Regulations.gov

Returns the docket metadata (title, abstract, RIN linking to the
Unified Agenda), the docket's total document count, counts by document
type and of documents open for comment across the whole docket, and one
page of its documents, most recent first, with types, subtypes, Federal
Register document numbers, dates, and URLs. subtype tells a withdrawal,
extension, or correction apart from a new proposed rule (a withdrawal
keeps document_type 'Proposed Rule').
comment_deadline is the Regulations.gov metadata date in Eastern time;
comment_end_date_utc preserves its UTC instant. comment_deadline_verification
links to the notice/docket. Read DATES, eligibility, and later extensions
before treating it as controlling; if unavailable, the controlling date
cannot be established. Page 1 also gives
posted_comments for the whole docket: comments posted publicly, not
comments received (mass-mail duplicates and unposted comments are not
in it).
When the docket has more documents, truncated=true and next_page_number
gives the page that continues the list.

page_size: 5-100 documents per page (default 25). page_number: 1-40.

docket_id examples: FAR-2023-0008, DARS-2025-0071

Returns the comment text field, organization, submitter info (if public),
tracking number, and duplicate comment count. Many comments put their
substance in attachments and the text field only says "See attached";
include_attachments=True returns the attachment download URLs.

Some fields (firstName, lastName, organization) are agency-configurable
and may be hidden. The comment text comes back as plain text (HTML
breaks become newlines; tags and entities are decoded).

Returns title, abstract, RIN (links to Unified Agenda), agency,
keywords, and modification date.

docket_id format: FAR-2023-0008, DARS-2025-0071, SBA-2024-0002

Returns fileFormats (download URLs), cfrPart, displayProperties, and
other detail fields not available in search results.

Set include_attachments=True to get attachment objects with download URLs.

Comment deadlines: attributes.commentDeadlineEastern is the date reported
by Regulations.gov metadata in Eastern time (e.g. 'Oct 22, 2026 11:59 PM ET'). The raw
commentEndDateUtc is the provider UTC instant. commentDeadlineVerification
links to the notice/docket: read DATES, eligibility, and later extensions
before treating this metadata date as controlling. If unavailable, the
controlling deadline cannot be established.

document_id format: FAR-2023-0008-0023

Searches for documents where withinCommentPeriod=true, sorted by
soonest reported closing date (ascending commentEndDate). Page 1 holds
the earliest metadata dates; verify the notice before planning a submission. Returns document IDs, titles,
agencies, document types and subtypes, Federal Register document
numbers, comment deadlines, docket IDs, and the API-true total_open.
comment_deadline is the Regulations.gov metadata date in Eastern time
(e.g. 'Oct 22, 2026 11:59 PM ET'); comment_end_date_utc preserves its UTC
instant. comment_deadline_verification links to the notice/docket. Read
DATES, eligibility, and later extensions before treating it as controlling;
if those sources are unavailable, the controlling date is not established.
When more documents exist, truncated=true and next_page_number gives
the page that continues the list (later pages have later reported dates).

page_size: 5-100 documents per page (default 25). page_number: 1-40.

Default searches FAR, DARS, GSA, SBA, OFPP, DOD, NASA, VA in a single
comma-joined query. Pass agency_ids to narrow or expand the scope. An
empty list is rejected; pass None to use the defaults. Most open DOD and
VA documents are Paperwork Reduction Act and Privacy Act notices; for
rules only, pass document_type='Proposed Rule' (exact casing).

To find comments on a specific document, use comment_on_id with the
hex objectId from document detail/search results (attributes.objectId,
e.g. '0900006486531e6b'). The human-readable documentId is REJECTED
here because the API silently returns 0 comments for it.

docket_id filters comments to all documents in a docket.

search_term is a full-text match, including attachment text; results
follow sort, not relevance. Quote a phrase ('"Professional Services
Council"') to match it exactly.

posted_comments (= meta.totalElements) counts comments posted publicly,
not comments received; mass-mail duplicates and unposted comments are
not in it, so the agency's received count can be much higher.

Search rows carry no organization (the API leaves it out), and many
titles are only "Comment on FR Doc # ...". For "who commented" questions
set include_organization=True (page_size up to 25): each row gets the
submitter's organization from its comment detail. Rows without one were
filed by individuals or the agency hid the field.

Page size: 5-100; page_number 1-40. Comments sorted by '-postedDate' by
default. The API serves 40 pages; when more comments match,
page_limit_note (and truncated=true on page 40) says how many are out of
reach. Split the query into posted_date_ge/le windows. Most comment text is in attachments; get_comment_detail with
include_attachments=True returns their download URLs.

Dockets are containers for related regulatory documents (proposed rules,
comments, supporting materials). FAR cases, DFARS cases, and agency
rulemaking actions each have a docket.

docket_type is CASE-SENSITIVE: 'Rulemaking' or 'Nonrulemaking'.

lastModifiedDate format: 'YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS' (space-separated, NOT ISO).
This is a Regulations.gov quirk; ISO 8601 is rejected.

Limited filters: only searchTerm, agencyId, docketType, lastModifiedDate.

sort: 'title', 'docketId', 'lastModifiedDate'; prefix '-' for descending
('-lastModifiedDate' lists the most recently active dockets first).
Catch-all dockets such as DARS_FRDOC_0001 and SBA_FRDOC_0001 hold
miscellaneous Federal Register documents and often top that list.

Page size: 5-100; page_number 1-40. The API serves 40 pages; when more
dockets match, page_limit_note (and truncated=true on page 40) says how
many are out of reach. Split the query into last_modified_date_ge/le
windows.

Filter values are CASE-SENSITIVE. Use exact casing:
- document_type: 'Proposed Rule', 'Rule', 'Notice', 'Supporting & Related Material', 'Other'
- Lowercase values silently return 0 results (no error)

Key parameters:
- search_term: full-text match, including attachment text. Results
  follow sort (newest first by default), not relevance, so an unquoted
  multi-word term puts loosely matching recent documents first; quote
  a phrase ('"Pay Equity and Transparency"') to match it exactly.
- agency_id: FAR, DARS, GSA, SBA, OFPP, DOD, NASA, VA, etc.
  Comma-separate for multiple agencies ('FAR,GSA'). Empty string is rejected.
- docket_id: e.g., 'FAR-2023-0008' for a specific FAR case
- within_comment_period: True to find documents currently accepting
  comments. False is NOT supported by the API (it 400s); omit the
  parameter instead to search regardless of comment status.
- posted_date_ge/le: YYYY-MM-DD format (calendar-checked)
- comment_end_date_ge/le: YYYY-MM-DD format

Response meta.facets gives the top counts by document type, agency,
and comment period status; a facet the query filtered on is left out,
because the API counts it site-wide. meta.totalElements is the full
match count.

Comment deadlines: attributes.commentDeadlineEastern is the date reported
by Regulations.gov metadata in Eastern time (e.g. 'Oct 22, 2026 11:59 PM ET'). The raw
commentEndDateUtc is the provider UTC instant. commentDeadlineVerification
links to the notice/docket: read DATES, eligibility, and later extensions
before treating this metadata date as controlling. If unavailable, the
controlling deadline cannot be established.

Page size: 5-100. page_number: 1-40. The API serves 40 pages; when more
records match, page_limit_note (and truncated=true on page 40) says how
many are out of reach. Split the query into posted_date_ge/le windows.

sort: '-postedDate' (newest first, default), 'postedDate', '-commentEndDate',
'lastModifiedDate', 'title', 'documentId'. Comma-separate for
multi-field sorts ('lastModifiedDate,documentId').