AGENCY:
The term "agency" is generic. When used in this context, it includes all administrative regulatory bodies, not merely those with agency as part of their name. The Federal Communications Commission, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Department of Labor, and the Federal Aviation Administration are all considered agencies.
RULE or REGULATION:
Rules and regulations (the terms are synonymous) are regulatory documents having general applicability and legal effect.
Internal regulations are regulatory documents having limited applicability,usually to a particular agency. These may or may not be keyed to and codified in the C.F.R. Internal regulations which are usually included in the C.F.R. are those which require specified agency employees to file certain financial disclosure statements. But nearly every agency has internal regulations (relating to such things as working hours and conditions, holidays, etc.) which are not found in the C.F.R. and which may be available only from that agency. (See EBD for examples of some of these.)
Decisions and rulings and orders grow out of an agency's quasi-judicial nature. They are legally enforceable and may be appealed. Decisions and rulings involve agency determinations as to the existence of a particular fact situation (that a given statute is or is not applicable, that a deadline has or has not expired). Orders include a requirement that a definite action be taken. Right now these are outside the scope of our existing products.
Regulatory Identification Number (RIN):
Number assigned to each regulation that allows it to be cross-referenced with the Regulatory Agenda, a document that summarizes upcoming regulations for each Federal agency (twice a year in the Spring and Fall, each agency publishes a Regulatory Agenda.)
Are there copyright restrictions on Federal Register documents?
No, everything that appears in the Federal Register may be reproduced without restriction.