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PEREZ v. MORTGAGE BANKERS ASSN. 

Opinion of the Court 

I 
A 
The APA establishes the procedures federal administra-
tive agencies use for “rule making,” defined as the process
of  “formulating,  amending,  or  repealing  a  rule.”    §551(5).
“Rule,” in turn, is defined broadly to include “statement[s] 
of  general  or  particular  applicability  and  future  effect” 
that  are  designed  to  “implement,  interpret,  or  prescribe
law or policy.”  §551(4).

Section 4 of the APA, 5 U. S. C. §553, prescribes a three-
step procedure for so-called “notice-and-comment rulemak-
ing.”  First,  the  agency  must  issue  a  “[g]eneral  notice  of 
proposed  rule  making,”  ordinarily  by  publication  in  the
Federal  Register.
  §553(b).  Second,  if  “notice  [is]  re-
quired,”  the  agency  must  “give  interested  persons  an 
opportunity  to  participate  in  the  rule  making  through 
submission of written data, views, or arguments.”  §553(c).
An  agency  must  consider  and  respond  to  significant  com-
ments received during the period for public comment.  See 
Citizens to Preserve Overton Park, Inc. v. Volpe, 401 U. S. 
402,  416  (1971);  Thompson  v.  Clark,  741  F. 2d  401,  408 
(CADC  1984).  Third,  when  the  agency  promulgates  the
final  rule,  it  must  include  in  the  rule’s  text  “a  concise 
general  statement  of  [its]  basis  and  purpose.”  §553(c).
Rules issued through the notice-and-comment process are 
often  referred  to  as  “legislative  rules”  because  they  have 
the  “force  and  effect  of  law.”  Chrysler  Corp.  v.  Brown, 
441  U. S.  281,  302–303  (1979)  (internal  quotation  marks
omitted).

Not  all  “rules”  must  be  issued  through  the  notice-and-
comment  process.  Section  4(b)(A)  of  the  APA  provides 
that,  unless  another  statute  states  otherwise,  the  notice-
and-comment requirement “does not apply” to “interpreta-
tive rules, general statements of policy, or rules of agency
organization,  procedure,  or  practice.” 
5  U. S. C. 
§553(b)(A).  The  term  “interpretative  rule,”  or  “interpre-