Administrative regulations are legally binding rules written by executive branch agencies to carry out the broad statutes Congress passes. When a law directs an agency such as the EPA or the IRS to achieve a goal, the agency writes detailed rules spelling out exactly how individuals, businesses, and other organizations must comply. Those rules carry the force of law and can be enforced with civil or, when a statute allows, criminal penalties.1Environmental Protection Agency. Regulations A 2024 Supreme Court decision reshaped how courts review these rules, so understanding the framework matters more now than it has in a generation.
What Counts as a Regulation
The Administrative Procedure Act defines a “rule” broadly: any agency statement of general applicability and future effect that implements, interprets, or prescribes law, policy, or organizational procedure.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 U.S.C. 551 – Definitions That covers everything from emission limits on power plants to IRS instructions for calculating a tax credit. Regulations are different from statutes, which are enacted by a legislature, and different from case law, which emerges from judicial decisions. Regulations look forward: they tell people what to do before a dispute arises.
Not every agency rule works the same way, and the differences have real consequences for the weight a rule carries.
- Substantive (legislative) rules create binding obligations or rights and carry the full force of law. An agency setting a new pollution standard or changing how benefits are calculated issues a substantive rule.3Administrative Conference of the United States. Distinguishing Between Legislative Rules and Non-Legislative Rules
- Interpretive rules explain how the agency reads statutes and regulations it already administers. They don’t create new legal obligations; they clarify existing ones. IRS revenue rulings that explain how a tax provision applies to a specific situation fall in this category.3Administrative Conference of the United States. Distinguishing Between Legislative Rules and Non-Legislative Rules
- Procedural rules govern the agency’s internal operations, such as how to file a complaint or how a hearing is conducted.
Substantive rules must go through a formal public process before taking effect. Interpretive and procedural rules generally do not.
Where Agencies Get the Power to Regulate
Agencies cannot invent authority on their own. Every regulation traces back to a statute in which Congress delegated specific power to the agency. An enabling statute creates the agency, defines its mission, and authorizes rulemaking within that mission. The Clean Air Act, for example, authorizes the EPA to set air quality standards. A regulation that wanders beyond the boundaries of the enabling statute is invalid.
The Nondelegation Doctrine
The Constitution limits how much lawmaking power Congress can hand off. Under the “intelligible principle” standard the Supreme Court set out in 1928, Congress must provide enough of a framework to guide and constrain the agency’s discretion.4Constitution Annotated. Origin of Intelligible Principle Standard The Court has applied that standard generously in practice.
The Major Questions Doctrine
A more recent limit targets rules with sweeping economic or political consequences. In West Virginia v. EPA (2022), the Supreme Court held that agencies need clear congressional authorization before deciding questions of “major magnitude and consequence.” Broad or ambiguous statutory language is not enough when an agency claims power to reshape an entire industry. Courts now use this doctrine to strike down regulations that reach beyond what Congress specifically authorized.
How a Federal Regulation Gets Made
The standard path for a substantive regulation is “notice-and-comment” rulemaking under the Administrative Procedure Act.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 U.S.C. 553 – Rule Making The process lets the public weigh in before a binding rule takes effect. Skipping or botching any step can invalidate the final rule.
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
The agency publishes a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in the Federal Register. It must include the text or substance of the proposed rule, a reference to the legal authority behind it, and information on how the public can participate.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 U.S.C. 553 – Rule Making
Public Comment Period
The APA itself sets no specific minimum, but agencies typically allow at least 30 days for comments.6Congressional Research Service. An Overview of Federal Regulations and the Rulemaking Process Executive Order 12866 calls for a 60-day comment window in most cases for significant rules.7Administrative Conference of the United States. Executive Order 12866 – Regulatory Planning and Review Anyone can submit written feedback, data, or arguments during that period. The agency is required to consider the relevant comments it receives.
Final Rule
After reviewing comments, the agency issues a final rule, also published in the Federal Register. The final rule must include a statement of basis and purpose showing that the agency actually engaged with the feedback.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 U.S.C. 553 – Rule Making A substantive rule generally cannot take effect until at least 30 days after publication.6Congressional Research Service. An Overview of Federal Regulations and the Rulemaking Process
White House Review
Before publication, significant regulations go through the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) within the Office of Management and Budget. OIRA checks whether the rule is consistent with the president’s priorities, whether the agency’s cost-benefit analysis holds up, and whether the rule conflicts with other agencies’ regulations. Review is limited to 90 days, with a possible one-time 30-day extension. OIRA can send a rule back to the agency for reconsideration.8DoD Regulatory Program. OMB Approval Process
Exceptions to Notice-and-Comment
Not every rule follows this path. The APA exempts rules involving military or foreign affairs functions and matters related to agency management, personnel, public property, grants, benefits, or contracts. Interpretive rules and general policy statements are also exempt. Agencies can invoke a “good cause” exception when the standard process would be impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest, but they must publish that finding with the rule.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 U.S.C. 553 – Rule Making Courts scrutinize good cause claims closely, and agencies that lean on the shortcut risk having their rules struck down.
