# Federal Register Scraper - Rules, Notices & Regulations (`thirdwatch/federal-register-scraper`) Actor

Search the official Federal Register API. Export rules, proposed rules, notices, executive documents, agencies, abstracts, dates, citations, and source URLs.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/thirdwatch/federal-register-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Thirdwatch](https://apify.com/thirdwatch) (community)
- **Categories:** Education, Business
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 0.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.00 / 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.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

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 Scraper

> Search Federal Register rules, proposed rules, notices, and presidential documents with agencies, dates, citations, and official links.

### What you get

Create a structured feed of United States federal regulatory documents by topic, agency, type, and publication date. Each row preserves the identifiers and official links needed for compliance monitoring, policy research, comment-period tracking, and source-backed reporting.

### Output fields

| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| `document_number` | Official Federal Register document number |
| `title` | Published document title |
| `type` | Rule, proposed rule, notice, or presidential document |
| `subtype` | More specific document category when available |
| `abstract` | Published abstract |
| `action` | Agency action statement |
| `dates` | Published dates statement |
| `publication_date` | Publication date |
| `effective_on` | Effective date when supplied |
| `comments_close_on` | Public-comment deadline when supplied |
| `citation` | Federal Register citation |
| `volume` | Federal Register volume |
| `start_page` / `end_page` | Printed page range |
| `agencies` | Publishing agency names |
| `agency_slugs` | Agency identifiers used for filtering |
| `docket_ids` | Associated docket identifiers |
| `regulation_id_numbers` | Regulation Identifier Numbers |
| `html_url` | Official HTML document |
| `pdf_url` | Official PDF document |
| `public_inspection_pdf_url` | Public-inspection PDF when available |
| `query` | Search term used |
| `source` | Source name |

### Example output

```json
{
  "document_number": "2026-13742",
  "title": "Request for Information on Artificial Intelligence",
  "type": "Notice",
  "publication_date": "2026-07-17",
  "comments_close_on": "2026-09-15",
  "citation": "91 FR 32514",
  "agencies": ["Department of Commerce"],
  "docket_ids": ["DOC-2026-0042"],
  "html_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/07/17/2026-13742",
  "query": "artificial intelligence"
}
```

### Input parameters

| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `queries` | No | Full-text search terms. Defaults to `artificial intelligence`. |
| `documentTypes` | No | Any combination of `RULE`, `PRORULE`, `NOTICE`, and `PRESDOCU`. |
| `agencies` | No | Agency slugs such as `environmental-protection-agency`. |
| `publicationFrom` | No | Earliest publication date in `YYYY-MM-DD` format. |
| `publicationTo` | No | Latest publication date in `YYYY-MM-DD` format. |
| `sort` | No | `newest`, `oldest`, or `relevance`. Defaults to `newest`. |
| `maxResultsPerQuery` | No | Maximum unique documents per search term. Defaults to 10. |

### Use cases

- Compliance teams: watch final and proposed rules for relevant obligations.
- Government-affairs teams: track agency activity and public-comment windows.
- Legal researchers: collect citations, dockets, dates, and source documents.
- Journalists and developers: build scheduled, topic-specific regulatory feeds.

### Limitations

Not every document includes an abstract, effective date, comment deadline, docket, or public-inspection PDF. Documents may be corrected or withdrawn after publication. Treat the linked official document as authoritative for legal or compliance decisions.

### Compared to alternatives

Compared with `crawlerbros/federal-register-scraper`, this Actor accepts multiple search terms in one run and uses a low 10-result first-run default. Compared with `foo121/federal-register-scraper`, it includes presidential documents, public-inspection PDF links, printed page ranges, and multi-query deduplication at a lower base result price at publication. Check live Store pricing before a large run.

### FAQ

#### Which document type should I choose?

Use `RULE` for final rules, `PRORULE` for proposed rules, `NOTICE` for agency notices, and `PRESDOCU` for presidential documents. Leave the field empty to include all types.

#### How do I find an agency slug?

Open the agency page on federalregister.gov and use the final URL segment, such as `securities-and-exchange-commission`.

#### Can I create daily compliance alerts?

Yes. Save a narrow date-filtered input as an Apify Task and schedule it, then send new dataset rows to your alerting system.

Explore more data products at [thirdwatch.dev](https://thirdwatch.dev). Related Thirdwatch Actors: [SEC EDGAR Scraper](https://apify.com/thirdwatch/sec-edgar-scraper), [Google News Scraper](https://apify.com/thirdwatch/google-news-scraper), and [Google Search Scraper](https://apify.com/thirdwatch/google-search-scraper).

Last verified: 2026-07

# Actor input Schema

## `queries` (type: `array`):

Terms to search across Federal Register documents.

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

Optional Federal Register document-type filters.

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

Optional agency slugs, for example environmental-protection-agency.

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

Optional YYYY-MM-DD start date.

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

Optional YYYY-MM-DD end date.

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

Order documents using the official API's newest, oldest, or relevance mode.

## `maxResultsPerQuery` (type: `integer`):

Stop after this many unique documents for each search term.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "queries": [
    "artificial intelligence"
  ],
  "documentTypes": [],
  "agencies": [],
  "sort": "newest",
  "maxResultsPerQuery": 10
}
```

# Actor output Schema

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

No description

# 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 = {
    "queries": [
        "artificial intelligence"
    ],
    "sort": "newest",
    "maxResultsPerQuery": 10
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("thirdwatch/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 = {
    "queries": ["artificial intelligence"],
    "sort": "newest",
    "maxResultsPerQuery": 10,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("thirdwatch/federal-register-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 '{
  "queries": [
    "artificial intelligence"
  ],
  "sort": "newest",
  "maxResultsPerQuery": 10
}' |
apify call thirdwatch/federal-register-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,thirdwatch/federal-register-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/IKRdrCCw2aaCcT0JI/builds/oct4HAbL8ctxfjr9r/openapi.json