How a federal rule is made, and how you can comment on one

Congress passes laws, and federal agencies write many of the detailed rules that put them into effect. For many of those rules, federal law requires a three-step process: the agency publishes a proposal, the public comments on it, and the agency issues a final rule that explains its reasoning. The process is set out in section 553 of title 5 of the U.S. Code.

Step 1: the proposal

Proposed rules appear in the Federal Register, which the govinfo help page describes as "the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices" of federal agencies. It is published Monday through Friday, except federal holidays, by the Office of the Federal Register at the National Archives and Records Administration.

Under the law, the notice of a proposed rule must include a statement of the time, place and nature of the proceedings, a reference to the legal authority for the rule, and either the terms or substance of the proposal or a description of the subjects and issues involved. It must also give the internet address of a plain-language summary of no more than 100 words, posted on regulations.gov.

An example is open now. On October 27, 2026, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services published a proposal requiring eligibility checks before marketplace enrollees receive premium tax credits, starting with 2028 plans. Its public file, called a docket, is CMS-2026-3367 on regulations.gov. Our report on the proposal explains what it would change.

Step 2: public comments

After the notice, the agency must "give interested persons an opportunity to participate in the rule making through submission of written data, views, or arguments," with or without a chance to speak in person. Each proposal states its own deadline and the ways to submit.

Assume that what you send will be public. The CMS proposal, for example, says all comments received before the close of the comment period "are available for viewing by the public." Leave out account numbers, medical details or anything else you would not want posted.

Some proposals also offer a public hearing. For the IRS premium tax credit proposal, people who want to speak at the December 8 hearing must send requests and outlines of their topics by November 30, and the hearing will be canceled if no outlines are received by then. Requests to attend must arrive by 5 p.m. Eastern time on December 4.

The law asks for "data, views, or arguments." A comment that explains, with facts, how a proposal would affect your household, business or community gives the agency specific material to consider when it reviews "the relevant matter presented."

Step 3: the final rule

After considering the comments, the agency must include in the final rule "a concise general statement of their basis and purpose." A substantive rule must generally be published at least 30 days before it takes effect. The exceptions include rules that grant an exemption or relieve a restriction, interpretative rules and statements of policy, and cases where the agency finds good cause and publishes that finding with the rule.

Under the Congressional Review Act, before a rule can take effect the agency must send a report on it to each house of Congress and to the Comptroller General. A major rule generally takes effect no earlier than 60 days after Congress receives the report or the rule is published in the Federal Register, whichever is later, and a rule cannot take effect, or continue in effect, if Congress enacts a joint resolution disapproving it.

Most rules are then codified in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).

When the steps can be skipped

The notice-and-comment requirement does not cover everything. The law excludes military and foreign affairs functions, and matters relating to agency management or personnel, or to public property, loans, grants, benefits or contracts. Unless another law requires notice or a hearing, notice is also not required for interpretative rules, general statements of policy, or rules of agency organization, procedure or practice.

An agency can also skip notice when it finds, for good cause, that notice and public procedure would be "impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest." It must include that finding, with a brief statement of its reasons, in the rule it issues.

Asking for a rule yourself

The process does not run only one way. The law requires each agency to give interested persons "the right to petition for the issuance, amendment, or repeal of a rule."

Where to follow rules

• The Federal Register, published every business day, carries proposed rules, final rules, notices and presidential documents such as executive orders.
• Regulations.gov hosts rulemaking dockets, such as CMS-2026-3367, and is where the law requires plain-language summaries of proposals to be posted.
• The Code of Federal Regulations contains most rules once they are final.