# Federal Register Tracker — New Rules & Comment Deadlines (`m_ctim/federal-register-tracker`) Actor

Search newly published Federal Register documents by keyword, agency, or document type. Get proposed rules, final rules, and notices with public comment deadlines — official U.S. government data.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/m\_ctim/federal-register-tracker.md
- **Developed by:** [Timothy Kelvin](https://apify.com/m_ctim) (community)
- **Categories:** Other
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

Pay per usage

This Actor is paid per platform usage. The Actor is free to use, and you only pay for the Apify platform usage, which gets cheaper the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-usage

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
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.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## 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.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## Federal Register Tracker — New Rules & Comment Deadlines

Search newly published Federal Register documents by keyword, agency, or
document type. Get proposed rules, final rules, and notices — with public
comment deadlines where they apply — instead of checking federalregister.gov
by hand.

Built for compliance and regulatory affairs teams, lobbyists, and law firms
tracking new rulemaking in their industry or agency.

### Input

```json
{
  "keyword": "data privacy",
  "agencySlug": "environmental-protection-agency",
  "documentType": "PRORULE",
  "daysBack": 14,
  "maxResults": 25
}
```

| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `keyword` | string | Free-text search across document titles and text. Leave blank to skip. |
| `agencySlug` | string | Limit to one agency, using its Federal Register slug (e.g. `environmental-protection-agency`, `securities-and-exchange-commission`, `food-and-drug-administration`) — found in the agency's federalregister.gov URL. |
| `documentType` | string | `all`, `RULE` (final), `PRORULE` (proposed, open for comment), `NOTICE`, or `PRESDOCU`. Default `all`. |
| `daysBack` | number | How many days back from today to search, by publication date. Default `14`, max `180`. |
| `maxResults` | number | Max documents to return, most recent first. Default `25`, max `100`. |

### Output

One record per document:

```json
{
  "documentNumber": "2026-16335",
  "title": "Air Quality Plan; Arizona; Maricopa County Air Quality Department; Gasoline Loading",
  "type": "Proposed Rule",
  "agencies": ["Environmental Protection Agency"],
  "publicationDate": "2026-08-11",
  "commentsCloseOn": "2026-09-10",
  "abstract": "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve...",
  "htmlUrl": "https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/11/2026-16335/...",
  "pdfUrl": "https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-08-11/pdf/2026-16335.pdf"
}
```

`commentsCloseOn` is `null` for document types that don't take public
comment (most notices, final rules already in effect).

### How it works

Direct calls to the official [Federal Register](https://www.federalregister.gov/)
API — the U.S. government's public rulemaking database. No API key, no
proxy, no login, no scraping.

### Pricing note

Billed per **search**, not per document returned — one charge whether the
search returns 1 document or 100.

### Related products

Looking for other compliance/risk-monitoring signals?

- [Product Recall Alert](https://github.com/timmKal01/product-recall-alert) — FDA drug/food/device recalls
- [Vulnerability Alert](https://github.com/timmKal01/vulnerability-alert) — new CVEs by product and severity

# Actor input Schema

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

Free-text search across document titles and text (e.g. "data privacy", "emissions standards"). Leave blank to skip.

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

Limit to one agency, using its Federal Register slug (e.g. "environmental-protection-agency", "securities-and-exchange-commission", "food-and-drug-administration"). Find the exact slug in the agency's federalregister.gov URL. Leave blank for all agencies.

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

RULE = final rule (already in effect or scheduled), PRORULE = proposed rule (open for public comment), NOTICE = agency notice, PRESDOCU = presidential document.

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

How many days back from today to search, by publication date.

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

Maximum number of documents to return, most recently published first.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "documentType": "all",
  "daysBack": 14,
  "maxResults": 25
}
```

# 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("m_ctim/federal-register-tracker").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("m_ctim/federal-register-tracker").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 m_ctim/federal-register-tracker --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

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

```

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/rQ6qfFo3HcSLNx9yD/builds/v39fEOuw5cxpKxkCF/openapi.json