Federal Register API Feed: Rules, Proposed Rules & Notices

Get new US Federal Register documents as clean JSON every day: final rules, proposed rules (NPRMs), notices, and presidential documents such as executive orders and proclamations. The Actor reads the public, keyless FederalRegister.gov REST API and can also read the public inspection desk, where documents are filed before they are published.

Filter by agency, document type, keyword, CFR title and part, EO 12866 significance, or open comment period. Scheduled runs return only documents you have not received yet, so each run is a feed of what is new.

At a glance: $0.001 per document ($1.00 per 1,000) plus Apify's $0.00005 Actor start event. Documents skipped as already seen are free. No API key, no browser, no proxy. Set a maximum cost per run, export to JSON, CSV or Excel, or call it from the Apify API, n8n, Make or Zapier.

Unofficial. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Office of the Federal Register, NARA or GPO. FederalRegister.gov is not the official legal edition of the Federal Register; every published document links to its official PDF on govinfo.gov (links.pdfUrl), so check that before you rely on a document legally.

Who it's for

• Compliance and regulatory teams watching for new rules and proposed rules from the agencies that regulate them (EPA, FDA, OSHA, the SEC and so on).
• Government affairs, lobbying and policy teams tracking rulemaking, comment deadlines, executive orders and proclamations.
• Law firms and consultants sending clients alerts on documents that affect a CFR part or mention a keyword.
• Researchers, journalists and data teams building a dataset of Federal Register documents back to 1994.
• Automation builders sending new documents to Slack, email, Google Sheets or a database through n8n, Make, Zapier or Apify webhooks.

What you can track

• Document types: final rules (RULE), proposed rules (PRORULE), notices (NOTICE) and presidential documents (PRESDOCU: executive orders, proclamations, memoranda and other documents).
• Agencies: one or more FederalRegister.gov agency slugs, such as environmental-protection-agency, food-and-drug-administration or coast-guard.
• Keywords: full-text search, the same as the FederalRegister.gov search box, for example artificial intelligence or "per- and polyfluoroalkyl".
• CFR title and part: for example title 40, part 52.
• Significant documents: only documents marked significant under Executive Order 12866.
• Open comment periods: only documents whose comment period closes today or later, with the commentsCloseOn date and the regulations.gov comment link.
• Public inspection: documents filed for public inspection before they are published (turn on Also include today's public inspection desk).

How to use it

1. Open the Actor in Apify Console and click Try for free.
2. Pick Document types and add Agencies (slugs), a Keyword search or a CFR title. Leave them empty to get everything.
3. Keep Mode on Daily feed for ongoing monitoring, or choose Date range to backfill.
4. Click Start and open the dataset, or export it to CSV or Excel.
5. For alerts, create an Apify schedule (for example every weekday) with the same input. Each run returns only documents that are new since the last run.

Input

Field	Type	Default	Description
mode	string	daily_feed	daily_feed reads recent issues and skips documents already delivered. date_range reads every issue from startDate to endDate.
lookbackDays	integer, 0 to 60	3	Daily feed only. Reads issues published from this many calendar days before today (US Eastern) through today. Issues come out on weekdays only, so 3 reads 4 issues on a Thursday or Friday, 3 on a Wednesday or Saturday, and 2 on a Sunday, Monday or Tuesday.
startDate	date (YYYY-MM-DD)	none	Date range only, required there. 1994-01-01 or later.
endDate	date (YYYY-MM-DD)	today	Date range only. Up to 10 years after startDate per run.
documentTypes	array	all types	RULE, PRORULE, NOTICE, PRESDOCU. The Console prefill is RULE and PRORULE.
agencies	array of strings	all agencies	FederalRegister.gov agency slugs: the last part of the agency page URL.
searchTerm	string	none	Full-text search, as on FederalRegister.gov. For public inspection filings every word must appear in the title or table-of-contents subject.
significantOnly	boolean	false	Only documents marked significant under EO 12866.
openForCommentOnly	boolean	false	Only documents whose comment period closes today or later.
cfrTitle	integer, 1 to 50	none	Only documents that affect this CFR title.
cfrPart	string	none	A part within cfrTitle, for example 52. Needs cfrTitle.
includePublicInspection	boolean	false	Also read the current public inspection desk first. Filtered by document type, agency and title keyword.
onlyNewSinceLastRun	string	auto	auto (yes for daily feed, no for date range), yes or no.
stateKey	string	default	Separate "already seen" memory per feed. Use one key per schedule when schedules have different filters.
maxItems	integer, 1 to 200,000	9	Stop after this many documents. Empty also means 9. A full issue had 63 to 146 documents (October 13 to 30, 2026), so raise it to get whole issues.

