Up-To-Date Code of Federal Regulations and a Look Under Our Hood

Back in September, we started a new technical blog, LII Under the Hood, to give you a peek at how the engine driving this web machine works. There, we show you how our team of engineers develops new features, tackles challenges and maintains its sanity in the process. Our publicly documented foray into feature development begins with a pretty exciting project: a new, regularly up-to-date eCFR.

One of the LII’s most-used collections is the Code of Federal Regulations, which is an online version of the official compilation of the regulations published in the Federal Register. Our edition has lots of useful features, but we’ve regularly gotten one big complaint: it’s out of date (our online text is based on the published book, which can be up to a full year behind).

The Office of the Federal Register and the GPO have made available, in bulk, a machine-readable (XML) text of the eCFR, the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. We’re currently incorporating enhanced indentation, standard enumerator formatting and hyperlinks from each regulation to the point in the U.S. Code which provides the basis for its rule-making authority. With the help of beta-testers, we’ll be adding other useful features to the new data format over the coming months. Rest assured: while we’re renovating, “CFR Classic” will continue to be available.

Until then, enjoy unprecedented access to the most current version of the eCFR, and follow its development at LII Under the Hood. Let us know what you think!