Federal Register API

Search Federal Register rules, notices and presidential documents, and read public inspection filings, as JSON.

The API.SH Federal Register API returns US Federal Register data as JSON. Search published documents by full text with filters for type, agency, publication, effective and comment-closing dates, docket, RIN, CFR title and part and significance, open one document with its dates, agencies, dockets, CFR references and optional full text, list documents on public inspection before they are published, and look up agencies.

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4 endpoints
from $1 / 1,000 calls
1,000 free credits / month
failed calls free

Federal Register document search

GET https://api.api.sh/federal-register/v1/search

{ "success": true }

1 credit · $1 per 1,000 calls

What you can build with the Federal Register API

Regulatory monitoring

Search new rules and proposed rules for your agencies, CFR parts or keywords and alert your team when one is published.

/search /agencies

Early warning from public inspection

Read the documents filed at the Office of the Federal Register before publication, filtered by agency, type and keyword.

/public-inspection

Comment deadline tracking

Find documents open for comment and their comment-closing dates and dockets, so you never miss a deadline.

/search /document

Executive order and policy research

Filter presidential documents by type, then read each one's executive order number, president, signing date and full text.

/search /document

Legal research and AI agents

Give an agent document search and full text so it can summarize a rule, its effective date and the CFR parts it changes.

/document /search

Federal Register data you get

Field names from real responses. Numbers come parsed, URLs absolute, dates in ISO 8601.

Federal Register API endpoints and prices

Every Federal Register endpoint costs 1 credit per call: credits are $1 per 1,000 on a monthly plan, $2 pay-as-you-go. Pricing

Search and discovery1

Federal Register document search

/federal-register/v1/search

$1 · $2 PAYG

1 credit

More data3

Federal Register agencies /federal-register/v1/agencies	$1 · $2 PAYG 1 credit
Federal Register document /federal-register/v1/document	$1 · $2 PAYG 1 credit
Federal Register public inspection documents /federal-register/v1/public-inspection	$1 · $2 PAYG 1 credit

Call the Federal Register API

Federal Register document search: GET https://api.api.sh/federal-register/v1/search

curl "https://api.api.sh/federal-register/v1/search?q=artificial+intelligence" \
  -H "x-api-key: $APISH_KEY"

import os, requests

res = requests.get(
    "https://api.api.sh/federal-register/v1/search",
    params={"q": "artificial intelligence"},
    headers={"x-api-key": os.environ["APISH_KEY"]},
    timeout=120,
)
res.raise_for_status()
data = res.json()

const url = new URL("https://api.api.sh/federal-register/v1/search");
url.searchParams.set("q", "artificial intelligence");

const res = await fetch(url, { headers: { "x-api-key": process.env.APISH_KEY } });
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`${res.status} ${await res.text()}`);
const data = await res.json();

# Google Sheets (API.SH add-on)
=APISH("/federal-register/v1/search", "q", "artificial intelligence")

# Zapier, Make, n8n (verified node): pick the API.SH app,
# choose "Federal Register" and "Federal Register document search".

# AI agents (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor): add the
# API.SH MCP server https://api.sh/mcp

Create a free accountConfirm your email and get 1,000 free credits every month. No card needed.
Create an API keyOne key works for all 483 platforms.
Send the requestJSON back in one call. Add output=csv or output=ndjson for files.

Why API.SH for Federal Register data

Public data only: no Federal Register login, cookies or account needed
One key and one response shape for Federal Register and 482 other platforms
Built and maintained by API.SH, not third-party publishers
Pay per call; errors on our side cost nothing
Live status for every endpoint

API.SH vs the official Federal Register API

Yes. FederalRegister.gov has a free, official JSON API that needs no key, covering documents since 1994, public inspection and agencies. FederalRegister.gov has recently restricted heavy programmatic access, so API.SH gives you the same public data with stable paging, one JSON shape shared with other government sources, and blocks and retries handled for you.

Instead of writing your own Federal Register client or scraper, or running an Apify actor on top of the official API, API.SH gives you search, documents and public inspection with one key and a fixed price per call.

Federal Register API questions

What Federal Register data can I get?+

Full-text document search with filters (/federal-register/v1/search), one document with dates, agencies, dockets, CFR references and optional full text (/federal-register/v1/document), public inspection documents (/federal-register/v1/public-inspection) and the agency list (/federal-register/v1/agencies).

How much does the Federal Register API cost?+

Every Federal Register endpoint costs 1 credit per call. On a monthly plan 1,000 credits cost $1 (Starter is $50/month for 50,000 credits). Pay-as-you-go is $2 per 1,000 credits, with top-ups from $15 that never expire.

Is there a free trial?+

Yes. Every account gets 1,000 free credits every month. That is 1,000 calls to /federal-register/v1/agencies at 1 credit each.

Is there an official Federal Register API?+

Yes. FederalRegister.gov offers a free official API with no key. API.SH is a paid convenience layer: the same public data in the same JSON format as the rest of API.SH, with blocks and retries handled for you.

Do I need an API key or account from the Federal Register?+

No. You only need your API.SH key. No endpoint uses a login.

How do I search the Federal Register by date?+

Call /federal-register/v1/search with from and to for publication dates, or effective_from/effective_to and comment_close_from/comment_close_to, plus q, type or agency as needed.

Can I get documents before they are published?+

Yes. /federal-register/v1/public-inspection lists documents on public inspection for today or a given date, with filing type, agencies, subjects and docket numbers.

How do I get started?+

1. Sign up at api.sh. 2. Copy your API key. 3. Call /federal-register/v1/search with a keyword and an agency. Request examples and every parameter are in the docs at https://api.sh/docs. You can also use the JS or Python SDK, Google Sheets, Zapier, Make, n8n or the MCP server at https://api.sh/mcp.