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Updated August 30, 2023

Congressionally Mandated Reports: Frequently Asked Questions

What is a congressionally mandated report? ........................................................................ 2

Where is the OMB Memorandum on congressionally mandated reports? ..................2

I need to submit a report to GPO. Where do I start? ............................................................ 3

Who is authorized to submit a congressionally mandated report?................................3

Can I submit more than one report at a time? ....................................................................... 3

What is the deadline to submit a report to GPO?.................................................................. 4

What types of congressionally mandated reports are not required to be submitted 

to GPO’s submission portal? ....................................................................................................... 4

What are the file format and metadata requirements for submission? .......................5

Where can I find the Executive Communication Number for my report?....................5

Where can I find the House Communication Requirement Number for my report?6

If I am submitting a report and must provide the publication date, what do I use 

for a date when month, day, and year are required, but I only have the month and 

year or only the year?.................................................................................................................... 6

If I am submitting a report and must provide the date on which the report was 

submitted to Congress, what date do I use if it was submitted to the House on one 

date and the Senate on another date? ...................................................................................... 6

What is the Agency Identifier? ................................................................................................... 6

My agency has already published an electronic version of this congressionally 

mandated report on our agency website. Do I still need to submit the same report 

to GPO?............................................................................................................................................... 7

After I submit a report, where and how soon will it be published?................................7

I submitted the wrong copy of a congressionally mandated report and need to 

submit a technical replacement. How can I submit a corrected copy?.........................7
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My agency submitted a congressionally mandated report to Congress that was 

then referred to a committee. How do I find out if the report is exempt from 

submitting to GPO? ........................................................................................................................ 7

My congressional committee has received a congressionally mandated report that 

I want withheld from publication to GovInfo. How do I do that? .................................... 8

Will congressional committee withholding letters be published on GovInfo?...........8

I have congressionally mandated reports at my agency that were scanned from 

print copies. Will GPO accept a scanned copy of a pre-digital report? .........................8

I have older, historic congressionally mandated reports at my agency that are not 

in an electronic format. Can GPO help me digitize print reports?..................................8

Can I submit non-congressionally mandated report content to GovInfo through the 

submission portal?......................................................................................................................... 8

I’m still not sure if I should submit a specific report, or if it’s excluded from 

submission to the GPO portal. Where can I go for help?.................................................... 9

What is a congressionally mandated report?

The James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023, enacted as 

Pub. L. No. 117-263 on December 23, 2022, included sections 7241-7248, the “Access to 

Congressionally Mandated Reports Act.” The Act defines ‘‘congressionally mandated 

report’’ to mean a report of a Federal agency that is required by statute to be submitted to 

either House of Congress or any committee of Congress or subcommittee thereof.

Furthermore, the Act instructs the GPO Director to establish a centralized repository for 

Federal agencies to submit congressionally mandated reports that are required to be 

submitted to Congress, committees, or subcommittees so they may be accessible to the 

public.

Where is the OMB Memorandum on congressionally mandated reports?

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in consultation with GPO, released OMB 

Memorandum M-23-17, “Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act” 

Implementation Guidance on June 21, 2023, providing guidance to Federal agencies, 

including information about reports that are exempt from submission to GPO, by outlining 

instructions and deadlines for compliance with the Access to Congressionally Mandated 

Reports Act.
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I need to submit a report to GPO. Where do I start?

Agency points of contact must first register for an account in the GPO submission portal, 

and the account must be approved by GPO, before a congressionally mandated report can 

be submitted. Register for an account beginning October 1, 2023, at 

https://ask.gpo.gov/s/CMR.

Once your account is approved, submit congressionally mandated reports at the portal 

after logging in to your account. 

Who is authorized to submit a congressionally mandated report?

The head of each Federal agency must designate each point of contact to submit 

congressionally mandated reports. Agency points of contact must first register for an 

account in the GPO submission portal, and the account must be approved by GPO, before a 

congressionally mandated report can be submitted. Register for an account beginning 

October 1, 2023, at https://ask.gpo.gov/s/CMR.

Multiple points of contact may be designated at an agency, but each must register for an 

individual account.

Can I submit more than one report at a time?

