Federal Register API: Search rules and notices
Find Federal Register rules, proposed rules, notices, and presidential documents by topic, agency, publication dates, and comment status. Significant means designated significant by the source; documents without that designation show no.
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Inputs
Values from the run on Oct 31, 2026, shown under Output.
- Sort optional
sort Order documents by newest publication date or relevance, for example "newest".
relevance
One of
newest,relevance. Defaultnewest.- Topic, required
topic Words to search in Federal Register documents, for example "overtime pay".
PFAS drinking water
- Agency optional
agency Publishing agency name or abbreviation, for example "Department of Labor" or "EPA".
EPA
- Max Results optional
max_results Maximum documents to return, for example 20; defaults to 20 (up to 100).
5
Whole number from 1 to 100. Default
20.- Document Type optional
document_type Kind of document, for example "proposed_rule"; defaults to any.
proposed_rule
One of
any,final_rule,proposed_rule,notice,presidential_document. Defaultany.- Published After optional
published_after Earliest publication date (inclusive, YYYY-MM-DD), for example "2025-09-29"; defaults to 12 months ago.
2025-09-29
- Published Before optional
published_before Latest publication date (inclusive, YYYY-MM-DD), for example "2026-09-29"; defaults to today.
2026-09-29
- Open for Comment Only optional
open_for_comment_only Return only documents whose comment period is still open, for example true; defaults to false.
false (default)
True or false.
Input as JSON
{ "sort": "relevance", "topic": "PFAS drinking water", "agency": "EPA", "max_results": 5, "document_type": "proposed_rule", "published_after": "2025-09-29", "published_before": "2026-09-29"}Output
{ "documents": [ { "rin": "2040-AG49", "title": "Extending the Compliance Deadline for the PFOA and PFOS Maximum Contaminant Levels", "summary": "In this proposed rulemaking, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes a federal exemption, pursuant to Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) 1416(f) and 1450(a)(1), that will extend the dates of compliance with the Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfl…", "agencies": [ "Environmental Protection Agency" ], "pdf_link": "https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-05-20/pdf/2026-10086.pdf" , "document_type": "Proposed Rule", "effective_date": null, "document_number": "2026-10086", "comment_deadline": "2026-07-20", "publication_date": "2026-05-20", "significant_rule": true, "open_for_comment_now": false, "federal_register_link": "https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/20/2026-10086/extending-the-compliance-deadline-for-the-pfoa-and-pfos-maximum-contaminant-levels" , "regulations_gov_comment_link": null }, { "rin": "2040-AG53", "title": "Rescission of Regulatory Determinations and Removal of Related Provisions for Four PFAS Substances (PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA (GenX), and the Mixture of These Three PFAS Plus PFBS)", "summary": "The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to rescind its regulatory determinations to regulate four per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)--perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid and its ammonium salt (HFPO-DA, comm…", "agencies": [ "Environmental Protection Agency" ], "pdf_link": "https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-05-20/pdf/2026-10085.pdf" , "document_type": "Proposed Rule", "effective_date": null, "document_number": "2026-10085", "comment_deadline": "2026-07-20", "publication_date": "2026-05-20", "significant_rule": true, "open_for_comment_now": false, "federal_register_link": "https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/20/2026-10085/rescission-of-regulatory-determinations-and-removal-of-related-provisions-for-four-pfas-substances" , "regulations_gov_comment_link": null }, { "rin": null, "title": "Drinking Water Contaminant Candidate List 6-Draft", "summary": "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is publishing a draft