PERRLA/Guides/MLA 9/Federal regulation

How to Cite a Federal Regulation in MLA 9

An MLA 9 Works Cited entry for a federal regulation starts with the government and the agency that issued it (United States, Department of Health and Human Services), then the regulation's name in plain type and title case, then Code of Federal Regulations, the title number, the section, the publisher, the year of the edition you read, and the URL. A new or proposed rule that isn't in the code yet cites the Federal Register instead, with its volume, issue, date, and pages. The in-text citation starts with the first words of the entry, plus the section when you point to one: (United States, Department of Health and Human Services, sec. 482.23(b)).

The format

United States, Department Name, Agency Name. Name of the Regulation. Code of Federal Regulations, title #, sec. #, U.S. Government Publishing Office, Year, URL.
United States, Department Name, Agency Name. Name of the Rule. Federal Register, vol. #, no. #, Day Mon. Year, pp. #–#, URL.

PERRLA MLA Experts · Updated October 30, 2026
Checked against the MLA Handbook, 9th edition. Every example is formatted by PERRLA's reference engine.

First, the easy way: PERRLA

In PERRLA, choose Government Reports & Regulations (under Legal References), then A federal regulation, and pick the kind. For a regulation in the code, pick A codified regulation. Type the department in Department, with the agency after a comma, like Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Write and instead of &. Then fill in Regulation Name or Number, the C.F.R. title number in the Code of Federal Regulations Volume Number box (42 for Public Health), the Section Number without the § symbol, the Year of the edition you read, and the URL.

For a rule that's only in the Federal Register, paste its federalregister.gov link into PERRLA's reference search. PERRLA reads the rule and fills in the department, the name, the volume, the first page, and the date, under Regulation hasn't been codified yet. Add the agency after the department, and type the issue number in Federal Register Issue Number (86 for the menthol rule). Then change Federal Register Page Number to the rule's full page range (26454-26502), because MLA gives every page a rule fills. GovInfo's text version of the rule lists the range at the top (Pages 26454-26502), and GovInfo's copy of that day's issue gives the issue number (Volume 87 Issue 86).

Not using PERRLA yet? Here is how to build the same works cited entry by hand.

The parts of the works cited entry

1. Author: the government and the agency

A regulation's author is the agency that issued it. MLA's legal examples name the government first, then each unit from largest to smallest, separated by commas, and end with a period.

United States, Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Find the agency at the top of the C.F.R. chapter or on the rule's first page in the Federal Register. Part 482 sits in the chapter for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services, so both go in. OSHA's standards belong to the Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

2. Name of the regulation

Use the section's heading as the name. For a group of sections, use the heading of the subpart they sit under. MLA sets the names of laws and similar legal documents in plain type: capitalized like titles, but not italicized and not in quotation marks.

Condition of Participation: Nursing Services.

The C.F.R. prints headings in sentence case with an ending period, like "Condition of participation: Nursing services." Switch to title case. Leave the ending period on, since it closes the element.

3. Code of Federal Regulations, title, and section

The code is the container. Write Code of Federal Regulations in plain type, the way MLA styles the names of codes, then title and the title number, then sec. and the section number, each followed by a comma.

Code of Federal Regulations, title 42, sec. 482.23,

The number before the code (42 C.F.R.) is the title, not a volume. Title 42 fills five printed volumes, and Part 482 is in volume 5, so writing vol. 42 sends your reader to the wrong place. For a range, use secs. and an en dash: secs. 46.401–46.409.

4. Publisher and year of the edition

Give the publisher, then the year of the C.F.R. edition you read, and the URL. MLA cites the version you consulted, and the code is reissued once a year, so the year is the edition, not the year the rule was written. GovInfo's PDF of the section prints the edition in its page headers, like "(10–1–25 Edition)."

U.S. Government Publishing Office, 2025, www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2025-title42-vol5/pdf/CFR-2025-title42-vol5-sec482-23.pdf.

Editions don't all come out on time. The newest edition of the volume holding OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens standard is still the July 1, 2024 one, so that entry takes 2024. Drop the https:// from the URL, and end with a period.

5. Federal Register (rules not in the code yet)

A proposed rule, or a final rule too new for the annual edition, is cited from the Federal Register, the government's daily journal. It works like a periodical: its name in italics, then vol., no., the date of the issue, and pp. with the pages the rule fills.

