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Finding Government Documents

Government Document Portals and Resources

Carol M. Highsmith, photographer. Exterior walkway at the William Jefferson Clinton Federal Building in the Federal Triangle in Washington, D.C. 2017. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.

The United States Government is the largest publisher in the world. It distributes materials in a variety of formats, including electronic, CD, microfiche, and paper. As part of its publishing program, the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) through the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) distributes certain classes of government documents free of cost to designated libraries throughout the United States and its territories. These libraries are known as Federal Depository Libraries. All may use these libraries.

The Library of Congress is a Selective Depository and has a rolling 10 years of documents which can be found in our Serial and Government Publications Division, but we also maintain older materials in our General Collections and subscribe to many databases that contain government documents. Below is a list of free and subscription portals to government documents. If you do not live nearby, ask your local library about resources in your area.

 

The resources provided on this page lead one to U.S. Government documents of all kinds. Some are portals that provide a number of resources and options to explore government documents. Others are databases where one can look for a particular document or documents by a particular committee or in a specific subject area.

Learn more about The Federal Depository Libraries at The Federal Depository Library Program

Subscription Databases for Finding Government Documents

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.

Free Resources for Finding Government Documents

Free Databases for Finding Government Documents

The Federal Depository Library System

The United States Government is the largest publisher in the world. It distributes materials in a variety of formats, including electronic, CD, microfiche, and paper. As part of its publishing program, the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) through the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) distributes certain classes of Government documents free of cost to designated libraries throughout the United States and its territories.These libraries are known as Federal depository libraries.