26OCT
The EEOC set a public meeting for October 30, 2026 to consider rescinding its 2012 enforcement guidance on arrest and conviction records.
Docket · updated every morning
The rules being written about your record
Proposed rules, final rules and notices from federal agencies on background checks, housing, jobs, benefits, firearms and record clearing, straight from the Federal Register. Open comment periods come first.
Pulled from the Federal Register's official data on Nov. 1, 2026. Dates and citations are the government's own, and each item links to the official text.
1open for comment now
8proposed rules in 2026
8final rules in 2026
The docket
October 2026
August 2026
20AUG
Restarts the program that lets people barred from having firearms ask the Attorney General to lift the federal ban.
10AUG
A supplemental proposal in HUD's plan to remove its disparate-impact rules. It is not final.
3AUG
Moves appeals of federal suitability actions from the Merit Systems Protection Board to OPM.
July 2026
17JUL
Notice of the Withdrawal of OGC Guidance Documents
Records HUD's withdrawal of its 2016 guidance on how the Fair Housing Act applies to criminal records.
June 2026
30JUN
Revises the factors OPM uses to decide whether someone is suitable for a federal job.
May 2026
19MAY
The Education Department's rule on the new short-term Workforce Pell Grants. It repeats that a confined or incarcerated person must be enrolled in an approved prison education program to receive a Pell Grant.
April 2026
28APR
Moves FDA-approved marijuana drug products and marijuana covered by a state medical marijuana license to Schedule III. Marijuana is still a controlled substance.
6APR
Notification of Withdrawal of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Guidance Documents
Records HUD's withdrawal of its June 10, 2022 memo on how the Fair Housing Act applies to criminal records.
January 2026
14JAN
HUD's Implementation of the Fair Housing Act's Disparate Impact Standard
Proposes removing HUD's disparate-impact regulations. It is not final.
September 2025
3SEP
Falsification, Reproduction, Alteration, Omission, or Incorrect Statements
Consolidates the FAA's rules on lying about or leaving out material facts into 14 CFR 3.403 and 3.405, replacing the old 61.59 and 67.403.
May 2025
12MAY
Interpretive Rules, Policy Statements, and Advisory Opinions; Withdrawal
Withdraws CFPB guidance, including its January 2024 advisory opinion on background screening reports.
January 2025
16JAN
Reducing Barriers to HUD-Assisted Housing; Withdrawal
Withdraws HUD's 2024 proposed rule on criminal-records screening in HUD-assisted housing, so it never took effect.
15JAN
Technical changes to TSA's recordkeeping rules for criminal history checks at airports and airlines.
December 2024
18DEC
Rewrote the federal investigative and adjudicative framework and continuous vetting.
April 2024
30APR
Removed the SBA rule that made a business ineligible for 7(a), 504 or microloans because someone tied to it is on probation or parole. Childcare microloans are the one narrow exception.
10APR
Reducing Barriers to HUD-Assisted Housing
Proposed changes to the criminal-records screening rules for HUD-assisted housing. HUD withdrew it on January 16, 2025.
January 2024
23JAN
Fair Credit Reporting; Background Screening
An advisory opinion on background screening reports. The CFPB withdrew it as of May 12, 2025.
New from the Federal Register
These proposed and final rules mention criminal history or records and haven't been reviewed by us yet. They show the agency's own summary until a second reader checks them.
27OCT
The United States Department of Justice ("Department") is amending several of its regulations pertaining to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System ("NICS" or "system") of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI") to authorize Federal Firearm Licensees ("FFLs" or…
NOT REVIEWED YET
7OCT
Privacy Act of 1974; Implementation
In the Notice section of today's Federal Register, the Office of the Pardon Attorney (PARDON), a component within the United States Department of Justice (DOJ or Department), has published a notice of a new system of records, Firearms Rights Restoration Electronic Records…
NOT REVIEWED YET
6JUL
Fingerprint and Photograph Requirements for Firearms Applications
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives ("ATF") proposes amending regulatory requirements to submit fingerprints and photographs with firearms applications. Currently, applicants must submit 2" x 2" passport-style photographs and either one or two fingerprint…
NOT REVIEWED YET
26JUN
This notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM, or proposed rule) would establish certain additional requirements for sponsor suitability assessments related to proof of identity, proof of income, and other information required for background checks to promote the safe placement of…
NOT REVIEWED YET
8MAY
Revising Firearms Transaction Record, “Form 4473”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives ("ATF") is proposing to amend Department of Justice ("Department") regulations governing ATF Form 5300.9, Firearms Transaction Record, ("Form 4473"). Specifically, ATF proposes streamlining identity and residence…
NOT REVIEWED YET
8MAY
Revising Non-Over-the-Counter Firearms Transaction Requirements
Federal law permits federal firearms licensees ("FFLs") to transfer firearms to a person residing in the same state but who does not appear in person. These are "non-over-the-counter" ("NOTC") sales. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives ("ATF") proposes…
NOT REVIEWED YET
6MAY
Clarifying Exceptions to the Brady Act Background Check Requirement
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives ("ATF") proposes amending Department of Justice ("Department") regulations to clarify when a state's firearms-related permit meets the requirements under the Gun Control Act of 1968, as amended, as an alternative to the…
NOT REVIEWED YET
6MAY
Conforming Change for Approving a Making Application
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives ("ATF") is amending Department of Justice ("Department") regulations to require that a National Instant Criminal Background Check System background check be performed as part of the approval process to make a National…
NOT REVIEWED YET
22JAN
Revising Definition of “Unlawful User of or Addicted to Controlled Substance”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives ("ATF") is amending Department of Justice ("Department") regulations to update the definition of "unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance," a category of persons who may not possess firearms under federal…
NOT REVIEWED YET
Open for public comment
PROPOSEDJustice Department
Privacy Act of 1974; Implementation
91 FR 64125 · comments due Nov. 6, 2026