Free and Low Cost Legal Research Guide

Think beyond Lexis, Westlaw & Bloomberg Law. This guides identifies resources for free or low cost legal research.

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Free Sources of Administrative Regulations

Regulations are also available on the web, although typically only current and recent versions. Regulations are also not directly linked to relevant statutory authority, although some sources allow searching by code section. See help pages on individual sites for search techniques. For information about finding relevant regulations and administrative law generally, please see our Administrative Law Research Guide.

Code of Federal Regulations

Source Dates Notes
e-CFR Unofficial version but updated daily Browsable and searchable by keyword, as well as CFR citation and relevant U.S. Code section.
GovInfo Official print versions from 1996 - present Browsable and searchable by keyword and CFR citation. To search the full text of the CFR, use the advanced search interface. Update using the List of Sections Affected.
Legal Information Institute Current print version (with links to more recent amendments) Browsable and searchable by citation.

Federal Register

Source Dates Notes
GovInfo 1994 - present Browsable and searchable by keyword. To search the full text of the Federal Register, use the advanced search interface.
FederalRegister.gov 1994 - present Filter search results by agency, topic (C.F.R. indexing terms), or type of document. Search by index.
Regulations.gov Current proposed regulations open for comment Includes a form for submitting comments.
Library of Congress 1936 (v.1) - 1993 (v.58) Digitized version of the print Federal Register offered as PDF. Browsable by volume.

State Administrative Regulations

Online access to state materials varies widely. Please consult our state research guides for information about individual jurisdictions.

Other Helpful Resources for Administrative Regulations

  • Library of Congress Guide to Administrative Law: This guide provides techniques and recommended resources to help familiarize users with administrative Law.
  • LLSDC Research Guide to FR and CFR: This guide provides information a wide variety of US administrative law information. This information includes but is not limited to information on the historical development of the Federal Register and Code of Federal Regulations, as well as information on electronic and physical access to administrative materials.