Federal Register weekly update: Lowest weekly document total since January


The Federal Register is a daily journal of federal government activity that includes presidential documents, proposed and final rules, and public notices. It is a common measure of an administration’s regulatory activity, accounting for both regulatory and deregulatory actions.

From Oct. 9, 2023, through Oct. 13, 2023, the Federal Register grew by 1,400 pages for a year-to-date total of 71,272 pages.

The Federal Register hit an all-time high of 95,894 pages in 2016.

This week’s Federal Register featured the following 358 documents:

  • 282 notices
  • 11 presidential documents
  • 27 proposed rules
  • 38 final rules

One proposed rule, including proposed amendments to regulations regarding the Qualified Eligible Person definition and minimum disclosure requirements for commodity pool operators and commodity trade advisors from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and seven final rules, including reporting and recordkeeping requirements for per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act from the Environmental Protection Agency, were deemed significant under E.O. 12866, as amended by E.O. 14094—defined by the potential to have large impacts on the economy, environment, public health, or state or local governments. Significant actions may also conflict with presidential priorities or other agency rules. The Biden administration in 2023 has issued 285 significant proposed rules, 219 significant final rules, and nine significant notices as of Oct. 13.

Ballotpedia maintains page counts and other information about the Federal Register as part of its neutral, nonpartisan encyclopedic coverage that defines and analyzes the administrative state, including its philosophical origins, legal and judicial precedents, and scholarly examinations of its consequences. The coverage area also monitors and reports on measures of federal government activity.

Click here to find more information about weekly additions to the Federal Register in 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017: Changes to the Federal Register 

Additional reading:

Click here to find yearly information about additions to the Federal Register from 1936 to 2021: Historical additions to the Federal Register, 1936-2021