OFR Blog | Regulation Identifier Numbers

OFR Blog | Regulation Identifier Numbers

Regulation Identifier Numbers

Here’s some inside baseball for FR readers now that spring training is over. Have you ever wondered what a Regulation Identifier Number (RIN) is, and what you can do with one? The West Reference Attorney Blog has a good explanation, plus two files of agency RIN codes are attached for download. Students of rulemaking may wish to delve into this regulatory cryptology and see how it all fits together in Federal Register 2.0.

In Federal Register 2.0, agency RINs are listed in the “key information sidebar” to the right of document text. We hyperlink those RIN entries to Unified Agenda abstracts, where you can get additional background and the regulatory history of rulemaking actions. For example, look for the RIN in the key information sidebar of FDA’s Restaurant Nutrition Labeling document in the 4/7/2011 issue of the Federal Register. It links to this Unified Agenda abstract.

For more about the use of RINs, check out OMB’s recent memorandum on Use of the Regulation Identifier Number (RIN). That memo is listed along with other resources on our Regulatory Improvement page.