list of contaminants that are currently not subject to any proposed or promulgated national primary drinking water regulations for public review and comment. These contaminants are known or anticipated to occur in public water syst…", "agencies": [ "Environmental Protection Agency" ], "pdf_link": "https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-04-06/pdf/2026-06662.pdf" , "document_type": "Proposed Rule", "effective_date": null, "document_number": "2026-06662", "comment_deadline": "2026-06-05", "publication_date": "2026-04-06", "significant_rule": false, "open_for_comment_now": false, "federal_register_link": "https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/04/06/2026-06662/drinking-water-contaminant-candidate-list-6-draft" , "regulations_gov_comment_link": null } ]}Code
curl https://api.fous.com/v1/runs \ -H "Authorization: Bearer $FOUS_API_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"method":"federalregister.gov/search_rules","input":{"sort":"relevance","topic":"PFAS drinking water","agency":"EPA","max_results":5,"document_type":"proposed_rule","published_after":"2025-09-29","published_before":"2026-09-29"}}' # Save as fous.py, then run: python3 fous.pyimport json, os, timefrom urllib.error import HTTPErrorfrom urllib.request import Request, urlopenAPI = "https://api.fous.com/v1/runs" KEY = os.environ["FOUS_API_KEY"]HEADERS = { "Authorization": f"Bearer {KEY}", "Content-Type": "application/json" ,}def call(url, body=None): data = json.dumps(body).encode() if body else None request = Request(url, data, HEADERS) try: with urlopen(request, timeout=120) as r: return r.status, json.load(r) except HTTPError as error: message = json.load(error)["error"]["message"] raise RuntimeError(message) from errorstatus, run = call(API, { "method": "federalregister.gov/search_rules" , "input": { "sort": "relevance", "topic": "PFAS drinking water", "agency": "EPA", "max_results": 5, "document_type": "proposed_rule", "published_after": "2025-09-29", "published_before": "2026-09-29" }})# 202: still going after 30 s. Ask again until it ends.while status == 202: time.sleep(2) status, run = call(f"{API}/{run['id']}")print(json.dumps(run["data"], indent=2))// Save as fous.mjs, then run: node fous.mjsconst api = "https://api.fous.com/v1/runs" ;const headers = { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.FOUS_API_KEY}`, "Content-Type": "application/json" ,};let response = await fetch(api, { method: "POST", headers, body: JSON.stringify({ "method": "federalregister.gov/search_rules" , "input": { "sort": "relevance", "topic": "PFAS drinking water", "agency": "EPA", "max_results": 5, "document_type": "proposed_rule", "published_after": "2025-09-29", "published_before": "2026-09-29" } }), signal: AbortSignal.timeout(120_000),});let run = await response.json();// 202: still going after 30 s. Ask again until it ends.while (response.status === 202) { await new Promise((done) => setTimeout(done, 2_000)); response = await fetch(`${api}/${run.id}`, { headers }); run = await response.json();}if (!response.ok) throw new Error(run.error.message);console.log(run.data);# Connect your agent to Fous once, over MCP (Streamable HTTP):# https://api.fous.com/mcp# Set FOUS_API_KEY first: create a key at https://app.fous.com/keys.# Claude Codeclaude mcp add \ --scope user \ --transport http fous https://api.fous.com/mcp \ --header "Authorization: Bearer ${FOUS_API_KEY:?Set FOUS_API_KEY to your Fous API key}"# Codexcodex mcp add fous \ --url https://api.fous.com/mcp \ --bearer-token-env-var FOUS_API_KEY# Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf, Cline and morenpx -y add-mcp https://api.fous.com/mcp -g -n fous \ --header "Authorization: Bearer ${FOUS_API_KEY:?Set FOUS_API_KEY to your Fous API key}"# Then ask your agent:# "Use Fous to run federalregister.gov/search_rules# with {"sort":"relevance","topic":"PFAS drinking water","agency":"EPA","max_results":5,"document_type":"proposed_rule","published_after":"2025-09-29","published_before":"2026-09-29"}"Over HTTP, the answer’s data holds the output. A run still going after 30 seconds answers 202 with its id: ask GET /v1/runs/{id} until it ends.
