federal-regulations-mcp-server

Search and trace US federal rules across the Federal Register, eCFR, and Regulations.gov.

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What it can do

    What data it sees

    Do you need an account

    No: the server works without sign-in

    Search and trace US federal rules across the Federal Register, eCFR, and Regulations.gov.

    How to connect

    How to connect federal-regulations-mcp-server to Claude

    The server address to paste into Claude settings:

    https://federal-regulations.caseyjhand.com/mcp

    1. Open Claude (claude.ai or the desktop app).
    2. Go to Settings → Connectors.
    3. Click Add custom connector.
    4. Paste the server address copied below into Remote MCP server URL and click Add.
    5. In a chat, click + → Connectors and switch the new connector on.

    Custom connectors are available on Free, Pro, Max, Team and Enterprise plans (Free is limited to one). On Team and Enterprise an organization Owner adds the connector first under Organization settings → Connectors.

    Authorization

    After you click Add, a sign-in window for the service opens. Sign in with your own account and approve access. Claude never sees your password.

    How to connect federal-regulations-mcp-server to ChatGPT

    The server address to paste into ChatGPT settings:

    https://federal-regulations.caseyjhand.com/mcp

    1. Open ChatGPT in a browser (chatgpt.com). A Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise or Edu plan is required.
    2. Turn on developer mode once: Settings → Apps → Advanced settings → Developer mode.
    3. Open Settings → Connectors and click Create.
    4. Fill in the form: Name (anything), Description (one line about what the service does), MCP server URL (copy it below).
    5. Under Authentication choose OAuth if the service requires sign-in, otherwise None. Click Create.
    6. In a new chat open + → Apps/Connectors and enable the connector.

    OpenAI has renamed this section before (Connectors → Apps/Plugins). If the label differs, search settings for "developer mode". On Business/Enterprise workspaces an admin must allow custom connectors first.

    Authorization

    On first use ChatGPT opens the service's sign-in window. Sign in and approve access.

    How to connect federal-regulations-mcp-server to Cursor

    The server address to paste into Cursor settings:

    https://federal-regulations.caseyjhand.com/mcp

    Fastest: click Open in Cursor below and confirm the prompt.

    Manually:

    1. In Cursor open Settings → Cursor Settings → MCP and click Add new global MCP server.
    2. Paste the JSON copied below into ~/.cursor/mcp.json (per project: .cursor/mcp.json in the repo root).
    3. Save the file. The server appears in the MCP list; authorize it there if asked.

    Authorization

    If the service needs sign-in, an authorize button appears next to the server in the MCP list.

    Server tool list (7)

    Raw names from tools/list. Only developers need these.

    regulations_search_rulesSearch the Federal Register — the daily journal of US proposed rules, final rules, notices, and presidential documents (1994–present) — filtering by full-text query, document type, agency slug, publication date range, and whether the rule is open for comment. The primary discovery entry point: results carry the document number (open with regulations_get_document), docket IDs, RINs, and affected CFR parts that chain into the comment and codified-text tools. The Federal Register caps navigation at 50 pages and the match count at 10,000; when a result set is larger, narrow with published_after/published_before rather than paging deeper.
    regulations_get_documentFetch one Federal Register document by its FR document number — full metadata (title, type, agencies, abstract, action, effective/comment dates, RINs) plus the cross-source handles that make this a workflow server. The output carries the docket ID (chain into regulations_get_docket or regulations_find_comments) and the affected CFR parts (chain into regulations_get_cfr_section). Set include_full_text only when the rule body itself is needed — final rules can run tens of thousands of words.
    regulations_browse_cfrExplore the codified Code of Federal Regulations via eCFR in two modes. "structure" walks the CFR hierarchy (all 50 titles, or one title's chapters → parts → sections) to discover a cite when the exact citation is unknown. "search" runs a full-text query across the codified CFR and returns matching sections with their hierarchy path and a snippet. Both modes accept title and part to narrow the scope, so a part surfaced by structure mode can be searched directly instead of filtering a whole title's hits by eye. Both feed regulations_get_cfr_section. Every search result reports which corpus answered it — the synced local mirror or the live eCFR index — and what that corpus covers, in `source` and `sourceScope`.
    regulations_get_cfr_sectionRead the codified text at a CFR location via eCFR — current or as of a past date. Answers "what does 40 CFR 50.1 say today?" and "...as of 2019-01-01?". Three locations: title + part + section for one section; title + part alone for the whole part (large parts can be very long, and their appendices are named rather than inlined; prefer a specific section when you know it); title + appendix for one appendix, passing the identifier exactly as regulations_browse_cfr emits it. eCFR retains historical versions back to roughly 2017; a date before coverage is rejected with guidance. Current single-section reads are served from a synced local mirror when available; the source is reported.
    regulations_get_docketPull a rulemaking docket from Regulations.gov by docket ID (e.g. "EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0194") — the docket's metadata (title, agency, RIN, abstract) and the documents filed in it (NPRM, final rule, supporting materials). The docket is the folder holding a rule's whole paper trail; each returned document's objectId feeds regulations_find_comments. A docket often contains hundreds of supporting materials — filter document_types to "Proposed Rule"/"Rule" to find the rule documents themselves. Requires REGULATIONS_GOV_API_KEY (free at https://api.data.gov/signup/); the Federal Register and eCFR tools work without it.
    regulations_find_commentsFetch public comments on a Federal Register document or a Regulations.gov docket — the unique corpus of what citizens and organizations actually submitted. Provide exactly one targeting parameter: docket_id (all comments in a docket, broadest), document_object_id (comments on one document, from regulations_get_docket), fr_document_number (convenience — resolves the FR number to its Regulations.gov document internally), or comment_id (one comment's full detail and attachments). The list endpoint returns no body text or attachment info — call with comment_id to read a comment's body. When a comment's real content is a PDF/DOCX attachment, the body is a stub and attachmentOnly is true; the attachment download URLs are returned. Requires REGULATIONS_GOV_API_KEY (free at https://api.data.gov/signup/).
    regulations_list_open_commentsList rules currently open for public comment, filterable by agency slug and topic, sorted by closing date (soonest first). "What can I still weigh in on?" Runs on the Federal Register's open-comment window and is fully functional without a key. When REGULATIONS_GOV_API_KEY is configured, each row is enriched with the comment count from the Federal Register document's embedded Regulations.gov info (no extra rate-limited call). Open one row with regulations_get_document for the full proposal, or pull the comments with regulations_find_comments.