For information about, and how to find, the Federal Register, check out the Federal Register research guide.
Occasionally there is a need to see what a CFR section looked like in a prior year. HeinOnline is the most comprehensive source to find older versions of the CFR. Lexis (beginning with 1981) and Westlaw (beginning with 1984) both provide access to older versions of the CFR. See the list below for more details.
For detailed instructions and screenshots finding historical CFR sections on HeinOnline, ProQuest Congressional, govinfo, Lexis, and Westlaw, see our blog posts Finding Historic Code of Federal Regulations Sections - Part 1 and Part 2. For tips on tracing back CFR sections when the numbers have changed, see Part 3.
Contact the Jenkins' Reference Librarians at 215.574.1505 or research@jenkinslaw.org for additional assistance on finding historical versions of the CFR.
Code of Federal Regulations govinfo (GPO)
CFR from 1997 - present (select Titles from 1996 also available). Can Browse by year and title. To search the CFR, click the orange "Search" button, select "Advanced", then under "Refine by Collection" select "Code of Federal Regulations". Search results can be further refined by using the side panel on the search results screen. For additional information and tips, see the About the Code of Federal Regulations page. List of CFR Sections Affected (1997-present) also available. For detailed instructions and screenshots, check out the blog post Finding Historic Code of Federal Regulations Sections - Part 1.
Code of Federal Regulations Library of Congress
CFR from 1938 - 1969. Can browse by Edition and Supplements and by Title. Includes Preliminary and Index Material, Tables and Finding Aids.
Code of Federal Regulations
Click on the 'Browse Libraries' button under the home search bar. Under Primary Material > Administrative Materials > Regulations and Administrative Codes > select Code of Federal Regulations. CFR on Fastcase goes back to 2011.
To browse the CFR, select the magnifying glass next to Code of Federal Regulations.
Code of Federal Regulations
Available on HeinOnline.
1938 - present. Can browse by year, title, indexes and finding aids, and List of Sections Affected.
For detailed instructions and screenshots, check out the blog post Finding Historic Code of Federal Regulations Sections - Part 1.
Code of Federal Regulations
Available on ProQuest Congressional. Select Regulations and make sure the "Select Publication" drop-down is set to "Code of Federal Regulations".
1938 - present. Can search by keyword or by citation.
For detailed instructions and screenshots, check out the blog post Finding Historic Code of Federal Regulations Sections - Part 1.
Archived Codes
Available on the library's Lexis computers. Begins with 1981.
From the Lexis home page, under Explore > Content > select Administrative Codes. On the right, under Related Resources, select Archived Code Search. Lexis requires a search string in order to conduct the search. If you have the citation, include it in the search box. Select "Administrative Codes", the desired year(s), and the desired jurisdiction(s). Then click "Search".
For example, if you wanted to see how 39 CFR § 551.5 looked in 2001, use the search string 39 CFR 551.5, select "Administrative Codes", enter 2001 in the date field, select U.S. Federal, then click "Search".
Lexis also allows you to find archived versions of the CFR when in the current CFR section. When looking at a current section, to the right there is an Info section labeled Archived Code Versions, when applicable.
For detailed instructions and screenshots, check out the blog post Finding Historic Code of Federal Regulations Sections - Part 2.
Code of Federal Regulations - Historical
Available on the library's Westlaw computers. Begins with 1984.
From the All Content tab, select Regulations > Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) > CFR Historical (located in the Tools & Resources box on the right). Click on the desired year. Westlaw requires a search string in order to conduct the search. Use the fields listed to help generate the search. If you have the citation, enter the title and section numbers, connected with an ampersand, in the "Citation" field.
For example, if you wanted to see how 39 CFR § 551.5 looked in 2001, once on the Code of Federal Regulations - Historical page, click "2001", enter 39 & 551.5 in the "Citation" field, and click the search icon.
For detailed instructions and screenshots, check out the blog post Finding Historic Code of Federal Regulations Sections - Part 2.