GPO Issues Digital Release of Federal Register for the 1970S

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) and the National Archives’ Office of the Federal Register (OFR) digitally release historic issues of the Federal Register from 1970-1979. The complete collection of issues of the Federal Register from 1970 to present is now available digitally on GPO’s govinfo. https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/FR.

This project is digitizing a total of 14,587 individual issues, dating back to the first Federal Register in 1936. Nearly two million pages are being digitized. The 1970s era of the Federal Register covers the Administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter, and includes such highlights as:

  • Pardon of President Richard Nixon by President Gerald Ford: September 10, 1974
  • Embargo by the Postmaster General on acceptance of mail of all classes destined for New York City and outlying areas due to a work stoppage at the Post Office Department: March 21, 1970
  • A final rule to establish the quantity of California-Arizona lemons that can be sent to market from April 8-14, 1979, due to marketing situation in the lemon industry: April 6, 1979

“Access to the Federal Register on smartphones, tablets, laptops, and personal computers from 1970 to present is another example of how GPO is meeting the technological needs of the public,” said Acting GPO Director Jim Bradley. “I look forward to GPO and the Office of the Federal Register digitizing all issues dating back to the Administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.”

The first issue of the Federal Register came off GPO presses on March 16, 1936. President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued the first document, an executive order, to be published. The Federal Register is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents. It is updated daily by 6 a.m. and is published Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays, in both digital and print editions.

GPO is the Federal Government's official, digital, secure resource for producing, procuring, cataloging, indexing, authenticating, disseminating, and preserving the official information products of the U.S. Government. The GPO is responsible for the production and distribution of information products and services for all three branches of the Federal Government, including U.S. passports for the Department of State as well as the official publications of Congress, the White House, and other Federal agencies in digital and print formats. GPO provides for permanent public access to Federal Government information at no charge through www.govinfo.gov, partnerships with approximately 1,150 libraries nationwide participating in the Federal Depository Library Program, and our secure online bookstore. For more information, please visit www.gpo.gov.

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