Example input: EPA proposed rules open for comment

{
  "mode": "daily_feed",
  "lookbackDays": 3,
  "agencies": ["environmental-protection-agency"],
  "documentTypes": ["PRORULE"],
  "openForCommentOnly": true,
  "stateKey": "epa-proposed",
  "maxItems": 500
}

Example input: executive orders and other presidential documents in 2026

{
  "mode": "date_range",
  "startDate": "2026-01-01",
  "endDate": "2026-10-30",
  "documentTypes": ["PRESDOCU"],
  "maxItems": 2000
}

Executive orders have executiveOrderNumber set; proclamations have proclamationNumber.

Output

One dataset row per document. This is a real row from a local test run on October 30, 2026 (prefilled filters: rules and proposed rules, lookbackDays 3, so issues published October 27 to 30; maxItems 5):

{
  "recordType": "document",
  "documentNumber": "2026-22269",
  "title": "Safety Zone; M/T KALAHARI, Gulf of America, Pascagoula, MS",
  "type": "Rule",
  "typeCode": "RULE",
  "subtype": null,
  "action": "Temporary final rule.",
  "abstract": "The Coast Guard is establishing a temporary safety zone for navigable waters of the Gulf of America. The safety zone is needed to protect personnel, vessels, and the marine environment from potential hazards associated with the M/T KALAHARI that will be conducting repairs at anchorage due to both auxiliary boilers being out of service rendering the inert gas system inoperable. Entry of vessels or persons into this zone is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port, Sector Mobile, or their designated representative.",
  "publicationDate": "2026-10-30",
  "agencies": [
    {
      "name": "Homeland Security Department",
      "slug": "homeland-security-department",
      "id": 227,
      "parentId": null
    },
    {
      "name": "Coast Guard",
      "slug": "coast-guard",
      "id": 53,
      "parentId": 227
    }
  ],
  "agencyNames": [
    "Homeland Security Department",
    "Coast Guard"
  ],
  "citation": "91 FR 68478",
  "volume": 91,
  "startPage": 68478,
  "endPage": 68480,
  "pageLength": 3,
  "significant": false,
  "effectiveOn": "2026-10-30",
  "commentsCloseOn": null,
  "isOpenForComment": false,
  "commentUrl": null,
  "regulationsGovUrl": null,
  "docketIds": [
    "Docket Number USCG-2026-0467"
  ],
  "regulationIdNumbers": [
    "1625-AA00"
  ],
  "cfrReferences": [
    {
      "title": 33,
      "part": "165",
      "chapter": null
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Harbors",
    "Marine safety",
    "Navigation (water)",
    "Reporting and recordkeeping requirements",
    "Security measures",
    "Waterways"
  ],
  "dates": "This rule is effective without actual notice from October 30, 2026 through December 27, 2026. For the purposes of enforcement, actual notice will be used from October 28, 2026, through October 30, 2026.",
  "signingDate": null,
  "executiveOrderNumber": null,
  "presidentialDocumentNumber": null,
  "proclamationNumber": null,
  "correctionOf": null,
  "tocSubject": "Safety Zone",
  "filedAt": null,
  "filingType": null,
  "links": {
    "htmlUrl": "https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/10/30/2026-22269/safety-zone-mt-kalahari-gulf-of-america-pascagoula-ms",
    "pdfUrl": "https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-10-30/pdf/2026-22269.pdf",
    "publicInspectionPdfUrl": "https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2026-22269.pdf?1793277922",
    "rawTextUrl": "https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/full_text/text/2026/10/30/2026-22269.txt",
    "fullTextXmlUrl": "https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/full_text/xml/2026/10/30/2026-22269.xml",
    "jsonUrl": "https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/documents/2026-22269?publication_date=2026-10-30"
  },
  "generatedInternalId": "FR:document:2026-22269",
  "source": {
    "name": "FederalRegister.gov REST API v1",
    "apiUrl": "https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/documents.json",
    "legalNote": "Unofficial: FederalRegister.gov is not the official legal edition; verify against the official PDF on govinfo.gov (pdfUrl). Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Office of the Federal Register, NARA or GPO."
  },
  "scrapedAt": "2026-10-30T15:27:43+00:00"
}