Federal Register, vol. 87, no. 86, 4 May 2022, pp. 26454–502,

The issue number is on GovInfo's copy of that day's issue ("Volume 87 Issue 86"). Past 99, MLA keeps only the last two digits of the second page number, or more when the hundreds change too, so 26454 to 26502 becomes 26454–502.

Examples

One section of the C.F.R.: the hospital nursing services rule

Medicare's condition of participation for hospital nursing services, the rule that requires 24-hour nursing services furnished or supervised by a registered nurse. Its paragraph (b) is the staffing standard, so the in-text citation points to it. The 2025 edition of Title 42 is revised as of October 1, 2025.

  • In-text citation(United States, Department of Health and Human Services, sec. 482.23(b))
  • Narrative citationThe Department of Health and Human Services requires every hospital to … (sec. 482.23(b)).

A range of sections: research with children

Subpart D of the Common Rule, the extra protections IRBs apply to research with children. It runs from section 46.401 to 46.409, so the entry takes the subpart's heading as its name and the whole range of sections.

  • In-text citation(United States, Department of Health and Human Services)
  • Narrative citationThe Department of Health and Human Services adds protections for children in research, …

When the newest edition is a year behind: OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens standard

OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens standard covers needlestick prevention, PPE, and hepatitis B vaccination for health care workers. The newest edition of its volume on GovInfo is revised as of July 1, 2024, so the year is 2024. Paragraph (f) is the hepatitis B vaccination rule. This student read it in print, so the entry has no URL.

  • In-text citation(United States, Department of Labor, sec. 1910.1030(f))
  • Narrative citationThe Department of Labor requires employers to offer the hepatitis B vaccine … (sec. 1910.1030(f)).

A proposed rule in the Federal Register: FDA's menthol cigarette standard

FDA's 2022 proposal to ban menthol as a characterizing flavor in cigarettes, a common source in public health papers. It was only proposed, so it never reached the C.F.R. Cite the Federal Register issue it appeared in: volume 87, issue 86, May 4, 2022, pages 26454 to 26502.

  • In-text citation(United States, Department of Health and Human Services)
  • Narrative citationThe Food and Drug Administration proposed …

A final rule that isn't in the annual edition yet: the nursing home staffing repeal

CMS's December 2025 rule repealing the 2024 minimum staffing standards for long-term care facilities, an interim final rule effective February 2, 2026. The 2025 edition of 42 C.F.R. section 483.35, revised as of October 1, 2025, still prints the old staffing minimums. To write about the repeal, cite the rule in the Federal Register: volume 90, issue 230, December 3, 2025, pages 55687 to 55698.

  • In-text citation(United States, Department of Health and Human Services)
  • Narrative citationThe Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services repealed …

In-text citations

An MLA 9 in-text citation uses the first words of the Works Cited entry. For a regulation, that's the government, not the regulation's name and not a year. Add the section or paragraph you're pointing to, after a comma, with sec. in front of it.

  • One section, one paragraph: (United States, Department of Health and Human Services, sec. 482.23(b))
  • A whole subpart or rule: the author alone: (United States, Department of Health and Human Services)
  • A Federal Register rule, quoted: add the page: (United States, Department of Health and Human Services 26455). No comma and no p. before a page.
  • Name in your sentence: give only the section at the end, or no parentheses at all when there's nothing left to add: The Department of Labor requires employers to offer the hepatitis B vaccine (sec. 1910.1030(f)).

Give enough of the name for your reader to find the right entry. MLA's own government examples carry the government and the next unit, like (United States, Senate 11). If two entries start with the same department, add a short version of the regulation's name: (United States, Department of Health and Human Services, Condition, sec. 482.23(b)). MLA shortens a title to its first noun, so Condition of Participation: Nursing Services becomes Condition.

