What IBR Language Must I Include in a Rulemaking Document?
A. Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
For advance notices of proposed rulemaking (ANPRs), you do not request formal approval of IBR. If you propose to incorporate specific material in the ANPRM, follow the steps for a proposed rule in the following section (B.).
If you have questions about how to include IBR in an ANPRM, contact OFR-Legal@gpo.gov.
B. Proposed Rules
- For proposed rules, you do not request formal approval of IBR. However, if you include regulatory text, you must include the proper IBR structure and language in the regulatory text of your proposed rule.
- The Director will informally approve the proposed IBR, as part of the publication process, as long as:
- The term “Incorporation by reference” is included in the List of Subjects for the relevant part (for documents with regulatory text), and
- The preamble of the proposed rule includes an easily identifiable section that does three things (see Example 3, Example 4, and Example 5):
- Identifies and individually summarizes the standards that you propose to IBR;
- Identifies any IBR material previously approved for IBR, if that material is unchanged but appears as part of revised or republished regulatory text; and
- Discusses the ways that the proposed IBR material is reasonably available to interested parties, or how you worked to make that material reasonably available to interested parties for the purposes of the proposed rule.
- If the preamble of the proposed rule does not meet these requirements, the Director will return the proposed rule to the agency.
- If you include IBR language in the regulatory text of your proposed rule, you must follow the drafting procedures described in section X.C.2. of this handbook.
Remember: ONLY include "Incorporation by reference" in the list of subjects of documents with at least one IBR reference in the regulatory text.
C. Final Rules
- You must request approval for each standard you wish to IBR, and you may not send us the final rule with those standards for publication before you receive the Director’s approval.
- The Director will formally approve the IBR request when it meets the content and format requirements in sections X.C. and XI.C. of this handbook (see also Example 3, Example 4, and Example 5).
- If you send a final rule for publication without formal IBR approval, the Director will kill and return the document to your agency.
Examples
Download section IX, release 1-2022