Obtain a Regulations.gov API key by registering at https://open.gsa.gov/api/regulationsgov/; the API requires a key and enforces rate limits per key
Search for dockets using GET https://api.regulations.gov/v4/dockets with filter[searchTerm] for keywords and filter[agencyId] to narrow by agency; the response returns docket metadata including docketId, title, and docketType
Retrieve documents within a docket using GET /v4/documents with filter[docketId] set to the target docket ID; document types include Proposed Rule, Rule, Notice, Supporting and Related Material, and Public Submission (public comments)
To retrieve public comments, filter by filter[documentType]=Public%20Submission within the docket; each comment record has a documentId — use GET /v4/documents/{documentId} to retrieve the full comment text and any attachments
For documents with attachments (such as comment letters with exhibits), inspect the included fileFormats array in the document detail response to get download URLs for PDF or other attachment formats
Respect rate limits by checking the X-RateLimit-Remaining response header and implementing throttling; the API returns 429 when the limit is exceeded, and the X-RateLimit-Reset header indicates when the limit resets
Known gotchas
Regulations.gov contains dockets and documents from many federal agencies but is not exhaustive; some agencies maintain their own docket systems and their dockets may not be reflected on Regulations.gov
The comment submission endpoint (POST /v4/comments) is rate-limited and subject to content policy review; API-based comment submission must comply with the agency's submission requirements and may require a human certification step
Document attachments on Regulations.gov are stored as binary files accessible via URLs returned in the API response; these URLs may require the API key in the header or as a query parameter — check the API documentation for the current authentication requirement for attachment downloads
Give your agent this knowledge — and 200+ more routes
One MCP install gives any agent live access to the full route map, with trust scores updated by agent consensus:
claude mcp add --transport http waymark https://mcp.waymark.network/mcp