FDLP Resource Guides: Presidential Documents: Presidential Documents

GovInfo

GovInfo provides free public access to official publications from all three branches of the Federal Government.

Catalog of U.S. Government Publications

Search U.S. Government Publishing Office’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications for catalog records. Many records link to the full text.

Open Educational Resources

All FDLP Resource Guides are open educational resources for anyone to share, copy, and reuse.

Types of Documents

Executive Orders are signed documents, numbered consecutively, through which the President of the United States manages the operations of the Federal Government.

Proclamations are signed documents, numbered consecutively, through which the President of the United States communicates information on holidays, commemorations, special observances, and trade.

Administrative orders are unnumbered signed documents through which the President of the United States conducts the administrative operations of the Federal Government. Administrative orders include but are not limited to memoranda, notices, determinations, letters, and messages.

Presidential Documents Guide

Compilation of Presidential Documents

Compilation of Presidential Documents
The Compilation of Presidential Documents collection consists of the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents and the Daily Compilation of Presidential Documents which are the official publications of materials released by the White House Press Secretary. The Compilation of Presidential Documents is published by the Office of the Federal Register (OFR), National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

Executive Orders

Executive Orders (Federal Register)
he President of the United States manages the operations of the Executive branch of Government through Executive orders. After the President signs an Executive order, the White House sends it to the Office of the Federal Register (OFR).
The OFR numbers each order consecutively as part of a series, and publishes it in the daily Federal Register shortly after receipt.

Presidential memoranda

Presidential memoranda

Presidential proclamations

Presidential proclamations

Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States

Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States
The Public Papers of the Presidents, which is compiled and published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration, began in 1957 in response to a recommendation of the National Historical Publications Commission. Noting the lack of uniform compilations of messages and papers of the Presidents before this time, the Commission recommended the establishment of an official series in which Presidential writings, addresses, and remarks of a public nature could be made available.The Public Papers have been discontinued as a whole, and the series will end with the Obama Administration; Public Papers will not be published for either the Trump or Biden Administrations. All published volumes of the Public Papers will continue to be available on GovInfo in the Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States collection.