Federal Register Publication Procedures During Funding Hiatus
Summary
The Office of the Federal Register has issued a notice detailing publication procedures for Federal Register documents during a potential government funding hiatus. This notice clarifies operational protocols to ensure continued access to official publications.
What changed
The Office of the Federal Register (OFR) has published a notice outlining procedures for the publication of Federal Register documents in the event of a government funding hiatus. This notice, published on September 30, 2025, clarifies how the OFR will operate and ensure continued access to official publications during such periods, though it emphasizes that the current web prototype is not an official legal edition.
This notice serves as an informational resource for government agencies and legal professionals who rely on the Federal Register for official notices and regulatory information. While it does not impose new compliance obligations, it provides clarity on how the publication process will be managed during funding disruptions, allowing agencies to anticipate potential operational adjustments. No specific compliance deadline or penalty information is provided as this is a procedural notice.
Source document (simplified)
Legal Status This site displays a prototype of a “Web 2.0” version of the daily
Federal Register. It is not an official legal edition of the Federal
Register, and does not replace the official print version or the official
electronic version on GPO’s govinfo.gov.
The documents posted on this site are XML renditions of published Federal
Register documents. Each document posted on the site includes a link to the
corresponding official PDF file on govinfo.gov. This prototype edition of the
daily Federal Register on FederalRegister.gov will remain an unofficial
informational resource until the Administrative Committee of the Federal
Register (ACFR) issues a regulation granting it official legal status.
For complete information about, and access to, our official publications
and services, go to About the Federal Register on NARA's archives.gov.
The OFR/GPO partnership is committed to presenting accurate and reliable
regulatory information on FederalRegister.gov with the objective of
establishing the XML-based Federal Register as an ACFR-sanctioned
publication in the future. While every effort has been made to ensure that
the material on FederalRegister.gov is accurately displayed, consistent with
the official SGML-based PDF version on govinfo.gov, those relying on it for
legal research should verify their results against an official edition of
the Federal Register. Until the ACFR grants it official status, the XML
rendition of the daily Federal Register on FederalRegister.gov does not
provide legal notice to the public or judicial notice to the courts.
Legal Status
Notice
Publication Procedures for Federal Register Documents During a Funding Hiatus
A Notice by the Federal Register Office on 09/30/2025
- 1.
1.
Document Details Published Content - Document Details Agency Office of the Federal Register Document Citation 90 FR 46931 Document Number 2025-19060 Document Type Notice Pages 46931-46932
(2 pages) Publication Date 09/30/2025 Published Content - Document DetailsPDF Official Content
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Document Details Published Content - Document Details Agency Office of the Federal Register Document Citation 90 FR 46931 Document Number 2025-19060 Document Type Notice Pages 46931-46932
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headings within the legal text of Federal Register documents.
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has no substantive legal effect.- AGENCY:
- ACTION:
- SUMMARY:
- FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
- SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
- Unfunded Agencies or Programs
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- Public Inspection Public Inspection This PDF is FR Doc. 2025-19060 as it appeared on Public Inspection on
09/29/2025 at 8:45 am.
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times while on Public Inspection.
If you are using public inspection listings for legal research, you
should verify the contents of the documents against a final, official
edition of the Federal Register. Only official editions of the
Federal Register provide legal notice of publication to the public and judicial notice
to the courts under 44 U.S.C. 1503 & 1507. Learn more here.
Public Inspection
Published Document: 2025-19060 (90 FR 46931) This document has been published in the Federal Register. Use the PDF linked in the document sidebar for the official electronic format.
Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain
the following:
- the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document
- the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to
- the agency docket number / agency internal file number
- the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details.
Office of the Federal Register
AGENCY:
Office of the Federal Register.
ACTION:
Notice of special procedures.
