Office of the Federal Register (OFR)

The Administrative Committee of the Federal Register (ACFR)

ACFR Background

The ACFR was established in 1935 under the Federal Register Act (FRA; 44 U.S.C. Chapter 15) as a permanent executive/legislative branch authority charged with overseeing the functions of the Federal Register publication system. View our publications

Membership

The ACFR consists of (see § 1506):

  • The Archivist of the United States, who serves as Chair of the ACFR,
  • The Director of the Government Publishing Office (GPO)
  • An appointee of the Attorney General.
  • The Director of the Federal Register, who serves as the Secretary of the ACFR

Mission

The mission of the ACFR is to ensure that the legislative mandates of the Federal public information statutes, including the FRA, the Administrative Procedure Act, and the Freedom of Information Act are carried out by maintaining a uniform system for filing and publishing regulatory material and Presidential documents, and by ensuring that the public has ready access to the essential regulatory and organizational information of the United States Government.

The ACFR has rulemaking authority to set prices, to prescribe the manner and form of Federal Register publication and distribution to customers, and to ensure proper organization of materials and codification of amendments. The ACFR's regulations, published in 1 CFR Chapter 1, are subject to the approval of the President, who has delegated this authority jointly to the Archivist and the Attorney General (E.O. 10530, 19 FR 2709).

The ACFR also participates in fulfilling the legislative mandate of the GPO Access legislation (44 U.S.C. 4101) by authorizing official pdf formats for the Federal Register and annual CFR as the official legal equivalents of the printed editions on GovInfo.gov. In addition, the ACFR has officially authorized publication of other Federal Register publications in electronic formats. The electronic editions of ACFR publications are prepared and published by the OFR in partnership with GPO. The ACFR has also endorsed a web format of the Federal Register on FederalRegister.gov and a web format of the CFR, updated daily, known as the eCFR.

The Director of the Federal Register has the legal authority to implement and enforce ACFR regulations under a general delegation of authority from the ACFR (1 CFR 2.4). By means of this delegation, the Director of the Federal Register and the staff of the OFR exercise day-to-day responsibility for Federal Register operations and publication policy.

Contact Information

Address all inquiries concerning the ACFR to the OFR.

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