How to Submit a Public Comment
The federal government accepts comments through Regulations.gov. To find a proposed rule, search by docket number or the title of the Federal Register notice. Each open proposal has a Comment button on its document page. You can type your comment directly, attach up to 20 files of 10 MB each, and choose whether to identify yourself or comment anonymously. Your comment, including your name if you provide it, may be publicly visible on the site.
After submitting, you receive a tracking number as confirmation. Deadlines run on Eastern Time, so a due date of March 15 means 11:59 PM ET on that date. Some agencies also accept comments by mail, fax, or email; check the “Addresses” section of the specific Federal Register notice. Comments that provide concrete data, real-world examples, or technical analysis tend to carry the most weight.
Where to Find Federal Regulations
Two publications form the backbone of federal regulatory text. The Federal Register is a daily journal where agencies publish proposed rules, final rules, notices, and related documents. It is the first place a new regulation appears. The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is the permanent, organized collection of all general and permanent rules currently in force, divided into 50 titles covering broad subject areas.9National Archives. About the Code of Federal Regulations Each title breaks into chapters (usually named after the issuing agency), parts, and sections. Environmental regulations, for example, are codified under Title 40.10U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Laws and Regulations
For day-to-day research, the eCFR at ecfr.gov is the most practical resource. It is a continuously updated, free online version of the CFR. It is not technically the official legal edition, but it reflects amendments faster than the print CFR, which updates on a rolling annual schedule.
Legal Force and Effect on State Law
A properly adopted substantive regulation has the same binding authority as a statute passed by Congress. Violating one can trigger civil penalties, injunctions, or other enforcement actions, and criminal penalties are possible where a statute authorizes them.11eCFR. 40 CFR 1068.125 – What Happens if I Violate the Regulations
Federal regulations can override conflicting state laws under the Supremacy Clause. Sometimes Congress explicitly declares that federal rules replace all state regulation in a given area. Other times, Congress sets a national floor, allowing states to impose stricter requirements but not weaker ones. When a federal regulation does not clearly address preemption, courts try to follow Congress’s intent and tend to avoid displacing state authority unless the conflict is unavoidable.12Constitution Annotated. Overview of Supremacy Clause
How Regulations Are Challenged in Court
Anyone affected by a regulation can challenge it. Under the APA, a court will set aside agency action that is “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law.”13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 U.S.C. 706 – Scope of Review Reviewing courts ask two core questions: did the agency act within the authority Congress gave it, and did it follow proper procedures and give a reasoned explanation?
The End of Chevron Deference
For 40 years, courts applied Chevron deference: when a statute was ambiguous, courts accepted the agency’s reasonable interpretation rather than substituting their own. That era ended in June 2024. In Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, the Supreme Court overruled Chevron, holding that courts “must exercise their independent judgment in deciding whether an agency has acted within its statutory authority” and “may not defer to an agency interpretation of the law simply because a statute is ambiguous.”14Supreme Court of the United States. Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, 22-451 (2024)
Judges now apply their own reading of the law while considering the agency’s view to the extent it rests on genuine expertise. The Court pointed to the APA itself, which directs courts to decide “all relevant questions of law” when reviewing agency action.14Supreme Court of the United States. Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, 22-451 (2024)
What Replaced Chevron
The surviving framework is Skidmore deference, drawn from a 1944 decision. Under Skidmore, an agency’s interpretation is not binding but may be persuasive depending on the thoroughness of its reasoning, consistency with earlier positions, and other factors that give it “power to persuade, if lacking power to control.” Courts are free to reject the agency’s view. Agencies now face tougher odds when their regulations are challenged on legal grounds, especially where a statute could reasonably be read more than one way.
The Court also clarified that regulations upheld under Chevron in prior cases are not automatically invalid. Earlier decisions that relied on Chevron remain binding precedent. But future challenges will be decided under the new, less deferential standard.
Congress’s Role After a Rule Is Issued
Courts are not the only check. Under the Congressional Review Act, every federal agency must submit each new rule to both chambers of Congress and the Comptroller General before it can take effect.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 U.S.C. 801 – Congressional Review For “major” rules, the effective date is delayed at least 60 days to give Congress time to act.
If Congress objects, it can pass a joint resolution of disapproval. If the president signs the resolution, or Congress overrides a veto, the rule is treated as though it never took effect, and the agency is barred from reissuing a substantially similar rule unless Congress specifically authorizes it by new legislation.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 U.S.C. 801 – Congressional Review The tool sees the most use during presidential transitions, when a new administration and its congressional allies move to undo regulations finalized in the prior administration’s final months.