Federal Executive Documents

The President has authority to issue documents with legal effect. This authority is granted by the Constitution, statutes, or both. These documents include: proclamations, executive orders, reorganization plans, administrative orders, executive agreements, signing statements, messages to Congress, and nominations. A helpful overview of Presidential documents is available in Finding the Law (Law Reserve KF 240 .B473 2005), at pages 266-271.

There are three main sources for Presidential documents. The Bluebook, at rule 14.7, indicates which source is preferred for citing each type of document:

executive orders, proclamations, and reorganization plans should be cited to the Code of Federal Regulations, or to the Federal Register if not yet therein;

executive agreements relate to International Law;

other presidential documents should be cited to the Public Papers of the Presidents, or to the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents* if not yet therein.

This handy chart (PDF) outlines sources for presidential documents, including but not limited to those listed below.

Like other legal authority, certain Presidential documents must be updated.

Sources for Presidential Documents

Code of Federal Regulations

Title 3, The President, contains all Presidential documents that are required to be published in the Federal Register. This includes proclamations, executive orders, approved reorganization plans, and administrative orders.

Prior to 1976, there Title 3 was compiled in different time intervals. Since 1976, Title 3 has been compiled annually. The CFR may be found as follows:

Compilation of Presidential Documents

This publication contains proclamations, executive orders, nominations, communications to Congress, addresses and remarks, and interviews with the news media. Supplementary materials include lists of laws approved by the President, checklists of White House press releases, and digests of White House announcements, lists of nominations submitted to the Senate.

The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, covering 1965-Jan. 26, 2009, may be found as follows:

  • Print: Law Annex J 80 .A284 (through v.36 no.43, 2000)
  • Microfiche: Law Micro J 80 .A284 (through 2004, no. 3)
  • Online:

*The Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents ceased publication with vol. 45, no. 3, dated Jan. 26, 2009. It has been replaced by the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents as of January 29, 2009.

The Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents may be found at:

Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States

Starting with the Hoover administration, the Public Papers contain Presidential writings, addresses, and remarks of a public nature. In addition to the supplementary materials published in the Compilation of Presidnetial Documents, Public Papers include in each volume tables of proclamations, executive orders, and other Presidential documents released by the Office of the Press Secretary and published in the Federal Register. The Public Papers may be found as follows:

Westlaw provides selected Presidential Documents (PRES database) released by the Executive Office of the President of the United States. This database includes Executive Orders from 1936 to present and administrative orders, proclamations, trade agreement letters, and other documents from 1984 to present.

Lexis provides Executive Orders published in the Federal Register from 45 FR 44251 (July 1, 1990) to present.

Updating Presidential Documents

Proclamations, executive orders, and reorganization plans may be updated using Shepard's Code of Federal Regulations Citations, in print or on LexisNexis.

If you have a CFR citation for proclamations, executive orders, administrative orders, or reorganization plans, you may use the CFR updating tools to update these documents.

Page maintained by Raquel Ortiz
Last updated: March 2009