Field	Description
recordType	document (published) or public_inspection (filed, not yet published)
documentNumber, citation, volume, startPage, endPage, pageLength	Federal Register document number and citation, such as 91 FR 68478
title, action, abstract, dates, tocSubject	Title, action line, summary and dates text as published
type, typeCode, subtype	For example Proposed Rule and PRORULE
publicationDate, effectiveOn, signingDate	Dates (YYYY-MM-DD)
agencies, agencyNames	Agencies with name, slug, id and parent id
commentsCloseOn, isOpenForComment, commentUrl, regulationsGovUrl	Comment deadline, whether it is today or later, and where to comment
docketIds, regulationIdNumbers	Docket numbers and RINs
cfrReferences, topics	Affected CFR title and part, and subject topics
significant	true when significant under EO 12866
executiveOrderNumber, presidentialDocumentNumber, proclamationNumber, correctionOf	Presidential document numbers and corrections
filedAt, filingType	Public inspection filings only
links	FederalRegister.gov page, govinfo PDF, public inspection PDF, plain text, XML and API JSON
generatedInternalId, source, scrapedAt	Dedupe id, source and legal note, and when the run read it (UTC)

Public inspection rows have no abstract, citation or comment fields yet, and their pdfUrl is the public inspection PDF (their source.legalNote says so). A run that saves no documents or stops early adds one free status row (recordType: "status", status empty or warning, and a message). The Actor outputs metadata and links only, not full text. Use links.rawTextUrl or links.fullTextXmlUrl when you need the text.

The RUN_SUMMARY record in the key-value store shows the date window, filters, documents pushed, documents skipped as already seen (skippedSeenOtherStage counts those already delivered at the other stage) or closed for comment, why the run stopped, requests made, and any day with more than 2,000 matches (daysTruncated).

Pricing

This Actor uses pay-per-event pricing. You pay for documents saved, not for compute time.

Event	Price
Federal Register document (one dataset row, including public inspection filings)	$0.001
Actor start (charged by Apify, once per GB of run memory; 1 event at the default 1 GB)	$0.00005

Examples:

• Empty input {} or the prefilled Console input: at most 9 documents, so at most about $0.00905 with the start event.
• The whole Federal Register for one day: the 14 issues from October 13 to 30, 2026 had 63 to 146 documents each, so about $0.06 to $0.15 per issue.
• A narrow daily feed (one agency, rules and proposed rules) with nothing new: $0.00005, the start event only.

Documents skipped because you already received them (including as a public inspection filing under the same state key), or because their comment period is closed when Only documents open for comment is on, are not charged.

Set a maximum cost per run. In Apify Console set Maximum cost per run, or pass maxTotalChargeUsd through the API. The Actor stops cleanly when the limit is reached and the status message says so.

Integrations and API

The Actor ID is fecklesspleb/federal-register-documents-feed (in API URLs: fecklesspleb~federal-register-documents-feed).

• n8n: use the Apify node, choose Run an Actor with this Actor ID, then read the dataset items and post new rules to Slack, email or a ticket.
• Make: use the Apify module Run an Actor, then Get Dataset Items.
• Zapier: use the Apify app with Run Actor, then a dataset items step.
• Schedules and webhooks: create an Apify schedule for each feed and a webhook to get notified when a run finishes.
• AI agents: call it through the Apify API, the Apify clients, or Apify's MCP server.