Common mistakes

  • Bloodborne Pathogens, 29 C.F.R. § 1910.1030 (2024).United States, Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Bloodborne Pathogens. Code of Federal Regulations, title 29, sec. 1910.1030, U.S. Government Publishing Office, 2024.That's the legal (Bluebook) form APA uses. MLA follows its own template: the agency as author, the name, the code as the container, then the title, the section, the publisher, and the year.
  • "Condition of Participation: Nursing Services."Condition of Participation: Nursing Services.MLA sets the names of laws and similar legal documents in plain type, with no quotation marks, even when they sit inside a larger work like the code.
  • Code of Federal Regulations, vol. 42,Code of Federal Regulations, title 42,The 42 in 42 C.F.R. is the title number. Each title is printed in several volumes, so vol. 42 points to something that doesn't exist.
  • Office of the Federal Register, vol. 87, 4 May 2022, p. 26454.Federal Register, vol. 87, no. 86, 4 May 2022, pp. 26454–502.The container is the publication, the Federal Register, not the office that edits it. Like a journal, it takes the issue number and the full page range.
  • (United States, 2025)(United States, Department of Health and Human Services, sec. 482.23(b))MLA in-text citations don't take the year. Give the first words of the entry and the section you're pointing to.

Quick checklist

  • United States, then the department and agency, as the author
  • The regulation's name in plain type and title case
  • Code of Federal Regulations, title #, sec. #, or secs. and an en dash for a range
  • The publisher and the year of the edition you read
  • Not in the code yet? Federal Register, vol., no., date, and pp.
  • In text: the first words of the entry and the section, no year

Questions students ask

What's the difference between the C.F.R. and the Federal Register?

The Federal Register is the government's daily publication, where agencies print new rules, proposed rules, and notices as they come out. The Code of Federal Regulations takes the rules in force and organizes them by subject into 50 titles, reissued once a year. Cite the code for a regulation that's in effect, and the Federal Register for a proposed rule or a new rule that hasn't reached the code yet.

Which year goes in an MLA entry for a regulation?

The year of the edition you read. MLA cites the version you consulted, and each C.F.R. title is reissued once a year on a set date: Title 29 on July 1, and Titles 42 and 45 on October 1. GovInfo's PDF of each section prints the edition in its page headers, such as "(10–1–25 Edition)."

Can I cite the eCFR instead of the annual edition?

Yes, if that's what you read: MLA cites the version you used. The eCFR at ecfr.gov is updated daily, so use the "up to date as of" date it shows, as a full date, and its URL. If you'd rather cite an edition, find the same section on GovInfo and cite that year.

Who is the author of a federal regulation in MLA?

The agency that issued it, with the government first: United States, Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration. The rule's first page in the Federal Register lists the agencies under the headings at the top, and the C.F.R. names them in each chapter's heading.

Should I write sec. or the § symbol in MLA?

Write sec. (secs. for a range) in both the Works Cited entry and the in-text citation. The § symbol and C.F.R. abbreviations belong to legal citation style, which MLA uses only in its hybrid method for specialist readers.

How do I cite the HIPAA Privacy Rule in MLA?

The Privacy Rule is a regulation in Subpart E of 45 C.F.R. Part 164, so it takes this format, with the subpart's name, Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information. HIPAA itself is the 1996 law, which is cited as a public law. The HIPAA guide covers both.

Rules checked against the MLA Handbook (9th ed.), chapter 5 (the core elements, containers, and government authors) and chapter 6 (in-text citations; section 6.2 on using only the part of the name needed to find the entry, as the MLA Style Center quotes it), and the MLA Style Center's Documenting Legal Works in MLA Style (laws and codes, Code of Federal Regulations named among them, in plain type with no quotation marks; the United States Code examples with the title and section after the code's name), How Do I Cite an Executive Order by a US President? (the Federal Register as an italic container with vol., no., date, and pages), and How Do I Cite One Person's Testimony in a Congressional Hearing? (the in-text form for a government author). Example sources are the ones verified for the APA 7 page, re-checked for MLA: GovInfo's annual C.F.R. editions (42 and 45 C.F.R. issued 1 Oct. 2025; 29 C.F.R. issued 1 July 2024), the eCFR's structure for each section's agency chapter and paragraphs 482.23(b) and 1910.1030(f), and the Federal Register API and GovInfo for each rule's agencies, page range, and issue (87 FR 26454–26502, vol. 87, no. 86; 90 FR 55687–55698, vol. 90, no. 230).

PERRLA builds the regulation entry from a Federal Register link or a few fields, with the agency, the date, and the punctuation in place.

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