The federal government added 14,353 pages to the Federal Register in the last quarter of 2025, spanning from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31, for an annual total of 61,584 pages. According to the publication, that's the lowest annual page count of the Federal Register since 1992. The highest annual page count hit 95,894 in 2016.
The government added 4,829 documents to the Federal Register in the fourth quarter, which is more than in the first quarter during the Trump administration but less than in the second and third quarters. The government was shut down from Oct. 1 to Nov. 12.
Four years earlier during the fourth quarter of 2021, the government added 6,843 documents, bringing the 2021 annual page total to 74,532.
Here’s a breakdown of the 4,829 documents added last quarter:
- 4,004 notices
- 60 presidential documents
- 285 proposed rules
- 489 final rules
During the fourth quarter of 2025, agencies proposed 28 significant rules and issued 45 significant final rules. A 1993 executive order defines significant rules as those that can potentially have large effects on the economy, environment, public health, or state or local governments.
The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) determines which rules meet this definition and are subject to its review. Significant actions may also conflict with presidential priorities or other agency rules.
The Trump administration issued 71 significant proposed rules, 110 significant final rules, and 10 significant notices in 2025.
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.
Ballotpedia maintains page counts and other information about the Federal Register as part of our neutral, nonpartisan encyclopedic coverage of the administrative state. Click here to see our full coverage of changes to the Federal Register.