United States administrative law

Administrative law of the United States
General Rulemaking Notice of proposed rulemaking Adjudication Administrative law judge Code of Federal Regulations Federal Register
Statutory framework Administrative Procedure Act Freedom of Information Act National Environmental Policy Act Government in the Sunshine Act National Emergencies Act Inspector General Act Regulatory Flexibility Act Paperwork Reduction Act Unfunded Mandates Reform Act Congressional Review Act Federal Vacancies Reform Act
Regulatory coordination Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Administrative Conference Executive orders Cost–benefit analysis (Executive Order 12866)
Judicial review of agency action Arbitrary and capricious State Farm Chevron deference Auer deference Loper Bright Committed to agency discretion Due process Londoner Bi-Metallic Goldberg Mathews Exhaustion Major questions Nationwide injunction Ripeness Abbott Labs Standing Lujan
Separation of powers Appointments Clause Freytag Noel Canning Congressional oversight Authorization Organic statute Appropriation Hearings Senate confirmation Independent agencies Humphrey's Executor Seila Law Unitary executive theory Legislative veto Chadha Nondelegation
Regulated fields (and agencies) Antitrust and competition FTC CPSC CFPB Banking Treasury OCC FDIC FRB Communication FCC Energy DOE FERC Environment EPA FWS Food FDA CDC Health care HHS Immigration DHS EOIR Labor DOL NLRB Patent/trademark PTO Securities SEC CFTC Taxation IRS TC Trade DOC ITC Transportation DOT STB NTSB Social Security SSA
Related topics Constitutional law Statutory interpretation
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United States Federal Administrative Law encompasses statutes, rules, judicial precedents, and executive orders, that together form administrative laws that define the extent of powers and responsibilities held by administrative agencies of the United States government, including executive departments and independent agencies. Because Congress, the president, and the federal courts have limited resources to address all issues, specialized powers are often delegated to a board, commission, office, or other agency. These administrative agencies oversee and monitor activities in complex areas, such as commercial aviation, medical device manufacturing, and securities markets.

Former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer has defined the legal rules and principles of administrative law in four parts: (1) define the authority and structure of administrative agencies; (2) specify the procedural formalities employed by agencies; (3) determine the validity of agency decisions; and (4) define the role of reviewing courts and other governmental entities in relation to administrative agencies.^[1] Another common taxonomy divides administrative law into three big topics: rulemaking, adjudication, and judicial review.

Many U.S. federal agencies have quasi-legislative authority to issue rules. Statutes specify the scope of an agency's rulemaking authority, procedures that must be followed to promulgate rules, and the agency's enforcement authority.

Many U.S. federal agencies have the power to adjudicate, typically to rule on applications for some benefit or license, or to enforce laws within their specific areas of delegated power. Many agencies carry out informal adjudications by hearing officers or examiners, or more formal adjudications by administrative law judges or by similar specialized adjudicators. For many agencies, a statute provides for one or more layers of intra-agency appeal.

Decisions of agencies (either rulemaking or adjudication) may be appealed, sometimes to a specialized "court" or tribunal outside the agency but still within the executive branch (such as the Tax Court, Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, Merit Systems Protection Board, or Presidential review of an agency decision), sometimes to an Article III Court of specialized subject matter jurisdiction (such as the Court of Federal Claims or United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit), or a court of general subject matter jurisdiction that geographically embraces a high fraction of agency decisions (the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, or United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit).