Find Presidential Documents on Federalregister.gov

In recognition of Presidents’ Day - this Monday, February 21 -  let’s take a look at the presidential documents available on Federalregister.gov. Federalregister.gov is a jointly administered website by the Office of the Federal Register (OFR) of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), and the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO). The site was created to help citizens understand and participate in the regulatory process and government decision-making. It is a great resource for those who need to browse or search the Federal Register.

One feature of Federalregister.gov is the easy access to presidential documents. Executive orders, proclamations, and other presidential documents, such as memoranda, notices, determinations, letters, messages, and orders are available. Coverage of these documents is from 1994 to present, although there is typically a delay of several days before an order appears in the Federal Register. If you are looking for recently-signed documents, they are available on the White House website.

Federalregister.gov allows users to browse or search for documents. To browse, select Presidential Documents from the “Browse” menu. Users can then select the document type of interest, and then refine by President and/or date on the following pages. 

To search for presidential documents, use the "Search" menu and select “Advanced Document Search”.

From the Advanced Document Search screen, navigate to the "Document Category" and select "Presidential Document". Once Presidential Document is selected, filters for "Presidential Document Type" and "President" will appear. You can select any of the additional filters or run a search across all of the available presidential documents.

For additional information on the Federal Register and using Federalregister.gov, check out the website’s Reader Aids page.