National Archives Office of the Federal Register Hosts First PKI Conference
Press Release · Thursday, March 13, 2014

Washington, DC

Conference promotes digitization of Federal Register submissions

On March 6, 2014, the National Archives Office of the Federal Register (OFR) hosted its first conference on Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). Nearly 60 participants representing 28 different agencies discussed new and streamlined techniques for digital submission of documents for publication in the Federal Register. Ben Jordi, from OFR's Information Services and Technology Division, provided opening remarks and presented OFR's PKI program to the agency participants. Representatives from the Environment Protection Agency and the National Institutes of Health then presented their experiences implementing PKI programs at their agencies. The final session of the conference was a demonstration of the new web portal that will be released this spring, allowing agencies to track what they have submitted and get immediate feedback on the document's digital signature.

OFR's innovative digitization solutions and ongoing training for staff at contributing agencies resulted in a significant increase in digital submissions to the Federal Register: from 29% in FY 2010 to 41% in FY 2013. For details and more information, see https://www.federalregister.gov/learn/tutorials.

"We're working hard to move fully into the digital age, "said OFR Director Charley Barth." Our partnership with federal agency customers to increase the percentage of documents submitted digitally is a cornerstone of that effort. The benefits are significant: increased efficiency, responsible environmental stewardship, and greater access to information. I'm behind the effort 100% and am excited to promote it," he added.

About OFR and PKI
The Office of the Federal Register is equipped to accept digital submission of Federal Register documents using PKI technology. This capability allows Federal agencies to digitally sign documents in a PKCS #7 format and send to the Office of the Federal Register electronically, instead of providing the original paper document, two certified paper copies, and an electronic version on disc resulting in cost savings to the agency and significant reductions in paper use. In FY 2013 alone, more than 286,000 pieces of paper were saved by agencies that sent their documents to the Federal Register in digital form. OFR encourages all agencies to use the digital submission process. Call OFR at 202-741-6020 to learn how to submit your agency's Federal Register documents digitally.

The Federal Register, the daily newspaper of the Federal government, is a legal newspaper published every business day by the National Archives. The Federal Register contains Federal Agency Regulations, Proposed Rules and Public Notices, Executive Orders, Proclamations, and other Presidential Documents. The Federal Register informs citizens of their rights and obligations and provides access to a wide range of Federal benefits and opportunities for funding. For more information, see www.federalregister.gov .

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