In the following screenshot, you see a single section of eCFR. You can see this same page on the eCFR here.
The main content is shown in the center of the page. It includes the title of the section, § 578.5 Inflationary adjustment of civil penalties, the text of the content, “The civil penalties set forth ….”, and a citation supporting the content “83 FR 60753, Nov. 27, 2018”. Depending on the content you are viewing, the content may span many paragraphs and include multiple tables, figures, or images.
Content views are available at the Part, Subpart, Section, and Appendix levels. Viewing content at each of these levels defaults to displaying the current version of the eCFR content, but you can navigate to dates in the past to see historical changes at of these levels. Learn about viewing historical content here.
In addition to the full table of contents view, an in-page table of contents is accessible anytime you are viewing the contents of a part or subpart. This in-page table of contents displays the structural organization of the content you’re viewing, enabling rapid navigation to individual sections. It’s conveniently located in the sidebar for quick and easy access, allowing you to navigate between different sections of a part at any time.
When viewing eCFR content, you can access links, citations, and various other references by using a number of tools. These tools come in two forms: Content Tools and Paragraph Tools.
On the left side of each header, you’ll find a circle icon. You can click this icon to open a content tools menu; alternatively, you can click the header directly. This content tools menu contains a direct URL to the content level you are interacting with, as well as citation information. A clipboard icon is provided which, when clicked, copies the data preceding it (see screen image below).
You can close the content tools box by clicking anywhere outside of the green box or pressing the ‘Escape’ key. Additionally, by using control (ctrl) or command (⌘) and clicking on the header, you can go directly to that content page (e.g., if you’re viewing a part and want to view a particular section in isolation).
In certain areas of the eCFR, the content tools box may also provide additional data such as “Alternate Reference” and “Primary FAR section”.
Agencies sometimes use an alternate name for the supplemental acquisition regulations they issue. For example, the Department of State issues its supplemental acquisition regulations in 48 CFR 601, which is also referred to as DOSAR Part 601.
Other parts of the CFR content can be commonly referred to by another name / acronym. For example 41 CFR chapter 102 is also known as the “Federal Management Regulation” or “FMR”.
The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), issued by the FAR Council, can be found at 48 CFR chapter 1. Federal agencies use the FAR and subsequently issue their own supplemental acquisition regulations, which should be read in conjunction with the original FAR provision.
In eCFR.gov, we refer to the original FAR provision that corresponds to the content being viewed as the “Primary FAR section”.
By default, content in the eCFR is displayed with paragraphs split and indented to follow the hierarchy of the document. We call this “Enhanced Display”. This is an automated process for user convenience only and is not intended to alter agency intent or existing codification. You can compare the two views below.
If you are a Federal Agency employee, you should use the “Drafting Display” mode when authoring amendatory language for inclusion in the Federal Register. The drafting mode presents paragraphs that match the original CFR text without additional spacing and indentation.
You can set your personal default for viewing eCFR content via the Display Options tab in the left navigation bar. If you routinely author amendatory language, you should make “Drafting Display” your default. Otherwise, you can leave the default as “Enhanced Display”. Please note, when switching between drafting and enhanced display modes, you may see a red notification warning that you’re no longer in drafting mode. This can happen if you follow an external link to the default enhanced view on eCFR.gov.
Similar to Content Tools, Paragraph Tools support viewing of Citation and URL information for a specific paragraph. In the enhanced view, clicking on the gray box that contains the paragraph identifier (letters (b),(c), or (d) in the image below) opens paragraph tools. These tools allow you to copy an eCFR citation (7 CFR 800.8(c) in the image below), or copy the URL to that paragraph using the clipboard icon on the right side of the data.
