The Code of Federal Regulations is the collection of general and permanent regulations promulgated by administrative agencies. The entire code is updated in print form and on the website of the Government Publishing Office on an annual basis. As regulations are often changed, we recommend consulting the regularly updated eCFR linked below. Once you do so, make sure to consult the Federal Register and List of CFR Sections Affected to make sure you have found the most current version of a given regulation.
The Lexis and Westlaw versions of the CFR include helpful links to related cases and secondary sources. These are useful to understand how case law may have altered a given regulation and how it fits into a wider area of law.
The Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR) is a continually updated online version of the CFR:
Note that while this continually updated resource is very useful, the eCFR should not be relied on without doing additional research. The offices responsible for the eCFR advise that: "those relying on it for legal research should verify their results against the most current official edition of the CFR, the daily Federal Register, and the List of CFR Sections Affected (LSA)." These, as well as a guide to the eCFR, are available below:
Versions of the CFR which include links to cases, administrative decisions, and secondary sources that mention a given regulation are available on Lexis and Westlaw:
Older versions of the CFR can be found on a variety of sites. The Goverment Publishing Office's GovInfro site includes coverage from 1996-present:
The HeinOnline and ProQuest Regulatory Insight collections include every CFR, from the first edition published in 1938:
Historical editions of the CFR are also available on Lexis and Westlaw:
