Administrative Procedure Act

The Administrative Procedure Act (APA) is the U.S. federal law that governs the way in which administrative agencies of the federal government may propose and establish regulations. The APA also sets up a process for the federal courts to directly review agency decisions. It is one of the most important pieces of U.S. administrative law. The Act became law in 1946.

The APA applies to both the federal executive departments and the independent agencies. The text of the APA can be found in Title 5 of the United States Code, beginning at Section 500.