The C.F.R. is published annually, however, publication is slow so that the current year is usually not completed until halfway through the following year. If a volume of the C.F.R. is unchanged, a cardboard insert indicates that the corresponding volume from the preceding year is to be used. The C.F.R. has a subject index. Usually the text of the law or regulation is reproduced and the citation given. Loose-leaf services have better indexing than the C.F.R. and are up to date.
Many services also provide information on proposed regulations.
The first official publication of a finalized rule or regulation is in the Federal Register. There is a monthly and annual subject index, but references are to page numbers and no date is given. A rule or regulation is published in the Federal Register when it is first proposed and again when it is finalized. The name and telephone number of a contact person is provided when a proposal is first published as a source for future verification of the status of the proposal. It may take years to finalize a rule or regulation.