Schema
Input schema
{ "type": "object", "required": [ "topic" ], "properties": { "sort": { "enum": [ "newest", "relevance" ], "type": "string", "default": "newest", "description": "Order documents by newest publication date or relevance, for example \"newest\"." }, "topic": { "type": "string", "minLength": 1, "description": "Words to search in Federal Register documents, for example \"overtime pay\"." }, "agency": { "type": "string", "description": "Publishing agency name or abbreviation, for example \"Department of Labor\" or \"EPA\"." }, "max_results": { "type": "integer", "default": 20, "maximum": 100, "minimum": 1, "description": "Maximum documents to return, for example 20; defaults to 20 (up to 100)." }, "document_type": { "enum": [ "any", "final_rule", "proposed_rule", "notice", "presidential_document" ], "type": "string", "default": "any", "description": "Kind of document, for example \"proposed_rule\"; defaults to any." }, "published_after": { "type": "string", "description": "Earliest publication date (inclusive, YYYY-MM-DD), for example \"2025-09-29\"; defaults to 12 months ago." }, "published_before": { "type": "string", "description": "Latest publication date (inclusive, YYYY-MM-DD), for example \"2026-09-29\"; defaults to today." }, "open_for_comment_only": { "type": "boolean", "default": false, "description": "Return only documents whose comment period is still open, for example true; defaults to false." } }}Output schema
{ "type": "object", "required": [ "documents" ], "properties": { "documents": { "type": "array", "items": { "type": "object", "required": [ "title", "agencies", "document_type", "publication_date", "effective_date", "comment_deadline", "open_for_comment_now", "summary", "significant_rule", "regulations_gov_comment_link", "pdf_link", "federal_register_link", "document_number", "rin" ], "properties": { "rin": { "type": [ "string", "null" ], "description": "Regulation Identifier Number or numbers, if listed." }, "title": { "type": "string", "description": "Document title." }, "summary": { "type": [ "string", "null" ], "description": "Plain-text document abstract, if available." }, "agencies": { "type": "array", "items": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Publishing agencies by name." }, "pdf_link": { "type": [ "string", "null" ], "description": "Official document PDF, if available." }, "document_type": { "type": "string", "description": "Document type in words." }, "effective_date": { "type": [ "string", "null" ], "description": "Date the rule takes effect, if listed." }, "document_number": { "type": [ "string", "null" ], "description": "Federal Register document number." }, "comment_deadline": { "type": [ "string", "null" ], "description": "Last day for public comments, if listed." }, "publication_date": { "type": "string", "description": "Date published." }, "significant_rule": { "type": "boolean", "description": "Whether the document is marked significant." }, "open_for_comment_now": { "type": "boolean", "description": "Whether the listed comment deadline has not passed." }, "federal_register_link": { "type": "string", "description": "Document page on FederalRegister.gov." }, "regulations_gov_comment_link": { "type": [ "string", "null" ], "description": "Direct Regulations.gov comment page, if available." } } }, "description": "Matching documents." } }}- Price
- 1 credit per completed run (1¢ with pay as you go); failed runs are free.
- Method
federalregister.gov/search_rules- Returns
- title, agencies, document type, publication/effective/comment dates, open for comment, summary, significant, comment link, PDF and page links, document number, RIN
Use it from your agent
Give your agent this line. It reads SKILL.md, gets a Fous API key and connects the Fous MCP server. Its run then takes the method federalregister.gov/search_rules with the inputs above.
Ask your agent
- Find proposed rules from the EPA on PFAS drinking water limits that are still open for public comment, with the comment deadline and the link to submit comments.
- What final rules has the Department of Labor published about overtime pay since January 2024? Give me effective dates and the RIN for each.
- Search federalregister.gov for notices about offshore wind lease sales from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, published between 2023-06-01 and 2024-12-31, sorted by relevance.
- List the 50 most recent presidential documents mentioning artificial intelligence, including document numbers and PDF links.
- I need FAA proposed rules on drone operations beyond visual line of sight from the Federal Register. Tell me which are marked significant and whether comments are still being accepted.
See more
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npr.org/search_news