# Federal Register Scraper (`straightforward_hydra/federal-register-scraper`) Actor

US federal rules, proposed rules, notices and presidential documents from the official Federal Register API. No key.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/straightforward\_hydra/federal-register-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Dev D](https://apify.com/straightforward_hydra) (community)
- **Categories:** Automation, Lead generation, Other
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $5.00 / 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/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event

## 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 Scraper 📜

**US federal government documents — final rules, proposed rules, notices and presidential documents (executive orders, proclamations) — straight from the official Federal Register API. No API key, no proxy.**

Search and monitor everything the US government publishes in the Federal Register: **final rules**, **proposed rules** (with public comment deadlines), agency **notices**, and **presidential documents** including **executive orders**. Filter by keyword, document type, agency, and publication date.

Perfect for **regulatory & compliance monitoring**, legal research, lobbying and policy intelligence, government-affairs tracking, and journalism.

> Uses the official **Federal Register API** — public government records, no key required, very low maintenance.

***

### Features

- ✅ **No API key, no proxy** — official government API, stable and low-maintenance.
- ✅ **Every document type** — final rules, proposed rules, notices, presidential documents.
- ✅ **Executive-order tracking** — filter presidential documents to executive orders, proclamations, memoranda.
- ✅ **Comment-period monitoring** — pull only proposed rules whose public comment window is still open.
- ✅ **Agency & keyword filters** — combine free text, agency and date range.
- ✅ **Full history** — up to 10,000 documents per query, newest/oldest/relevance ordering.

***

### Input

| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| **Search term** | Full-text search (e.g. `artificial intelligence`, `emissions`, `tariff`). |
| **Document types** | Final Rule / Proposed Rule / Notice / Presidential Document. |
| **Presidential document type** | Executive order, proclamation, etc. (when Presidential Document is selected). |
| **Agencies** | Agency slugs (e.g. `environmental-protection-agency`). See federalregister.gov/agencies. |
| **Published after / before** | Publication-date range (YYYY-MM-DD). |
| **Open public comment only** | Only proposed rules whose comment period is still open. |
| **Order** | Newest / oldest / relevance. |
| **Max results** | Up to 10,000 per query. |

#### Example — recent AI-related rules

```json
{
  "term": "artificial intelligence",
  "documentTypes": ["Rule", "Proposed Rule"],
  "publishedAfter": "2025-01-01",
  "maxResults": 500
}
```

#### Example — all executive orders this year

```json
{
  "documentTypes": ["Presidential Document"],
  "presidentialDocumentType": "executive_order",
  "publishedAfter": "2026-01-01",
  "order": "newest"
}
```

#### Example — proposed rules you can still comment on

```json
{
  "documentTypes": ["Proposed Rule"],
  "commentsOpenOnly": true,
  "maxResults": 300
}
```

### Output

```json
{
  "document_number": "2026-13842",
  "title": "Medicare and Medicaid Programs; CY 2027 Payment Policies...",
  "type": "Proposed Rule",
  "abstract": "This proposed rule would revise payment policies under...",
  "action": "Proposed rule.",
  "publication_date": "2026-07-16",
  "effective_on": null,
  "comments_close_on": "2026-09-14",
  "agencies": ["Health and Human Services Department", "Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services"],
  "citation": "91 FR 43842",
  "docket_ids": ["CMS-1834-P"],
  "executive_order_number": null,
  "president": null,
  "significant": true,
  "regulations_dot_gov_url": "https://www.regulations.gov/...",
  "html_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/07/16/2026-13842/...",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-07-16/pdf/2026-13842.pdf"
}
```

### Run it on a schedule

Set `publishedAfter` to yesterday (or `commentsOpenOnly`) and run daily to track new regulations, executive orders or open comment periods — pipe changes to Slack, email, a webhook or a compliance dashboard.

### Notes & limitations

- Official **Federal Register API** — public US government documents.
- A single query is capped at 10,000 documents by the API (narrow with filters for more coverage).
- `commentsOpenOnly` is applied over a newest-first scan; pair it with `documentTypes: ["Proposed Rule"]` for best results.
- Data source: Federal Register (National Archives / GPO).

***

#### Keywords

Federal Register, federal regulations, executive orders, proposed rules, final rules, agency notices, regulatory monitoring, compliance, rulemaking, public comment, government documents, policy tracking, legal research, lobbying, government affairs, presidential documents, proclamations, CFR, regulations.gov, US government data.

# Actor input Schema

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

Full-text search, e.g. "artificial intelligence", "emissions", "tariff". Leave empty to browse by the filters below.

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

Which document types to include. Leave empty for all types.

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

Only applies when 'Presidential Document' is selected. Filter to executive orders, proclamations, etc.

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

Filter by agency slug, e.g. "environmental-protection-agency", "food-and-drug-administration", "securities-and-exchange-commission". Find slugs at federalregister.gov/agencies.

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

Only documents published on/after this date (YYYY-MM-DD).

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

Only documents published on/before this date (YYYY-MM-DD).

## `commentsOpenOnly` (type: `boolean`):

Only documents whose public comment period is still open (comment deadline today or later). Great for tracking rules you can still comment on.

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

Sort order of results.

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

How many documents to fetch (Federal Register caps a single query at 10,000).

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "documentTypes": [],
  "presidentialDocumentType": "any",
  "commentsOpenOnly": false,
  "order": "newest",
  "maxResults": 200
}
```

# 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("straightforward_hydra/federal-register-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 = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("straightforward_hydra/federal-register-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"])
for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).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 straightforward_hydra/federal-register-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "mcp-remote",
                "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=straightforward_hydra/federal-register-scraper",
                "--header",
                "Authorization: Bearer <YOUR_API_TOKEN>"
            ]
        }
    }
}

```

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/EFcFJY65Trj1jmmvQ/builds/efqd6Jta1W27uv62l/openapi.json