Question: How do I sign up for email alerts on a docket?

Answer:

Regulations.gov allows you to receive alerts when changes or additions occur in a Docket. To subscribe:

• Navigate to a Docket
• Click the Sign up for E-mail Alerts link
• Enter your email address and select how frequent you would like to receive emails (daily, weekly, or monthly)

Question: What is a Regulation Identifier Number (RIN)?

Answer:

A RIN, or "Regulation Identifier Number," is assigned by the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) electronic docketing system to identify each regulatory action listed in the Unified or Regulatory Agenda. OMB has asked agencies to include RINs in the headings of their Rule and Proposed Rule documents when publishing them in the Federal Register, to make it easier for the public and agency officials to track the publication history of regulatory actions throughout their development.

Question: How can I find OSHA specific Regulatory Agenda items?

Answer:

• Visit the Regulatory Agenda page on Regulations.gov.
• Select a Publication Date from the drop down.
• Select Department of Labor (DOL).
• Click Go.
• Type OSHA in the search box.
• Click Search.

Question: What is the Regulatory Agenda?

Answer:

The Regulatory Agenda provides information about regulations that each agency plans to issue or has recently completed, including those for OSHA.

Question: What are supporting and related materials?

Answer:

Supporting and related materials are documents and exhibits related to OSHA rulemaking and non-rulemaking activities. Examples of supporting and related materials include:

• Hearing transcripts
• Information Collection Requests (ICR)
• Meeting materials
• Press releases
• Reports
• Scientific, technical, and economic analyses
• Studies

Question: What can I find on Regulations.gov?

Answer:

On Regulations.gov, you can find and submit comments on federal registers open for comment.

You can also find:

• Notices
• Proposed Rules
• Final Rules
• Supporting & Related Materials
• Regulatory Agenda

Question: What is Regulations.gov?

Answer:

Regulations.gov serves as OSHA's and some other federal agencies' electronic public docket and on-line comment system. It provides one-stop, web-based access to every open rule published by different federal agencies, including OSHA. Regulations.gov allows the public to view a description of these rules, read the full text of these documents (unless they are restricted), and submit comments to the appropriate federal agency.

Question: How are my search results retrieved on Regulations.gov?

Answer:

Search results display documents posted on Regulations.gov. These documents include Federal Register publications, scientific and technical findings, comments and other regulatory documents. Once you enter a keyword(s), Docket ID or Document ID, the search engine looks for matches in specific document data, such as the Document ID, title, associated RINs, and other identifiers, in addition to document text. Documents which include a keyword or Document ID that is found more than once will be displayed first in the Search Results.

Most users visit Regulations.gov to submit comments on proposed regulations and other regulatory documents open for comment. Therefore, by default, those documents are placed at the top of the results.

To refine your search results use one or more filters displayed to the left, sort by the options available in the drop-down menu, and/or enter another keyword to search within your existing results.

Question: How can I search Regulations.gov using the Browse tab?

Answer:

Click on the Browse tab from the Home page to begin browsing Federal Register documents (e.g., Proposed Rules, Rules, and Notices) and other documents that have been categorized under 10 top-level Industry Category headings (e.g., Banking and Financial, Technology and Telecommunications, etc.). These recently published documents are open for comment and grouped under these categories based on their referenced CFR Citation Number(s). Public Submissions and Supporting and Related Materials are excluded from these categories.

By clicking the title of any document listed on the Browse tab, you will open its Document Detail page to view the regulatory text and other important information. Click the heading of any Category to see other related Federal Register documents listed on the Search Results page. To narrow or expand results, use additional search filters, and even enter a keyword to search within results.