Run it with curl

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/fecklesspleb~federal-register-documents-feed/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"documentTypes": ["RULE", "PRORULE"], "agencies": ["food-and-drug-administration"], "maxItems": 200}'

Python

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("fecklesspleb/federal-register-documents-feed").call(
    run_input={"documentTypes": ["PRORULE"], "openForCommentOnly": True, "maxItems": 200},
    max_total_charge_usd=1,
)
for doc in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(doc["publicationDate"], doc["title"], doc["commentsCloseOn"], doc["links"]["htmlUrl"])

JavaScript

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN' });
const run = await client.actor('fecklesspleb/federal-register-documents-feed').call({
    documentTypes: ['RULE', 'PRORULE'],
    agencies: ['environmental-protection-agency'],
    maxItems: 200,
});
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items.map((d) => `${d.citation ?? d.documentNumber}: ${d.title}`));

How it works

• It calls only https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/, which robots.txt allows, and checks robots.txt before the first call. It never loads FederalRegister.gov web pages, which are protected against automated access. If the API returns anything other than JSON, the run stops and RUN_SUMMARY says why.
• At most 1 request per second, with a descriptive User-Agent.
• One query per weekday issue (the Federal Register is not published on weekends), up to 1,000 documents per page. The API pages through only the first 2,000 results of a query; a day with more matches is listed in daysTruncated.
• "Already seen" memory is kept per stateKey in a named key-value store, for up to 200,000 document ids.

Limits

• Metadata and links only: no full text, no excerpts, no public comments.
• Federal holidays have no issue, so they return nothing.
• The public inspection desk is read as it is at run time. The significance, CFR and open-for-comment filters do not apply to public inspection filings; with Only documents open for comment on, they are all skipped.
• A filing on the public inspection desk and the published document share a document number. With Only new since last run on (the daily feed default), each document number gets one row and one charge per state key: a published document whose filing you already got is skipped and free, and the reverse. With it off, a document number is charged at most once per run. Different state keys are independent.
• Presidential documents cannot be narrowed to executive orders in the input; filter the dataset on executiveOrderNumber.

Common searches this Actor answers

• Federal Register API to JSON or CSV
• daily feed of new federal rules and proposed rules
• track executive orders and proclamations
• Federal Register alerts for one agency
• proposed rules with open comment periods and comment deadlines
• Federal Register public inspection desk feed
• rulemaking monitoring for a CFR part
• regulatory change monitoring for compliance teams

FAQ

Is this the official Federal Register? No. It reads FederalRegister.gov, which says it is not the official legal edition. Each published document links to the official govinfo.gov PDF. The Actor is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Office of the Federal Register, NARA or GPO.

Do I need a Federal Register API key? No. The FederalRegister.gov API needs no key. You only need an Apify account to run the Actor.

How do I get only new documents every day? Use Daily feed mode and an Apify schedule. Documents already delivered under the same State key are skipped and not charged. Use a different state key for each schedule with different filters.

How do I find an agency slug? Open the agency page on FederalRegister.gov and take the last part of the URL, for example environmental-protection-agency.

Can I track only proposed rules that are open for comment? Yes. Set Document types to PRORULE and turn on Only documents open for comment. Each row has commentsCloseOn and, when the agency provides one, regulationsGovUrl.

Can I get executive orders? Yes. Choose Presidential documents (PRESDOCU). Executive orders have executiveOrderNumber; proclamations have proclamationNumber.

What is the public inspection desk? Documents are filed for public inspection before they appear in the Federal Register. Turn on Also include today's public inspection desk to get them first, as recordType: "public_inspection" rows with filedAt and the scheduled publicationDate.

Can I backfill older documents? Yes. Use Date range with dates from 1994 onward, up to 10 years per run, and raise Max documents (up to 200,000).

Does it download the full text? No. Rows have links to the plain text, XML and PDF. To turn the PDF into text, pass links.pdfUrl to PDF Text Extractor.

Is it legal to use this data? Federal Register documents are US government works, and the Actor uses the public API the site provides for programs. Names of officials appear as published in government documents. No logos or seals of the Office of the Federal Register or NARA are used.

Related Actors

• RSS Feed Reader: turn RSS or Atom feeds, such as agency news feeds, into JSON, with an only-new-items mode for schedules.
• PDF Text Extractor: get the text of public PDFs, such as the govinfo.gov PDFs linked in each row.

Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md.