SUMMARY:
During an appropriations lapse, the Office of the Federal Register (OFR) publishes documents directly related to the performance of governmental functions necessary to address imminent threats to the safety of human life or protection of property and may publish documents related to funded programs if delaying publication until the end of the appropriations lapse would prevent or significantly damage the execution of funded functions at the agency. The OFR is prohibited by law from publishing any other agency documents, unless the document was received and scheduled for publication before the appropriations lapse began. The OFR does not make case-by-case determinations as to whether certain documents are directly related to activities that qualify for an exemption under the Antideficiency Act. It is the responsibility of the agency submitting a document for publication during an appropriations lapse to provide justification and certify that the document is authorized under the Antideficiency Act.
( printed page 46932)
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Liza Davis, Esq., Director of Legal Affairs and Policy, or Mariya Solomiy, Staff Attorney, Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration, (202) 741-6030 or Fedreg.legal@nara.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Due to the possibility of a lapse in appropriations and in accordance with the provisions of the Antideficiency Act, Public Law 97-258, as amended (31 U.S.C. 1341), the OFR announces special procedures for agencies transmitting documents for publication in the Federal Register.
During an appropriations lapse, the OFR publishes documents directly related to the performance of governmental functions necessary to address imminent threats to the safety of human life or protection of property and may publish documents related to funded programs if delaying publication until the end of the appropriations lapse would prevent or significantly damage the execution of funded functions at the agency. The OFR is prohibited by law from publishing any other agency documents, unless the document was received and scheduled for publication before the appropriations lapse began. The OFR does not make case-by-case determinations as to whether certain documents are directly related to activities that qualify for an exemption under the Antideficiency Act. It is the responsibility of the agency submitting a document for publication to provide justification and certify that the document is authorized under the Antideficiency Act.
During an appropriations lapse affecting one or more Federal agencies, the OFR remains open to accept and process documents authorized to be published in the daily Federal Register in the absence of continuing appropriations. An agency wishing to transmit a document to the OFR during an appropriations lapse must attach an exception letter to the document which provides justification and certifies that publication in the Federal Register is necessary for one of the following reasons:
Unfunded Agencies or Programs
- To safeguard human life, protect property, or
- To provide other emergency services consistent with the performance of functions and services exempted under the Antideficiency Act.
Funded Agencies or Programs
- Because delaying publication until the end of the appropriations lapse would prevent or significantly damage the execution of funded functions at the agency. The OFR may be able to accept documents transmitted for publication if delaying publication would significantly damage the execution of funded functions at the agency.
Under the August 16, 1995 opinion of the Office of Legal Counsel of the Department of Justice (OLC), Government Operations in the Event of a Lapse in Appropriations, exempt functions and services would include activities such as those related to the constitutional duties of the President, food and drug inspection, air traffic control, responses to natural or manmade disasters, law enforcement, and supervision of financial markets. Documents related to normal or routine activities of Federal agencies, even if funded under prior year appropriations, will not be published unless they were received and scheduled for publication before the funding lapse began.
In another opinion, issued on December 13, 1995, Effect of Appropriations for Other Agencies and Branches on the Authority to Continue Department of Justice Functions During the Lapse in the Department's Appropriations, the OLC found that the necessary-implication exception allowed unfunded agencies to provide support to funded agencies or programs under certain conditions. Based on OLC interpretation of the December 13, 1995 opinion, as this applies to the OFR, if an agency with current appropriations submits a document for publication and certifies that delaying publication until the end of the appropriations lapse would prevent or significantly damage the execution of funded functions at the agency, then publication in the Federal Register would be a function or service excepted under the Antideficiency Act.
At the onset of an appropriations lapse, the OFR may suspend the regular publication schedule to permit a limited number of exempt personnel to process excepted documents. Agency officials will be informed as to the schedule for filing and publishing individual documents.
OFR has posted frequently asked questions and excepted letter templates on the following website, which will be updated as necessary: www.archives.gov/federal-register/agencies/shutdown-faqs.
Authority: 44 U.S.C. 1502; 1 CFR 2.4 and 5.1.
Oliver A. Potts,
Director of the Federal Register.
[FR Doc. 2025-19060 Filed 9-29-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 0099-10-P
Published Document: 2025-19060 (90 FR 46931)
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