LC practice/PCC practice: RDA 6.29.1.7 applies to the administrative regulations, etc., of the United States and any other country in which administrative regulations, etc., are not laws. (See RDA 6.29.1.4 for regulations, etc., of jurisdictions, e.g., Britain and Canada, in which the administrative regulations, etc., are laws.)

The major types of U.S. publications that are covered by RDA 6.29.1.7 are the following:

LC practice/PCC practice: A promulgating agency, also referred to as a "regulatory agency," is an administrative body other than a court or legislature to which the power to make and issue regulations, etc., has been delegated by statute.

A promulgating agency may or may not be identified in the resource. The only agency identified may be the one responsible solely for disseminating and publishing the regulations. It is important to recognize the special function of "promulgating" and conversely the simple function of "publishing," because a few publications do not state the name of the promulgating agency.

In these few cases, look for the authorization in the appropriate administrative and statutory codes, etc. If the question is approached by consulting statutory material, the exact wording of such authorization varies (" ... shall promulgate and publish ...," " ... shall have the power to issue regulations ...," " ... shall determine the ... adequate .. service to be furnished, and shall fix the same by its order, rule, or regulation ..."), but the meaning is always clear.

LC practice/PCC practice: For U.S. federal regulations, etc., consult the Federal Register, the Code of Federal Regulations, and/or the U.S. Code, as appropriate. For state regulations, consult the administrative code of the particular state, etc., or the state's statutes.

Note that these reference sources are compilations of regulations, etc., or statutes actually in force at the date of publication or revision. Any sections that have been amended, superseded, or repealed can be located in earlier volumes or editions. Any sections valid after the date of that revision can be located in later volumes (or in the case of statutory publications, in annual session laws, pocket supplements, or supplementary services). Do not simply follow an existing pattern for similar or related publications, because a body's power to promulgate regulations, etc., is not necessarily permanent.

LC practice/PCC practice: If no agency is identified on the resource as the promulgating agency but the publisher is identified elsewhere as the promulgating agency, use the authorized access point for the publisher as the first element in the authorized access point for the regulations, etc.

Non-U.S. publications: If a positive identification of the promulgating agency is not possible, use the preferred title as the basis of the authorized access point for the regulations, etc.

LC practice/PCC practice: If the regulations, etc., derive from a particular law, provide an authorized access point for that law if the information about the law is given prominently in the resource or if the text of the law is part of the resource.