null). |
| `comment_close_date` | string | Public comment deadline (or null). |
| `is_open_for_comment` | boolean | True when comment window is open. |
| `days_until_comment_close` | integer | Days until close (or null). |
| `docket_id` | string | Agency docket number. |
| `agency_names` / `agency_slugs` | array | Originating agency names and URL slugs. |
| `html_url` / `pdf_url` | string | Canonical HTML and PDF URLs. |
| `page_count` | integer | Approximate PDF page count. |
| `significant` | boolean | True when flagged "significant" by OMB. |

### Pricing (pay-per-event)

- **No subscription.** Free monthly credits apply first.
- **1 result = $0.001 USD** (about $1 per 1 000 results).
- Charged per item returned in the dataset; failed runs are not charged.

### Source, licence, limits

- Source: Federal Register API at <https://www.federalregister.gov/>.
- Licence: US Government work, public domain (17 U.S.C. § 105).
- Update frequency: Federal Register is published every weekday; this
  Actor reflects the upstream API at the moment of the run.
- Limits: each request returns up to 1 000 documents per page; we
  paginate up to `max_results`. There is no documented rate limit, but
  we use exponential backoff to be polite.

### FAQ

**What's a "slug"?**
The agency slug is the URL-safe identifier (e.g. `fish-and-wildlife-service`)
used by federalregister.gov. Pass it in `agency_slug`.

**Why is the abstract missing for some documents?**
Notices and presidential documents often have no separate abstract; the
title is the summary.

**How do I filter to presidential documents only?**
Set `presidential_only=true` (or `document_type=PRESDOCU`).

**How accurate is `is_open_for_comment`?**
It mirrors the upstream flag at fetch time. Federal Register occasionally
adjusts comment windows post-publication.

**Why are `cfr_references` sometimes empty?**
Notices without regulatory impact do not reference the Code of Federal
Regulations — those records will have `cfr_references_count = 0`.

**Can I get the JSON?**
The full original record is on `raw_url`. This Actor flattens and
denormalises the most useful fields for downstream pipelines.

### Other Actors from DevOne-Studio

- **[ted-tenders-api](https://apify.com/devone-studio/ted-tenders-api)** — TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) EU public procurement search.
- **[pdf-to-text-api](https://apify.com/devone-studio/pdf-to-text-api)** — PDF to text + tables extraction via pdfplumber, no external calls.
- **[pubmed-articles-api](https://apify.com/devone-studio/pubmed-articles-api)** — NCBI PubMed biomedical literature with MeSH/DOI/year filters.
- **[sec-company-tickers](https://apify.com/devone-studio/sec-company-tickers)** — Resolve SEC CIK from ticker or company name (10,400+ issuers).
- **[sec-edgar-fulltext-search-api](https://apify.com/devone-studio/sec-edgar-fulltext-search-api)** — Full-text search across 35M+ SEC EDGAR filings and exhibits.
- **[sec-edgar-xbrl-frames-api](https://apify.com/devone-studio/sec-edgar-xbrl-frames-api)** — XBRL frames (Revenues, Assets, NetIncomeLoss) for ~6000 US issuers.
- **[cfpb-consumer-complaints-api](https://apify.com/devone-studio/cfpb-consumer-complaints-api)** — 18M+ US CFPB consumer complaints since 2011.
- **[nhtsa-safety-ratings-api](https://apify.com/devone-studio/nhtsa-safety-ratings-api)** — NHTSA NCAP 5-star vehicle safety ratings.
- **[openfda-udi-api](https://apify.com/devone-studio/openfda-udi-api)** — FDA Unique Device Identifier database by device/manufacturer.
- **[eia-state-electricity-api](https://apify.com/devone-studio/eia-state-electricity-api)** — US state-level electricity generation and consumption, 1990-2025.

### Changelog

- **2026-10-12** — SEO metadata (seoTitle, seoDescription); README rewritten with real output sample, FAQ, cross-links.
- **2026-10-07** — Pricing switched to Apify pay-per-event (`$0.001` per dataset item).
- **2026-09-30** — Initial public release on the Apify Store.

# Actor input Schema

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

Pass-through: full-text search on the Federal Register (per API).

## `publication_date_gte` (type: `string`):

Lower bound on publication date.

## `publication_date_lte` (type: `string`):

Upper bound on publication date.

## `effective_date_gte` (type: `string`):

Lower bound on effective date.

## `effective_date_lte` (type: `string`):

Upper bound on effective date.

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

Single document type filter: RULE, PRORULE, NOTICE, PRESDOC.

## `types` (type: `array`):

Multiple document types (e.g. \['RULE', 'PRORULE']).

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

Multiple agency slugs (e.g. \['environmental-protection-agency', 'federal-trade-commission']).

## `agency_slug` (type: `string`):

Post-filter: keep only docs with this agency_slug.

## `significant_only` (type: `boolean`):

Pass-through filter: keep only 'significant' documents (per Federal Register definition).

## `contains_text` (type: `string`):

Post-filter: keep only docs whose title or abstract contains this substring (case-insensitive).

## `has_abstract` (type: `boolean`):

Post-filter: keep only docs with non-empty abstract.

## `min_page_count` (type: `integer`):

Post-filter: keep only docs with page_count ≥ value.

## `enrich` (type: `boolean`):

If true (default), fetch /documents/{doc_number}.json for each candidate to merge CFR references, page views, executive order numbers, correction history, and dockets — fields the list endpoint doesn't expose. Disable for high-volume queries when you only need title + agency + date.

## `limit` (type: `integer`):

Max documents returned (1-1000).

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "term": "",
  "publication_date_gte": "",
  "publication_date_lte": "",
  "effective_date_gte": "",
  "effective_date_lte": "",
  "type": "",
  "types": [],
  "agencies": [],
  "agency_slug": "",
  "significant_only": false,
  "contains_text": "",
  "has_abstract": false,
  "min_page_count": 0,
  "enrich": true,
  "limit": 50
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

All results of the run, as JSON from the default dataset.

# 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("devone-studio/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 = {}

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

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,devone-studio/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/QzXlwDb8fcjzU5Xfe/builds/2ooZIn6cQzcSxKM6Z/openapi.json