	Introduction

The Administrative Procedure Act (APA), which applies to all executive branch and independent agencies, prescribes procedures for agency rulemakings and adjudications, as well as standards for judicial review of final agency actions. This report provides a brief overview of the APA's core rulemaking and judicial review provisions. After addressing the various methods through which agencies may promulgate rules, the report highlights the numerous exceptions to the APA's general procedural requirements, including the "good cause" standard, and the rules regarding agency issuance of policy statements, interpretive rules, and rules of agency procedure. Types of Rulemaking

The APA describes rulemaking as the "agency process for formulating, amending, or repealing a rule." The method by which an agency issues a rule may have significant consequences for both the procedures the agency is required to undertake and the deference with which a reviewing court will accord the rule. In addition, the APA contains whole or partial exceptions to the statute's otherwise applicable procedural rulemaking requirements. § 553. Formal

Although rules are typically promulgated through the informal rulemaking process, in limited circumstances, federal agencies must follow formal rulemaking requirements. Although there is no express statutory authorization for direct-final rulemaking, this type of rulemaking has been justified under the "unnecessary" portion of the APA "good cause" exception, discussed infra , as well as the informal notice-and-comment rulemaking procedures. It should be noted that Executive Order 13771 does not, and cannot, permit an agency to dispense with statutorily imposed procedural requirements when repealing or amending rules in order to implement the Order's cost-offset requirement.
The Administrative Procedure Act (APA), which applies to all agencies of the federal government, provides the general procedures for various types of rulemaking. The APA details the rarely used procedures for formal rules as well as the requirements for informal rulemaking, under which the vast majority of agency rules are issued. This report provides a brief legal overview of the methods by which agencies may promulgate rules, which include formal rulemaking, informal (notice-and-comment or § 553) rulemaking, hybrid rulemaking, direct final rulemaking, and negotiated rulemaking. In addition, this report addresses the legal standards applicable to the repeal or amendment of existing rules.
There is substantial case law regarding APA procedures and agency rulemakings. This report summarizes both the procedural and substantive standards that reviewing courts use to discern whether agency rules have been validly promulgated, amended, or repealed. Additionally, the report highlights the numerous exceptions to the APA's general procedural requirements, including the "good cause" standard, and the rules regarding agency issuance of policy statements, interpretive rules, and rules of agency procedure.
This report also briefly addresses the requirements of presidential review of agency rulemaking under Executive Order 12866 and its successors, as well as the recently established requirement to offset costs under Executive Order 13771. The report does not, however, discuss other statutes that may impact particular agency rulemakings, such as the Regulatory Flexibility Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Congressional Review Act, or the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.