# US Regulations Search (eCFR) (`agentictools/ecfr-regulations-search`) Actor

Full-text search of the US Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR). Find current rules by keyword or agency with citations, headings, and direct links.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/agentictools/ecfr-regulations-search.md
- **Developed by:** [Ken Agland](https://apify.com/agentictools) (community)
- **Categories:** Business, Automation
- **Features:** Limited permissions
- **Stats:** 4 total users, 3 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

$1.00 / 1,000 result returneds

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## US Regulations Search (eCFR)

Full-text search of the US Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR). Find current rules by keyword or agency with citations, headings, and direct links.

### What it does

- Searches the full text of the current CFR through the official eCFR search API (no API key needed).
- Optionally restricts the search to one or more agencies.
- Keeps only the current version of each provision and dedupes repeated citations.
- Exports clean, flat records with the CFR citation, headings, a highlighted excerpt as plain text, and a direct ecfr.gov link, plus an aggregate summary in OUTPUT.

### Input

| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `query` | string | Required. Full-text search query, for example "incident reporting requirements". |
| `agencySlugs` | array | Optional agency slugs to restrict the search, for example `["environmental-protection-agency"]`. Valid slugs: https://www.ecfr.gov/api/admin/v1/agencies.json |
| `maxItems` | integer | How many results to return (auto-paginated, max 500). Default 50. |

Example:

```json
{
  "query": "incident reporting requirements",
  "agencySlugs": ["federal-communications-commission"],
  "maxItems": 50
}
```

### Output

Each dataset item is one CFR provision:

```json
{
  "type": "Section",
  "cfrTitle": "30",
  "part": "285",
  "section": "285.830",
  "heading": "What are my incident reporting requirements?",
  "partHeading": "Renewable Energy and Alternate Uses of Existing Facilities on the Outer Continental Shelf",
  "excerpt": "must report all incidents listed in § 285.831 to BSEE, according to the reporting requirements...",
  "startsOn": "2024-07-15",
  "url": "https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-30/section-285.830",
  "score": 38.608624
}
```

The run's key-value store record `OUTPUT` holds a summary: total matches, items returned, and a breakdown by CFR title.

### Pricing

Pay per result, plus standard Apify platform usage.

### Data source

The official eCFR search API at ecfr.gov, maintained by the US Government Publishing Office and the Office of the Federal Register. The API is public and keyless. Search results reflect the current published eCFR text, which is an unofficial but continuously updated edition of the CFR. This Actor caps results at 500 per run and retries rate limit or server errors with backoff.

# Actor input Schema

## `query` (type: `string`):

Full-text search query matched against the current text of the CFR (for example "incident reporting requirements", "methane emissions", "capital requirements").

## `agencySlugs` (type: `array`):

Optional list of agency slugs to restrict the search (for example "environmental-protection-agency", "federal-communications-commission"). See https://www.ecfr.gov/api/admin/v1/agencies.json for all valid slugs. Leave empty to search all agencies.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

How many results to return. Pages are fetched automatically until this count is reached or there are no more matches.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "query": "data privacy",
  "agencySlugs": [
    "securities-and-exchange-commission"
  ],
  "maxItems": 50
}
```

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "query": "incident reporting requirements",
    "maxItems": 50
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("agentictools/ecfr-regulations-search").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "query": "incident reporting requirements",
    "maxItems": 50,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("agentictools/ecfr-regulations-search").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "query": "incident reporting requirements",
  "maxItems": 50
}' |
apify call agentictools/ecfr-regulations-search --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,agentictools/ecfr-regulations-search"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/AL5kN9OLXrYPd0qnb/builds/d69IsHRfde7sP7jim/openapi.json