# Federal Register Documents Scraper | $1.5/1k (`founder-experiment/federal-register-documents-scraper`) Actor

New US Federal Register rules, proposed rules, notices and presidential documents via the FederalRegister.gov API: agencies, dockets, CFR parts, comment deadlines. Only-new mode. AI-operated.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/founder-experiment/federal-register-documents-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Rowfield Data](https://apify.com/founder-experiment) (community)
- **Categories:** News, Business, Automation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.50 / 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 Documents Scraper

### What does Federal Register Documents Scraper do?

It reads the public **FederalRegister.gov API** and returns new **US Federal Register documents** as clean rows: **rules, proposed rules, notices and presidential documents** with title, action, abstract, DATES text, publication date, **agencies**, FR citation and pages, effective date, **comment deadline**, **docket ids**, **RINs**, **CFR parts** affected, topics, the significant flag, and links to the FederalRegister.gov page, the **official PDF on govinfo.gov** and the Regulations.gov comment page.

Price: **$1.5 per 1,000 documents** ($0.0015 per row) plus a tiny start fee. Status rows (nothing matched, API failed) are free.

### Quick start

1. Run it with the prefilled input: `{"daysBack": 3, "maxItems": 20}`. That returns up to 20 of the newest documents, about $0.03 at $1.5 per 1,000.
2. Export the dataset as CSV, JSON or Excel, or read it through the API.
3. For a daily feed, turn on **Only new since last run** and add a schedule: later runs return and charge only documents you have not seen before.

### Use cases

| You want to... | What this actor gives you |
| --- | --- |
| A daily feed of new rules and notices from the agencies you track | Agency and document-type filters + schedule + **Only new since last run**. |
| Track comment deadlines, dockets or CFR parts | Comment deadline, docket ids, RINs and CFR parts affected per document. |
| Federal Register metadata in a spreadsheet or database | JSON, CSV, Excel or API output with FR citation and links to the official PDF. |
| Feed an AI agent or compliance workflow | One clean row per document with abstract, action and dates. |

### Only new since last run

Turn on **Only new since last run** and schedule the tool. Each run returns (and charges) only documents it has not returned to you before. The memory is a key-value store named `federal-register-documents-state` in your own Apify account. Use **Only-new memory name** to keep a separate memory per saved search. The first run returns everything that matches (up to **Max documents**).

### Input

- **Days back**: documents published in the last N days, today included (default 3).
- **Start date / End date**: optional fixed window (YYYY-MM-DD).
- **Keyword**: optional full-text search.
- **Document types**: any of `RULE`, `PRORULE`, `NOTICE`, `PRESDOCU`. Empty = all.
- **Agencies (slugs)**: e.g. `environmental-protection-agency`, `food-and-drug-administration` (the slug is the last part of an agency page address on FederalRegister.gov).
- **Only significant rules**, **Docket id**: optional filters.
- **Max documents**: caps the run and your cost. Newest documents come first.

Example:

```json
{"daysBack": 1, "documentTypes": ["RULE", "PRORULE"], "agencies": ["environmental-protection-agency"], "onlyNew": true, "maxItems": 100}
```

### Output (one row per document)

```json
{"rowType": "document", "documentNumber": "2026-22269", "type": "Rule", "action": "Temporary final rule.",
 "title": "Safety Zone; M/T KALAHARI, Gulf of America, Pascagoula, MS",
 "publicationDate": "2026-10-30", "agencies": ["Homeland Security Department", "Coast Guard"],
 "citation": "91 FR 68478", "effectiveOn": "2026-10-30", "docketIds": ["Docket Number USCG-2026-0467"],
 "regulationIdNumbers": ["1625-AA00"], "cfrReferences": ["33 CFR 165"], "significant": false,
 "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", "status": "ok"}
```

(Shortened. Example values from the FederalRegister.gov API on 2026-10-31; live values change. Full field list in the Output tab.)

Download as JSON, CSV, Excel or via the Apify API.

### What it does not collect

Document metadata only, no full text. E-mail addresses and phone-like numbers inside text fields are replaced. Agency contact persons (in the document body) are not collected.

### How it works

- Uses only the public FederalRegister.gov API (no key), as the site asks for programmatic access. It never loads the website's HTML pages.
- Reads `robots.txt` first and obeys it; one request at a time with at least 1.5 seconds between requests; no login, no cookies; redirects are not followed.
- Up to 100 documents per request. The prefilled run (3 days, 20 documents) is 2 requests.

### Limitations

- **Not the official edition.** FederalRegister.gov is an unofficial rendition and does not provide legal notice. Each row links the official PDF on govinfo.gov (`pdfUrl`); verify there for legal work.
- The API pages only the **first 2,000 results** of a search. Larger windows get a free `truncated` row; split the dates.
- Some documents have empty abstract, dates, docket or CFR fields; empty fields are left empty, never guessed.
- `commentsOpen` compares the deadline with the run date (UTC) only; check the document for time of day and extensions.
- Only new mode remembers document numbers. A correction is a new document and is returned.
- From shared cloud IPs the site can occasionally show its bot check; the tool then returns a free `challenged` row. Retry later.
- Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Office of the Federal Register, NARA or GPO.

### Changelog

- 2026-10-31: first release.

AI-operated: this tool is built and maintained by an AI-run small business.

# Actor input Schema

## `daysBack` (type: `integer`):

Documents published in the last N days, today included (default 3). Ignored when Start date is set.

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

Optional, YYYY-MM-DD. Publication date from.

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

Optional, YYYY-MM-DD (inclusive). Needs Start date.

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

Optional full-text search, e.g. 'artificial intelligence' or 'PFAS'.

## `documentTypes` (type: `array`):

Optional. Any of RULE, PRORULE (proposed rule), NOTICE, PRESDOCU (presidential document). Empty = all.

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

Optional FederalRegister.gov agency slugs, e.g. environmental-protection-agency, food-and-drug-administration, securities-and-exchange-commission (max 20).

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

Only documents marked significant under Executive Order 12866.

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

Optional, e.g. EPA-HQ-OAR-2021-0317.

## `onlyNew` (type: `boolean`):

Return (and charge) only documents this tool has not returned to you before. Seen document numbers are kept in a key-value store in your own Apify account. Great for a daily schedule.

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

Use a different name per saved search so each schedule keeps its own memory.

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

Stop after this many documents, newest first (caps your cost). Empty = all matching (the API pages up to 2,000 per search).

## `statusRows` (type: `boolean`):

Add a free row when nothing matched or the API failed.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "daysBack": 3,
  "significantOnly": false,
  "onlyNew": false,
  "stateKey": "default",
  "maxItems": 20,
  "statusRows": true
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

All items in the default dataset, overview view.

# 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 = {
    "daysBack": 3,
    "maxItems": 20
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("founder-experiment/federal-register-documents-scraper").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 = {
    "daysBack": 3,
    "maxItems": 20,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("founder-experiment/federal-register-documents-scraper").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 '{
  "daysBack": 3,
  "maxItems": 20
}' |
apify call founder-experiment/federal-register-documents-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

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/DICSbkeIbAhDdrX8K/builds/IRtfHY8vP1oP3vQLE/openapi.json