GovInfo API (US Congress & Federal Register)
govinfo.gov · Government
Access official US government publications including Congressional bills, the Federal Register, the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Supreme Court decisions, and the US Code. Essential for regulatory compliance and legal research.
Authentication
API Key
Free API key from api.govinfo.gov. Required on all requests.
Parameter name: api_key (in query)
Sample Requests
GET
Search Federal Register by keyword
Full-text search across all GovInfo collections. Returns matching documents with links to full text.
https://api.govinfo.gov/search?query=workers compensation&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY&pageSize=10&collections=FR
Hover any highlighted part to learn what it does
curl -X GET "https://api.govinfo.gov/search?query=workers%20compensation&api_key=YOUR_API_KEY&pageSize=10&collections=FR"
import requests
params = {
"query": "workers compensation",
"api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY",
"pageSize": "10",
"collections": "FR"
}
response = requests.get(
"https://api.govinfo.gov/search",
params=params,
)
print(response.json())const url = new URL('https://api.govinfo.gov/search');
url.searchParams.set('query', 'workers compensation');
url.searchParams.set('api_key', 'YOUR_API_KEY');
url.searchParams.set('pageSize', '10');
url.searchParams.set('collections', 'FR');
const response = await fetch(url);
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);package main
import (
"fmt"
"io"
"net/http"
"net/url"
)
func main() {
baseURL, _ := url.Parse("https://api.govinfo.gov/search")
q := baseURL.Query()
q.Set("query", "workers compensation")
q.Set("api_key", "YOUR_API_KEY")
q.Set("pageSize", "10")
q.Set("collections", "FR")
baseURL.RawQuery = q.Encode()
targetURL := baseURL.String()
req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", targetURL, nil)
client := &http.Client{}
resp, _ := client.Do(req)
defer resp.Body.Close()
body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
fmt.Println(string(body))
}require "net/http"
require "json"
uri = URI("https://api.govinfo.gov/search")
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form({
"query" => "workers compensation",
"api_key" => "YOUR_API_KEY",
"pageSize" => "10",
"collections" => "FR"
})
http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = uri.scheme == "https"
req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
res = http.request(req)
puts JSON.parse(res.body)<?php
$url = "https://api.govinfo.gov/search?" . http_build_query([
"query" => "workers compensation",
"api_key" => "YOUR_API_KEY",
"pageSize" => "10",
"collections" => "FR"
]);
$opts = ["http" => [
"method" => "GET",
]];
$ctx = stream_context_create($opts);
$res = file_get_contents($url, false, $ctx);
print_r(json_decode($res, true));
GET
Get Code of Federal Regulations section
Returns metadata for CFR Title 29 (Labor), Volume 8. Contains OSHA regulations and workers comp-related federal rules.
https://api.govinfo.gov/packages/CFR-2023-title29-vol8/summary?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY
Hover any highlighted part to learn what it does
curl -X GET "https://api.govinfo.gov/packages/CFR-2023-title29-vol8/summary?api_key=YOUR_API_KEY"
import requests
params = {
"api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY"
}
response = requests.get(
"https://api.govinfo.gov/packages/CFR-2023-title29-vol8/summary",
params=params,
)
print(response.json())const url = new URL('https://api.govinfo.gov/packages/CFR-2023-title29-vol8/summary');
url.searchParams.set('api_key', 'YOUR_API_KEY');
const response = await fetch(url);
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);package main
import (
"fmt"
"io"
"net/http"
"net/url"
)
func main() {
baseURL, _ := url.Parse("https://api.govinfo.gov/packages/CFR-2023-title29-vol8/summary")
q := baseURL.Query()
q.Set("api_key", "YOUR_API_KEY")
baseURL.RawQuery = q.Encode()
targetURL := baseURL.String()
req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", targetURL, nil)
client := &http.Client{}
resp, _ := client.Do(req)
defer resp.Body.Close()
body, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
fmt.Println(string(body))
}require "net/http"
require "json"
uri = URI("https://api.govinfo.gov/packages/CFR-2023-title29-vol8/summary")
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form({
"api_key" => "YOUR_API_KEY"
})
http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = uri.scheme == "https"
req = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
res = http.request(req)
puts JSON.parse(res.body)<?php
$url = "https://api.govinfo.gov/packages/CFR-2023-title29-vol8/summary?" . http_build_query([
"api_key" => "YOUR_API_KEY"
]);
$opts = ["http" => [
"method" => "GET",
]];
$ctx = stream_context_create($opts);
$res = file_get_contents($url, false, $ctx);
print_r(json_decode($res, true));Postman Setup Guide
- Get a free API key at https://api.govinfo.gov/docs/
- Browse collections: FR (Federal Register), CFR (Code of Fed Regulations), BILLS (Congress), USCOURTS
- GET https://api.govinfo.gov/search?query={keyword}&collections={COLLECTION}&api_key=YOUR_KEY
- Each result includes a packageLink — follow it to get the full document details
- For CFR: packages are named CFR-{year}-title{N}-vol{N}
- Workers comp federal rules are in CFR Title 20 (Employee Benefits) and Title 29 (Labor)
What can you build with GovInfo API (US Congress & Federal Register)?
GovInfo API (US Congress & Federal Register) is a Government API. Developers commonly use government APIs for:
- surfacing public datasets in citizen-facing apps
- building transparency and civic engagement tools
- accessing legislation, court records, and official data
- powering research and journalism tools
- creating compliance and regulatory monitoring dashboards
API Key authentication. You'll receive a key after signing up. Send it with every request — in a header or query parameter. Keep it out of client-side code and never commit it to version control. GovInfo API (US Congress & Federal Register) is free to use, making it a low-risk choice to experiment with.
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