Locating Executive Orders

When attempting to locate Executive Orders, researchers have many options to utilize--in print, subscription-based, and free online resources. Find more information about these options in the tabs below.

Note that, for Executive Orders before 1936, you might have to visit a library. Utilize the Federal Depository Library Directory to find a Federal Depository Library near you.

An easy-to-use reference guide available at the Law Library of Congress Reading Room is the Congressional Information Service’s Presidential Executive Orders and Proclamations and its attendant Index. Both are listed below and can be used to quickly track down Executive Orders issued from 1789 to 1983 by subject and number, or date.

If the Executive Order you seek was issued after March 1936, it has been published in the Federal Register, and then reprinted in Title 3 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Both resources are also listed below. Print and microform versions of these resources can also be requested in the Law Library Reading Room.

The following titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are included when available.

Presidential Executive Orders and Proclamations by Congressional Information Service
Call Number: Microfiche 90/10002
Published/Created: 1987 -
Index to Presidential Executive Orders & Proclamations by Congressional Information Service
Call Number: KF70 .A55 1987
Published/Created: 1987 -
Public Papers of the Presidents
Call Number: J80 .A283
Published/Created: 1929 -
Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents
Call Number: Microfiche 2000/10002
Published/Created: 1965 - 2009
See the govinfo "Compilation of Presidential Documents" page for 2010 to present
Federal Register
Call Number: KF70 .A2
Published/Created: 1936 -
1936-1993 - see https://www.loc.gov/collections/federal-register
1994- see http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/LPS1756
Electronic copy from HathiTrust - see http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000598886 External
Code of Federal Regulations
Call Number: KF70 .A3
Published/Created: 1977 -
View the CFR online from 1996 forward on govinfo - see https://www.govinfo.gov/app/collection/cfr
Electronic copy from HathiTrust - see http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/003911273 External

The subscription resources marked with a padlock are available to researchers on-site at the Library of Congress. If you are unable to visit the Library, you may be able to access these resources through your local public or academic library.

HeinOnline Code of Federal Regulations External This link opens in a new window
The Federal Register Library contains the Federal Register from its inception in 1936, the Code of Federal Regulations, the Administrative Procedure Act, Code of Emergency Federal Regulations, the U.S. Government Manual and the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents. The Federal Register is the main source for the United States federal government agencies' proposed new rules, final rules, changes to existing rules and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents.
Nexis Uni External This link opens in a new window
Contains over 6,000 news, business, and legal sources, including deep backfiles and up-to-the-minute stories in national and regional newspapers, wire services, broadcast transcripts, international news, and non-English language sources. Use the included Company Dossier module to retrieve detailed company information and financial performance measures or identify and compare companies matching specific criteria. Areas covered include:
- NEWS Full text of hundreds of newspapers, magazines, and newswires from the U.S. and around the world Hard-to-find broadcast transcripts from the major television and radio Spanish, French, German, Italian, Dutch and other foreign-language newspapers and magazines
- LEGAL Comprehensive coverage of US federal and state case law and statutory law Law review articles from over 500 publications Legal news from more than 300 legal newspapers, magazines, and newsletters Patents from 1971 forward
- BUSINESS Company Dossier service, including detailed financial and operating data on over 43 million US and international companies Business and trade publications SEC filings
ProQuest Databases External This link opens in a new window
A multidisciplinary resource including ProQuest Research Library with citations and abstracts for over 2,500 journals, magazines, and newspapers, many dating back to 1986 or earlier and covering all subject areas. Full text is available for about one half of the publications. This link allows for searching all databases on the ProQuest platform that are cross-searchable.
Westlaw Patron Access This link opens in a new window
Westlaw Patron Access provides access to up-to-date legal information from Westlaw, including case headnotes and synopses, Table of Contents service, Key Cite, West Key Number System, and KeySearch.
Access to this site is only available from the Law Library Reading Room.
The simultaneous user limit for this resource may result in temporary delays.
ProQuest Regulatory Insight External This link opens in a new window
Regulatory Insight offers content and functionality to facilitate research, teaching, and learning about historic and recent Federal regulations promulgated by executive branch agencies. Features professionally compiled regulatory "histories" to enable researchers to understand the rulemaking process undertaken to implement specific U.S. Public Laws. Suitable for researchers interested in law, history, government, and any aspect of society impacted by Federal regulations. As a companion to Legislative Insight, Regulatory Insight offers U.S. federal administrative law histories beginning in 1936, organized by federal statute and Executive Order.

The resource includes:
- Federal Register documents for 1936-present
- Code of Federal Regulations from 1938-current
- Regulatory Histories for Public Laws enacted from 1935-current and Executive Orders for 1936-current.<.li>

Researchers also have the benefit of several free online resources, including:

Law Librarians Society of Washington, D.C. - Table of Congressional Publication Volumes and Presidential Issuances External
A good place to start, particularly if the Executive Order was issued before 2005, is the Table of Congressional Publication Volumes and Presidential Issuances produced by the Law Librarians Society of Washington, D.C. This Table provides information about which presidential administration issued the Order, what year the Order was issued, and where the Order can be found in a publication.
American Presidency Project External
The American Presidency Project, created and maintained by the University of California Santa Barbara, contains a great deal of information on the executive branch, including presidential speeches, statements, and proclamations. It also includes an almost complete collection of Executive Orders (1826 to the present).
White House - Presidential Actions
For the most current Executive Orders (2021-present), try the White House's "Presidential Actions" page. Note that this page also includes information about Executive Orders, Proclamations, Executive Memoranda, and Nominations.
National Archives and Records Administration - Codification of Presidential Proclamations and Executive Orders
Further, the National Archives offers its Codification of Presidential Proclamations and Executive Orders, which is a “convenient reference source proclamations and Executive orders with general applicability and continuing effect.” It consists of:
- A chapter-based index that organizes the proclamations and executive orders into 50 chapters, by subject
- An alphabetical index that allows for the searching of proclamations and executive orders by subject
- Disposition Tables that list the executive orders by number and by President
govinfo - Browse by Category
The "Browse by Category" section of the Government Publishing Office's govinfo website has two sections that are of particular interest to researchers:
- Budget and Presidential Materials, which contains links to the Compilation of Presidential Documents (1992 to present) materials, as well as the Public Papers of the President (1991 to present) collection; and
- Regulatory Information, which has links to the Code of Federal Regulations (1996 to present) and the Federal Register (1936 to present).
Law Library of Congress - Digitized Materials
The Law Library of Congress has also digitized helpful resources:
- The Federal Register (1936 to 1993); and
- The Code of Federal Regulations (1938 to 1964).

Executive Orders: A Beginner’s Guide

Locating Executive Orders