Federal Regulation Citation Generator
Cite a U.S. federal regulation two ways: as a rule in force in the Code of Federal Regulations, or as a final or proposed rule published in the Federal Register. Enter the title, section and edition year — or the volume, page and date — and get APA 7, MLA 9 and Chicago 18 citations. Free, no sign-up.
Regulation details
46.102 is part 46, section 102. For a whole part, type 46.
The year on the annual edition you used — not the year the rule was adopted.
Your citations
Enter the C.F.R. title, the part or section, and the edition year to see your citations.
How to Use the Federal Regulation Citation Generator
- 1. Pick where the rule is published. Choose the Code of Federal Regulations for a rule in force, or the Federal Register for a new rule, a proposed rule, or a rule as it was first published.
- 2. Enter the numbers. For the C.F.R., give the title, the section or part and the year of the edition you used. For the Federal Register, give the volume, first page and date and, for a rule not yet in the C.F.R., where it will go.
- 3. Add the agency and website for MLA. MLA cites the copy you read, so name the issuing agency, the website — eCFR, GovInfo or federalregister.gov — and the URL.
- 4. Copy your citations. The reference entry, in-text citation and footnote each have a copy button.
Reading a Regulation Citation
Federal agencies publish new and proposed rules in the daily Federal Register. Rules in force are then arranged by subject in the Code of Federal Regulations, 50 titles divided into parts and sections. The CFR's own short form is title, CFR and section — 1 CFR 10.2 means title 1, part 10, section 2. Legal citation writes the same thing as 1 C.F.R. § 10.2 and adds the year of the edition.
| Part of the citation | Example | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Title | 45 C.F.R. | Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations (Public Welfare) |
| Section or part | § 46.102 or pt. 46 | Part 46, section 102 — or the whole of part 46 |
| Edition year | (2024) | The annual edition you used; each title is revised once a year |
| Federal Register | 80 Fed. Reg. 38,516 | Volume 80, page 38516, where the rule's document begins |
| Proposed | (proposed July 6, 2015) | A notice of proposed rulemaking, not yet law |
| Codification | (to be codified at 29 C.F.R. pt. 541) | Where the rule will sit in the C.F.R. |
APA 7 (§11.7) uses the legal form with its own abbreviation for the Federal Register, F.R., and writes page numbers without commas. Chicago 18 follows the Bluebook — Fed. Reg., with commas in five-digit page numbers — and cites regulations in notes only. MLA 9 treats the Code of Federal Regulations as a legal compilation in roman type and the Federal Register as a periodical in italics, as the MLA Style Center's examples do.
Regulation Citation Examples
A section of the Code of Federal Regulations
Section 46.102, the definitions in the federal human-subjects rule (the Common Rule), from the 2024 edition on GovInfo:
APA 7th edition — C.F.R.
Reference list:
Protection of Human Subjects, 45 C.F.R. § 46.102 (2024). https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/CFR-2024-title45-vol1/CFR-2024-title45-vol1-sec46-102
In-text (parenthetical):
(Protection of Human Subjects, 2024)
In-text (narrative):
Protection of Human Subjects (2024)
MLA 9th edition — C.F.R.
Works Cited:
United States, Department of Health and Human Services. Protection of Human Subjects. Code of Federal Regulations, title 45, section 46.102, 2024. GovInfo, www.govinfo.gov/app/details/CFR-2024-title45-vol1/CFR-2024-title45-vol1-sec46-102.
In-text citation:
(United States, Protection of Human Subjects)
Chicago 18th edition (notes) — C.F.R.
Footnote:
Protection of Human Subjects, 45 C.F.R. § 46.102 (2024), https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/CFR-2024-title45-vol1/CFR-2024-title45-vol1-sec46-102.
A proposed rule in the Federal Register
The Labor Department's proposal to update the overtime exemptions, published on July 6, 2015, before the final rule of May 2016:
APA 7th edition — Federal Register
Reference list:
Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees, 80 F.R. 38516 (proposed July 6, 2015) (to be codified at 29 C.F.R. pt. 541). https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2015-15464
In-text (parenthetical):
(Defining and Delimiting, 2015)
In-text (narrative):
Defining and Delimiting (2015)
MLA 9th edition — Federal Register
Works Cited:
United States, Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division. Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees. Federal Register, vol. 80, no. 128, 6 July 2015, pp. 38516–612, www.federalregister.gov/d/2015-15464. Proposed rule.
In-text citation:
(United States, Defining and Delimiting)
Chicago 18th edition (notes) — Federal Register
Footnote:
Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees, 80 Fed. Reg. 38,516 (proposed July 6, 2015) (to be codified at 29 C.F.R. pt. 541), https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2015-15464.
Common Mistakes
- Using the year the rule was adopted. A C.F.R. citation takes the year of the edition you consulted.
- Writing § for a whole part. One section is § 46.102; a whole part is pt. 46. APA's own example writes 45 C.F.R. § 46 for the whole part; the Bluebook form is pt. 46.
- Citing the Federal Register for a codified rule. Once a rule is in the C.F.R., cite the C.F.R. unless you mean the rule as first published.
- Leaving off proposed. A proposed rule is not law, and the parenthetical tells the reader so.
- Inventing a page for the eCFR. The eCFR has no pages; cite the section and the date or year of the version you read.
- A bibliography entry in Chicago. Chicago cites regulations in notes only.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do you cite the Code of Federal Regulations in APA?
- Give the regulation's name if it has one, then the title, C.F.R., the section and the edition year: Protection of Human Subjects, 45 C.F.R. § 46.102 (2024), followed by the URL of the copy you read. In text, use the name and year — (Protection of Human Subjects, 2024).
- How do you cite a proposed rule?
- Cite it to the Federal Register with the word proposed and the date, and say where it would be codified: Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees, 80 Fed. Reg. 38,516 (proposed July 6, 2015) (to be codified at 29 C.F.R. pt. 541). APA writes the same citation with F.R. and no comma in the page number.
- What is the difference between the Federal Register and the C.F.R.?
- The Federal Register is the government's daily journal: new rules, proposed rules, notices and presidential documents appear there first, in date order. The Code of Federal Regulations collects the rules in force by subject in 50 titles, each revised once a year, and the eCFR shows the current text, updated daily.
- Which year goes in a C.F.R. citation?
- The year of the edition you used — printed on the annual volume or its GovInfo page — not the year the regulation was adopted. If you used the eCFR, give the date of the version you read.
- How do you cite a regulation in MLA?
- Follow the MLA template for the copy you consulted: the agency as author, the regulation's name in roman type, Code of Federal Regulations with the title and section, the year, then the website and URL. For a Federal Register rule, the italic Federal Register is the container, with volume, issue, date and pages.
- Do regulations go in a Chicago bibliography?
- No. Chicago 18 follows the Bluebook for legal sources and cites regulations in notes only.