Federal Regulations

The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation :

• Rule 14: Administrative and Executive Materials
• Rule 14.2, Rules, Regulations, and Other Publications

Example: Federal Register (Fed. Reg.) citation:

Importation of Fruits and Vegetables, 60 Fed. Reg. 50,379 (Sept. 29, 1995)

60 = Volume of the Federal Register
Fed. Reg. = Bluebook abbreviation for the Federal Register
50379 = Page number in Volume 60 of the Federal Register
Sept. 29, 1995 = Date of Federal Register issue
 

Example: Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) citation:

FTC Credit Practices Rule, 16 C.F.R. § 444.1 (2024)

16 = Title 16, Commercial Practices, volume of the C.F.R.
C.F.R. = Bluebook abbreviation for the Code of Federal Regulations
§444.1 = Section of the C.F.R
(2024) = Year of the C.F.R. volume

• C.F.R. / CFR
  (Code of Federal Regulations)

• Fed. Reg. / FR
  (Federal Register)

• ANPRM
  (Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking)

• APA
  (Administrative Procedure Act)

• EO / Exec. Order
  (Executive Order)

• NPRM
  (Notice of Proposed Rulemaking)

• RFC
  (Request for Comments)

• RIN
  (Regulation Identifier Number)

Recommended sources for deciphering acronyms and abbreviations:

• Prince's Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations: A Reference Guide for Attorneys, Legal Secretaries, Paralegals, and Law Students
• GovSpeak: A Guide to U.S. Government Acronyms and Abbreviations (UC San Diego Library)