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Introduction to regulations

Regulations are laws developed and enforced by administrative government agencies. There are federal, state, and municipal regulations. Follow the instructions below to locate statutes in the Nexis Uni database and the GovInfo website.

Locate regulations in Nexis Uni

  1. On the Library's homepage, click on Databases A-Z button.
  2. Click on the letter N to view our databases starting with N.
  3. Click on Nexis Uni from the list of databases.
    Note: You may be asked to log in using your Walden username and password.
  4. On the search page, enter your search terms (e.g. "public spending") in the main search box.
  5. Click on the All Nexis Uni drop-down menu to the left of the search box; in the Narrow by box that opens, select Administrative Codes and Regulations from the options in the Content Collection tab.


     
  6. To access state statutes, click on the Cases and Codes tab and then select the state you are interested in from States & Territories Cases & Codes (e.g. California).


     
  7. Click the magnifying icon to Search. 
  8. On the results page, you can narrow your results further by using the limiters on the left-hand side of the screen. The additional limiters include Category, Jurisdiction, Sources, Practice Areas & Topics, and Keyword:​.

Locate federal regulations in GovInfo

  1. On the Library homepage, click on Databases A-Z button.
  2. Click on the letter G and then select GovInfo (formerly FDsys). 
  3. On the GovInfo homepage, select the Advanced tab located above the main search box.
  4. Under Refine by Collection, select Code of Federal Regulations.


     
  5. In the Search In column, enter your search terms into the search box (e.g. "controlled substances").


     
  6. Click Search and scroll down to view your results.

Locate state regulations

To find state regulations, you will need to access the website of your state's executive branch or their code of regulations. You can use the Law Librarian's Society of Washington D.C. (LLSDC) website to track down your state's respective website.

  1. Click LLSDC: State Legislatures, State Laws, and State Regulations: Website Links and Telephone Numbers to access a list of links to code of regulations by state.
  2. Select your state by clicking on the state abbreviations at the top of the page.


     
  3. Click the Code of Regulations link.

    Note: Nomenclature for regulatory codebooks can vary (e.g. Colorado Regulations, Georgia Rules and Regulations, Idaho Administrative Code, etc.


     
  4. Once you are on the website for your state's regulations, you can search using keywords from your topic.