Welcome to the Office of Administrative Law Website

The Office of Administrative Law (OAL) ensures that agency regulations are clear, necessary, legally valid, and available to the public. OAL is responsible for reviewing administrative regulations proposed by over 200 state agencies for compliance with the standards set forth in California's Administrative Procedure Act (APA), for transmitting these regulations to the Secretary of State and for publishing regulations in the California Code of Regulations.

OAL assists state regulatory agencies through a formal training program, as well as through other less formal methods, to understand and comply with the Administrative Procedure Act.

OAL also accepts petitions challenging alleged underground regulations--those rules issued by state agencies which meet the Administrative Procedure Act's definition of a "regulation" but were not adopted pursuant to the APA process.

OAL oversees the publication and distribution, in print and on the Internet, of the California Code of Regulations and the California Regulatory Notice Register.

News/Information

NEW! -- an index to the Notice Register covering the past twelve months (sorted by agency name).  Click on the Notice Register tab (above) and find the text of the notice using the publication date or register number.

list of regulations currently under review by OAL(This list is generated each morning and does not include regulations submitted during the remainder of the business day.)

Request for Information -- OAL Requests Information
OAL's current contract for the hard copy and online publication of the CCR and Notice Register ends December 31, 2010. In 2010, we plan to issue a formal request for proposals for the future publication of the CCR and Notice Register. We encourage any interested person to submit information, comments, or suggestions regarding the publication of the CCR and Notice Register. Please read our Request for Information for details.

The 2010 Rulemaking Calendar--Instructions for Preparing the 2010 Rulemaking Calendar are now available. 

Changes to OAL Website Links--On October 21, 2009, the folder structure of the OAL website changed when OAL switched to a new website management program. If you bookmarked a web page on the OAL website prior to October 21, you may need to create a new bookmark. We may make additional folder changes as part of this transition and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience. Please contact OAL at staff@oal.ca.gov if you have difficulty finding a specific page to bookmark.

 
California Rulemaking Law Book
The California Rulemaking Law book is a convenient resource for the government and private sectors, attorneys, clients, advocates, and the general public to find the primary statutes and regulations governing rulemaking under the California Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The publication contains excerpts from the statutes and regulations and is an informational tool only. Please refer to the publications of the official statutes and regulations for the complete text. The cost is $8.00 per book plus shipping.