Notice-and-comment rulemaking is a common procedure under which a proposed rule is published in the Federal Register and opened to comment by the general public. Rules exempt from "notice-and-comment" requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act include those related to military or foreign affairs. The process outlined here begins at the point an agency decides to initiate a rulemaking and goes through finalization of the rule. The process includes the actions of the issuing agency, as well as those of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) which may consult with agencies and review and edit rules.

Click here for a downloadable PDF version of this flowchart.

** Rules that are "economically significant" (and therefore require an accompanying RIA) and rules that are "significant" but for which OMB requires the preparation of an RIA are collectively known as "major" rules.

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