Interim-Final Rule
You are in the Policy Library of the Center for Effective Government's Regulatory Resource Center.
⇒ Return to Policy Library home.
⇒ Switch to the Advocacy Center.
An interim-final rule is a rule published first as a final rule with the opportunity to comment at the time the rule is promulgated. The technique is most often used when a statute requires an agency to act within a specified time shortly after the law takes effect. The agency can only skip the NPRM when it has good cause to do so. In certain cases, an agency may decide that it is "impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest" to go through the step of a proposed rule stage for a rulemaking. In these cases, the APA allows the agency to skip the step and print a final rule directly. An interim final rule allows an agency to print a final rule directly, while still providing an opportunity for public comment.
Source: The Regulatory Group, Inc., available at reg-group.com/glossary.shtml.
