Government Shutdown FAQs

If there is a question regarding your agency's or office's status under the Antideficiency Act, consult with your Office of General Counsel.  We have no idea what your status is until you tell us.  Once you have determined your status, select the appropriate exception letter for each document you send and include adequate justification.

If your agency is UNFUNDED and you wish to transmit a document to the OFR during an appropriations lapse, you must attach an exception letter (you may include additional special handling instructions in that letter, if necessary) to the document which states that publication in the Federal Register is necessary to:

• safeguard human life,
• protect property, or
• provide other emergency services consistent with the performance of functions and services exempted under the Antideficiency Act.

(If it is not obvious that publication in the Federal Register is legally required, state this requirement.) 

We have created a letter template _{(updated September 14, 2023)} for you to use.

If your agency is FUNDED and you wish to submit a document to the OFR during an appropriations lapse, you must attach an exception letter (you may include additional special handling instructions in that letter, if necessary) to the document which certifies that:

publication in the Federal Register is:

• required or
• the only viable option and
• delaying publication until the end of the appropriations lapse would prevent or significantly damage the execution of funded functions at your agency.

We have created a letter template _{(updated September 14, 2023)} for you to use.

Documents that are on public inspection will publish as scheduled.  They will not be impacted by a shutdown.  You do not need to send an exception letter.

Documents that have an assigned publication date will go on public inspection and publish as scheduled.  They will not be impacted by a shutdown.  You do not need to send an exception letter. 

If our editors are close to finishing a document already in the system, they may finish as part of the standard shutdown procedures during the first 4 hours of a shutdown.  After that period, any document not assigned a publication date, that does not meet an exception, will remain pending until the government is fully funded. 

If the document qualifies for processing under an exception to the Antideficiency Act, you must send us an exception letter before we can resume editing it for publication.

If you already have a webportal account, you may continue to use the webportal to submit documents, as long as the documents are accompanied by an exception letter (sent as you would a regular special handling letter).  If we receive a document through the webportal without an exception letter, we will kill the document.  Our system will send a notification to the email address your agency has on file.  If your agency uses a group email box, make sure it is monitored.

During an appropriations lapse, do NOT use U.S. Mail to send us documents.  We cannot guarantee that we will receive it until after the Federal Government resumes operations.

We will be receiving FedEx and UPS deliveries as usual.  For hand-delivered documents, make sure to visit our OFR Hours and Locations page, which will contain any special instructions (if any) for accessing the GPO building.  

Yes, you need an exception letter for each of your documents and each letter must contain sufficient legal justification to explain why: 

• the specific document is an exception to the Antideficiency Act (unfunded agencies); or
• delaying publication until the end of the appropriations lapse would prevent or significantly damage the execution of funded functions at the agency (funded agencies).

If you do not include a letter, we will refuse to accept your document and treat it as legally insufficient for publication at the time of receipt.  (You will be able to re-send the document for publication after the government resumes full operations but, if the document is digitally-signed, the document must be re-signed before you can re-transmit through the webportal.) 

We will not accept a document for publication if it does not meet an exception to the Antideficiency Act.  The only way we will know if it meets an exception is if you explain how in an accompanying letter.  

• If you try to submit in paper, we will set your package aside and when we have funding, we will notify your liaison that we did not accept the document for publication.  Your agency can resubmit the document at an appropriate time.
• If you try to submit through the webportal, we will kill the document and the system will send an automatically-generated email to the liaison address associated with your agency.  Your agency can resubmit the document at an appropriate time.

We have provided templates for both unfunded and funded agencies to use. Using the appropriate template:

• state why your document must be published in the Federal Register, or
• state why publication in the Federal Register is the only viable option; and 

UNFUNDED AGENCIES

• explain how publication of the document at this time is necessary to address imminent threats to the safety of human life or protection of property. 

FUNDED AGENCIES

• state that the document supports funded function or function(s) and include details of the function(s) if necessary; and
• certify that a delay in publication would prevent or significantly damage the execution of the function(s):
  • show that a delay at this time (as opposed to next week or next month or some later date) would have the adverse effect; and
  • describe that adverse effect

Since exception letters are nothing more than specialized special handling letters, sign the letter as you would a special handling letter.  See OFR letter and signature requirements for more information.

