Notice and comment
Definition
Notice and comment is the standard process federal agencies use to write binding rules under the Administrative Procedure Act. The agency publishes a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register, takes public comments for a set period, and must consider them before publishing a final rule.
Why it matters
This is the main legal channel for citizens, companies, and advocacy groups to directly influence a federal rule before it takes effect, and agencies that ignore or mishandle significant comments risk having the final rule struck down in court as arbitrary and capricious. Agencies can skip the process only with a "good cause" finding that notice and comment would be impracticable or contrary to the public interest.
Seen in the wild
The framework comes from Section 553 of the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946, and today every open comment period is collected on the federal government's regulations.gov, where the public can read and submit comments on live proposed rules.1