Federal Register Document Drafting Handbook 
October 1998  Revision 

Introduction  

A. What is the Document Drafting Handbook (DDH)? 

The DDH provides Federal agencies with guidance and examples for 
complying with the Office of the Federal Register's format and 
editorial requirements for Federal Register documents. 

All the information you need to prepare a particular type of document 
(proposed rule, rule, or notice) is in one place. For example, to 
write a proposed rule, refer to "Chapter 1: How do I write a document 
for the proposed rules category?" 

To download this handbook or refer to it on-line, from 
http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/, select"Document Drafting Resources" in "For Federal Agencies" and 
then "Document Drafting Handbook." Because we distribute this book as 
PDF (Portable Document Format) files, you need Acrobat Reader, 
published by Adobe Systems Inc., to read or print it. You can download 
Acrobat Reader from http://www.adobe.com. 

To help you comply with the President's Memorandum of June 1, 1998 -- 
Plain Language in Government Writing, see Part II of the DDH, "Making 
Regulations Readable." In addition, the National Partnership for 
Reinventing Government (NPR), Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs (Office of Management and Budget), the OFR, and other agencies 
developed expanded guidance, "Writing User-Friendly Documents," 
available at http://www.plainlanguage.gov. 

This edition of the Document Drafting Handbook was prepared by Laurice 
Clark, Vince Greenwald, Sandra Jablonski, Ernie Sowada, and Barbara 
Suhre.  

It is issued under the Federal Register Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 15) and 
the rules of the Administrative Committee of the Federal Register (1 
CFR chapter I). 

B. How do I know what is required versus recommended? 

Whenever we present requirements from the Administrative Committee of 
the Federal Register's regulations in 1 CFR, we use "must" instead of 
"shall" because "must" imposes a legal obligation. We use "may" 
instead of "should" to indicate discretion to act. We use "should" to 
indicate when we strongly recommend that you comply with a procedure 
that is optional. 

 
C. How Does this October 1998 Revision Differ from the April 1997 
Revision? 

In this edition, we have expanded our coverage of several topics, and 
provided more detailed examples of how to format certain types of 
documents. 

We rewrote many sections in plain language, using active voice and 
personal pronouns, and phrasing titles as questions. 

For a complete list of changes, see Appendix D. 

D. How Do I Provide Feedback, Comments, and Suggestions? 

We want to provide a useful tool for persons who prepare documents for 
the Federal Register. To achieve this goal, we need to know how well 
this publication meets your needs.  

Send comments and suggestions to info@fedreg.nara.gov, or to 

  FEDERAL REGISTER (NF) 
  NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION  
  700 PENNSYLVANIA AVE NW 
  WASHINGTON DC 20408-0001 

E. What is the Federal Register/Code of Federal Regulations 
publication system? 

The Federal Register system is composed of two major publications, the 
annually revised Code of Federal Regulations and the daily Federal 
Register. Together, the two publications provide a current version of 
each Federal agency's regulations. 

The Code of Federal Regulations. The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 
is the foundation of the Federal Register publication system. The CFR 
is an annual codification of the rules of each Federal agency. 

The Federal Register. The daily Federal Register (FR) contains four 
categories of documents: regulations (rules), proposed rules, notices, 
and Presidential documents. Rules published in the Federal Register 
keep the CFR current. Proposed rules solicit public comment on an 
agency's rules and encourage public participation in the rulemaking 
process. Notices provide information of interest to the public.