regulationsgov-mcp

Free, open-source MCP server for the Regulations.gov API. Federal rulemaking dockets, proposed rules, final rules, public comments, and comment period tracking.

Hosted: no key. Local: a free api.data.gov key. See Local or hosted.

Tested and hardened through four rounds of integration testing against the live Regulations.gov API, plus a round-7 independent re-audit with live verification. 241 collected regression tests (122 offline, 119 live-gated) covering 1 P0 catastrophic bug, 10 P1 silent-wrong-data bugs (including agency_id="" returning all 1,951,938 records), 7 P2 validation gaps, 12 round-7 findings, and the 1.1.0 hosted-directory fixes (compact results, publisher-key fail-closed). See testing.md for the full testing record.

Local or hosted

• Local runs it on your computer, inside the Claude or ChatGPT desktop app or another AI app. You get your own full rate limits, and it relies only on the government service. It needs a free api.data.gov key. You don't have to set it up by hand: give your AI this page's link and ask it to set it up or walk you through it.
• Hosted is the convenient option: one click, no keys, and it works in Claude or ChatGPT anywhere.

Compare local and hosted · Matching prompts

What it does

Exposes the Regulations.gov API plus a credential-readiness check as 9 MCP tools:

Core

• search_documents - Search proposed rules, final rules, notices with flexible filters
• get_document_detail - Full document details with optional attachments
• search_comments - Search public comments (by docket, document, or keyword)
• get_comment_detail - Full comment text and submitter info
• search_dockets - Search rulemaking and nonrulemaking dockets
• get_docket_detail - Docket metadata, abstract, and RIN

Workflow

• open_comment_periods - Currently open comment periods across procurement agencies
• far_case_history - Summary of a FAR/DFARS rulemaking case with its documents, paged

API key (required)

This server calls api.regulations.gov, which requires an api.data.gov key: 1,000 requests per hour, yours alone. Without REGULATIONS_GOV_API_KEY the server still starts and lists its tools, but data tools return setup instructions instead of calling Regulations.gov.

Get a free key (takes 30 seconds):

1. Go to open.gsa.gov/api/regulationsgov/#getting-started (or directly at api.data.gov/signup)
2. Enter your name and email: no approval, no wait
3. Copy the key from the confirmation page
4. Paste it into your client config as REGULATIONS_GOV_API_KEY (see below)

The same api.data.gov key works for every api.data.gov-backed API (Regulations.gov, GSA Per Diem, NASA, FEC, FCC, etc.), so if you already have one for another 1102tools MCP you can reuse it.

Installation

uvx regulationsgov-mcp

Configuration

Use the configuration below as the server definition and adapt its placement to your compatible MCP client. For practical requests using this source, see the prompt library.

With your key:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "regulationsgov": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["--refresh-package", "regulationsgov-mcp", "--from", "regulationsgov-mcp", "regulationsgov-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "REGULATIONS_GOV_API_KEY": "paste-your-api-data-gov-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

The --refresh-package flag tells uv to check PyPI for a newer release each time your client launches the server, so fixes arrive automatically; without it, uv keeps serving whatever version it first cached. It adds a moment of network time at startup, so raise your platform's MCP startup timeout if it enforces a short one.

Restart the client and the tools appear.

Example prompts

• "What FAR cases have open comment periods right now?"
• "Show me the full docket history for FAR-2023-0008."
• "Find all proposed rules from DARS posted in the last 6 months."
• "How many public comments were submitted on FAR Case 2023-008?"
• "Search for rulemaking dockets related to cybersecurity at DoD."
• "Find all SBA rules about size standards from the last year."

Important: case-sensitive filter values

Regulations.gov filter values are CASE-SENSITIVE. Use exact casing:

• Document types: Proposed Rule, Rule, Notice (not lowercase)
• Docket types: Rulemaking, Nonrulemaking
• Lowercase values silently return 0 results with no error

Companion tools

• federal-register-mcp: what was published in the Federal Register
• regulationsgov-mcp: the docket structure, public comments, and comment period status
• ecfr-mcp: what the regulation currently says after amendments

Together these three cover the full regulatory pipeline from proposal through public comment to codified rule.

License

MIT