Every congressionally mandated report is required to be submitted with report-specific 

metadata, so each report must be submitted individually. Report-specific metadata 

includes:

• Title of the report;

• Nature of the report;

• Statute requiring the report;

• Frequency of this reporting requirement;

• Receiving entity(ies), (e.g., House of Representatives, Senate, committees, 

subcommittees, etc.);

• Executive Communications number from the Congressional Record (if applicable);

• Requirement number in Congress.gov if report is submitted to the Clerk of the 

House of Representatives;

• Publication date;

• Date report was submitted to Congress; and

• Select subject terms that describe the content of the report.
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What is the deadline to submit a report to GPO?

Submit reports only after first submitting to Congress, or to a congressional committee or 

subcommittee. GPO will only accept report submissions that were already submitted to 

Congress at least thirty (30) days prior.

The congressionally mandated report must be submitted to GPO at least thirty (30) days 

after submitting first to Congress, a committee, or subcommittee, but no later than sixty 

(60) days after submitting to Congress, a committee, or subcommittee.

Example: 

• A congressionally mandated report is first submitted to Congress on January 1, 

2024. 

• The earliest date that the report can be submitted to GPO is January 31, 2024, but 

the latest date to submit would be March 1, 2024. 

GPO will publish on GovInfo no later than the date the report was submitted to GPO + 30 

days.

What types of congressionally mandated reports are not required to be submitted to 

GPO’s submission portal?

The following types of congressionally mandated reports are not required to be submitted 

to GPO’s submission portal:

• Reports required under 36 U.S.C. Subtitle II, Part B: Patriotic and National 

Organizations;

• Reports by an office of an inspector general;

• Reports from the Government Accountability Office;

• Reports from an element of the intelligence community;

• Reports required by statute to be submitted to one or more of the following 

committees:

o The Select Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on Armed Services, 

the Committee on Appropriations, or the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

the Senate;

o The Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the Committee on Armed 

Services, the Committee on Appropriations, or the Committee on Foreign 

Affairs of the House of Representatives;

• Reports that are law enforcement sensitive;
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• Reports that describe information security policies, procedures, or activities of the 

executive branch; and

• Reports submitted by the government of the District of Columbia to Congress or to 

congressional committees.

What are the file format and metadata requirements for submission?

As part of the submission process, a designated Federal agency point of contact will be 

required to provide the following:

• An electronic copy of the report, including any transmittal letter(s) associated with 

the report, that is based on an underlying open data standard (maintained by a 

standards organization) that allows the full text of the report to be searchable and 

does not have restrictions that would affect or impede the reuse or searchability of 

the report;

• Title of the report;

• Nature of the report;

• Statute requiring the report;

• Frequency of this reporting requirement;

• Receiving entity(ies), (e.g., House of Representatives, Senate, committees, 

subcommittees, etc.);

• Executive Communications number from the Congressional Record (if applicable);

• Requirement number in Congress.gov if report is submitted to the Clerk of the 

House of Representatives;

• Publication date;

• Date report was submitted to Congress; and

• Select subject terms that describe the content of the report.

For additional information on technical requirements for the submission of 

congressionally mandated reports, see the Congressionally Mandated Reports Submission 

Guidelines. 

Where can I find the Executive Communication Number for my report?

Reports submitted to the House and Senate are reported as Executive Communications 

(EC) in the Congressional Record. Search the House Communications or Senate 

Communications sections of the Congressional Record on Congress.gov or GovInfo.
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Where can I find the House Communication Requirement Number for my report?

Requirement numbers are found searching the House Communications section of the 

Congressional Record on Congress.gov. Select “House Communications,” and enter search 

terms to find the relevant Requirement Number.

Note: Your report may fulfill multiple requirements. If this is the case, select all that apply.

Example:

• House Communication EC706 from April 13, 2023, lists the Requirement Number, 

as well as the Agency, Nature of Report, and Legislative Authority for an Annual 

Report to Congress from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

In this case, the Requirement Number is R11629.

If I am submitting a report and must provide the publication date, what do I use for a 

date when month, day, and year are required, but I only have the month and year or 

only the year?

For reports that have a publication date of only a month, a year, and not a day, please 

select “1,” the first day of the month, for the day field. For reports that have a publication 

date of only a year, please use the estimated month, day, and year on which the report was 

considered to be “final” by the submitting Federal agency. If not printed on the report, 

consider using date on transmittal letter, date submitted to Congress, or date published to 

agency website.

If I am submitting a report and must provide the date on which the report was 

submitted to Congress, what date do I use if it was submitted to the House on one date 

and the Senate on another date?