As with non-excepted documents, all IBR requests will remain pending and will not be processed during a shutdown.  If you believe that IBR review is required, you may use the appropriate exception letter template but change the request from publication to IBR review.  However, you will also have to show that the document is ready for publication and will be transmitted (with its own publication exception letter) as soon as the IBR is approved.

See What do I need to include in my exception letter? for more information about the requirements for funded and unfunded exception letters.

The secure ftp server will remain accessible during a shutdown, so you may upload a request at any time.  However, we will not begin review of a new request until after the government resumes normal operations unless you attach an exception letter (use the appropriate exception letter template and modify it to request IBR review instead of publication) to the email notifying us of your new request.

See What do I need to include in my exception letter? for more information about the requirements for funded and unfunded exception letters.

We have no connection with comments, comment periods, Regulations.gov, or FDM. We simply allow users of FederalRegister.gov to send comments to Regulations.gov without leaving the site and accept data provided from Regulations.gov to display on the site.

GSA is the agency that oversees Regulations.gov and FDMS. The FDMS helpdesk should be able to answer questions about availability during a shutdown.

We have no way to know how any particular comment period is impacted by a government shutdown. There is nothing in the Federal Register Act, Administrative Procedure Act, or Antideficiency Act that says all comment periods are automatically paused or that they must be extended.

Pausing or delaying the start of a comment period may not be necessary if the public is still able to send in comments - even if those comments are not immediately posted publicly. Discuss the circumstances of your rulemaking with your agency's attorneys to determine what action, if any, is necessary during a shutdown.

We cannot do anything without explicit instructions from the issuing agency, including pausing, extending, or re-opening comment periods. If your agency chooses to pause, extend, or re-open a comment period for any reason (including to account for a shutdown), and you want that reflected on FederalRegister.gov, you must publish a document in the Federal Register announcing that fact.  It is up to your agency to decide if publication is necessary or if it's acceptable to accept late comments.  (In order to accept late comments, verify that the FDMS (or other system) docket settings allow for that action.) 

federalregister.gov receives an automated feed from the Government Publishing Office (GPO).  As long as nothing breaks with the feed or on the site, you can continue to see the daily Federal Register and public inspection list.  However, we can only ensure that the site is secure and functional.  So, if there are problems with specific documents (formatting, metadata, hyperlinks, etc.), they may be unresolved until our funding is restored.  You can always find the official Federal Register in pdf at www.govinfo.gov.  If the public inspection list on www.federalregister.gov fails, we will post an alternative from our Public Inspection Documents page when possible.  Remember: The official public inspection list is maintained in our office.

ecfr.gov will not be updated.  Daily codification is not required under the Federal Register Act, so updating the eCFR does not meet an exception under the Antideficiency Act.  We will resume updating the site when our funding is restored.

We will continue to support OFR's webportal for digital document transmission.  If there is a problem with the webportal, we will work to address it just as we would if the government were fully funded.  You will be able to reset passwords using the links provided on the webportal website.  However, you will only be able to request an account if you are a designated Federal Register liaison officer or if one of your agency's Federal Register liaison officers is working and available to approve your request.  Further, there may be a delay in processing any requests to create accounts.  

If we require a letter to update or change the status of a publication request (like emergency filing or immediate publication) or to correct or withdraw a document, you must email us a signed letter on agency letterhead. If you cannot email the letter, please contact our office to discuss possible alternatives.  We cannot accept these letters through the webportal.  To email the letter:

• Use the appropriate letter template.
• Make sure the name in the signature block and the signature name match:
  • Paper letters –
    • Print and sign your letter. Then,
    • Scan the letter and save it as a .pdf file; or
  • Electronic letters – using your PIV card (or other official Federal digital signature) digitally sign a:
    • .pdf file with a visible signature; or
    • .docx file with an invisible signature.
• Email the file to the OFR's general scheduling email, even if you have already been in touch with a member of the Scheduling unit.

OFR’s standard signature policies apply to letters withdrawing or correcting documents. An employee with authority to submit Federal Register documents must sign this letter and that signature must match the name on the letter; usually this is your agency’s Liaison Officer.  If your agency’s Liaison Officer or alternate is not available to sign the letter, contact OFR’s Scheduling Unit to verify the authority of the signer.