Official publications are primary sources of law published by the United States government to disseminate new legislation, regulations, and decisions of governmental bodies.

The United States Government Publishing Office (GPO) is the official publisher of United States government materials. Recent, and some historical, publications are available free online through GPO's govinfo website. Historical collections of legal materials may be available through libraries participating in the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP), which distributes federal government publications to participating libraries. An online directory of libraries participating in the FDLP allows researchers to locate a nearby library offering access to these collections. The Catalog of U.S. Government Publications is an online finding aid for locating publications of the administrative, judicial, and legislative branches of the U.S. government that have been printed since July 1976. To search for federal government publications published before 1976, use the Monthly Catalog of United States Government Publications. The Monthly Catalog is available from libraries External, free online sources such as Hathitrust.org External, and subscription databases. For additional guidance, see the Library of Congress Finding Government Documents research guide.

The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is the official record keeper or archives for the United States federal government. According to NARA, "Of all documents and materials created in the course of business conducted by the United States Federal government, only 1%-3% are so important for legal or historical reasons that they are kept by us forever." Visit the National Archives online for information on researching the collections online or in-person at one of the regional NARA facilities.

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