For a report that was submitted to one chamber on a given date and another chamber on 

another date, please use the first date on which the report was submitted.

What is the Agency Identifier?

An agency identifier can be an internal classification number specific to your agency or 

organization. Not all agencies assign agency-specific identifiers to their reports. The 

agency identifier may also be present in the URL of the online version of the report.
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My agency has already published an electronic version of this congressionally 

mandated report on our agency website. Do I still need to submit the same report to 

GPO?

Yes. With the enactment of the Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act, 

submitting a report to GPO is a new requirement. Submitting a report for publication on 

GovInfo does not replace any other requirement for a Federal agency to publish the report 

on a Federal agency website or otherwise submit the report to Congress, or directly to 

congressional committees or subcommittees.

After I submit a report, where and how soon will it be published?

Reports submitted by agencies will be made publicly available on GPO’s online system of 

access, GovInfo, in the Congressionally Mandated Reports collection. 

Reports will be published within thirty (30) days after receipt in the Congressionally 

Mandated Reports submission portal.

I submitted the wrong copy of a congressionally mandated report and need to submit a 

technical replacement. How can I submit a corrected copy?

If an error is discovered in a report that has already been submitted and published on 

GovInfo, the report can be replaced for technical changes such as a typographical error, 

missing pages, etc. Reports can also be removed if they were submitted or published in 

error.

My agency submitted a congressionally mandated report to Congress that was then 

referred to a committee. How do I find out if the report is exempt from submitting to 

GPO?

Search the Congressional Record for the corresponding Executive Communication to find 

the committee to which the report was referred to determine if it is exempt from 

submission. Refer to the full list of exemptions in the question, “What types of 

congressionally mandated reports are not required to be submitted to GPO’s submission 

portal?”
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My congressional committee has received a congressionally mandated report that I 

want withheld from publication to GovInfo. How do I do that? 

The chair of the committee or subcommittee to which the report was required to be 

submitted must notify the GPO Director in writing that the report is to be withheld from 

publication. Committee staff designated by the chair of the committee or subcommittee 

may do this by submitting a copy of the written notification to the Congressionally 

Mandated Reports submission portal.

Will congressional committee withholding letters be published on GovInfo?

If a congressionally mandated report is withheld from submission or publication on 

GovInfo, the withholding letter must be submitted by the requesting congressional 

committee or subcommittee to GPO, and this withholding letter will then be published on 

GovInfo.

I have congressionally mandated reports at my agency that were scanned from print 

copies. Will GPO accept a scanned copy of a pre-digital report?

Historic congressionally mandated reports (i.e., reports submitted to Congress or directly 

to a committee prior to December 22, 2022) may be submitted to the Congressionally 

Mandated Reports portal. GPO encourages agencies to provide copies of the preservation 

master files for digitally imaged historic reports. However, due to size, preservation 

master files cannot be submitted through the portal. Please use Ask a Question beginning 

October 1, 2023, at https://ask.gpo.gov/s/CMR to connect with GPO staff who can work with 

you to transfer the preservation master files.

I have older, historic congressionally mandated reports at my agency that are not in an 

electronic format. Can GPO help me digitize print reports?

If you are interested in discussing options for digitally imaging historic reports, please 

contact a GPO National Account Manager.

Can I submit non-congressionally mandated report content to GovInfo through the 

submission portal?

Only congressionally mandated reports may be submitted to GPO through the submission 

portal. If you are interested in discussing adding other agency content to GPO’s GovInfo, 

please contact a GPO National Account Manager.
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I’m still not sure if I should submit a specific report, or if it’s excluded from 

submission to the GPO portal. Where can I go for help?

Each Federal agency must determine whether their reports are required to be submitted 

to GPO under the Access to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act. GPO recommends 

consulting with your agency’s legal counsel for assistance with interpreting the statutory 

requirement to submit reports to GPO for publication on GovInfo.

• For questions on report submission to GPO before October 1, 2023, contact us via

askGPO at https://ask.gpo.gov/s/. Select ‘Federal Agency,’ and in ‘Select Category,’ 

choose ‘Congressionally Mandated Reports.’

• Beginning October 1, 2023, visit askGPO at https://ask.gpo.gov/s/CMR .

• For information, please visit the Congressionally Mandated Reports website, which 

will be updated with guidance, tutorials, and more.