Guidance Documents
Guidance Documents
Executive Order 13891 requires agencies to put their guidance documents on easily searchable websites so individuals are able to access them, and Department of Justice policy prohibits using guidance as a substitute for regulation.? Guidance may not be used to impose new requirements on persons outside the Executive Branch except as expressly authorized by law or expressly incorporated into a contract, grant, or cooperative agreement. See JM 1-19.000.
Guidance documents are not binding and lack the force and effect of law, unless expressly authorized by statute or expressly incorporated into a contract, grant, or cooperative agreement.? Consistent with Executive Order 13891 and the Office of Management and Budget implementing memoranda, the Department will not cite, use, or rely on any guidance document that is not accessible through this guidance portal, or similar guidance portals for other Executive Branch departments and agencies, except to establish historical facts.? To the extent any guidance document sets out voluntary standards (e.g., recommended practices), compliance with those standards is voluntary, and noncompliance will not result in enforcement action.? Guidance documents may be rescinded or modified in the Department’s complete discretion, consistent with applicable laws.?
Furthermore, guidance documents might not represent the Department’s authoritative or official position, and, in those situations, are not entitled to receive judicial deference.? A guidance document may be considered the Department’s authoritative or official position only if it is issued in a form understood to reflect the Department’s authoritative policy, and only if it emanates from those Department officials whose actions in the relevant context may be said to reflect the considered views of the Department as a whole.? See Question 25 of OMB Memorandum M-20-02, Guidance Implementing Executive Order 13891 (October 31, 2019).
| Component | Document | Issued | Posted | ID | Topic | Overview | Notice |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) | Industry Circular 1968-28: Importation of Firearms, Ammunition and Implements of War | October 23, 1968 | February 28, 2020 | DOJ-1311971 | Firearms | This circular announces the transfer of the Arms Import Control Program from the Secretary of State to the Secretary of the Treasury. |
Guidance documents are not binding and lack the force and effect of law, unless expressly authorized by statute or expressly incorporated into a contract, grant, or cooperative agreement.? Consistent with Executive Order 13891 and the Office of Management and Budget implementing memoranda, the Department will not cite, use, or rely on any guidance document that is not accessible through this guidance portal, or similar guidance portals for other Executive Branch departments and agencies, except to establish historical facts.? To the extent any guidance document sets out voluntary standards (e.g., recommended practices), compliance with those standards is voluntary, and noncompliance will not result in enforcement action.? Guidance documents may be rescinded or modified in the Department’s complete discretion, consistent with applicable laws.? Furthermore, guidance documents might not represent the Department’s authoritative or official position, and, in those situations, are not entitled to receive judicial deference.? A guidance document may be considered the Department’s authoritative or official position only if it is issued in a form understood to reflect the Department’s authoritative policy, and only if it emanates from those Department officials whose actions in the relevant context may be said to reflect the considered views of the Department as a whole.? See Question 25 of OMB Memorandum M-20-02, Guidance Implementing Executive Order 13891 (October 31, 2019). |
| Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) | ATF Ruling 1968-368- Classification of the Spitfire Carbine | January 1, 1968 | February 28, 2020 | DOJ-1312606 | Firearms | This ruling clarifies that the Spitfire Carbine, manufactured by the Spitfire Manufacturing Co. is a firearm that comes within the purview of the National Firearms Act. |
Guidance documents are not binding and lack the force and effect of law, unless expressly authorized by statute or expressly incorporated into a contract, grant, or cooperative agreement.? Consistent with Executive Order 13891 and the Office of Management and Budget implementing memoranda, the Department will not cite, use, or rely on any guidance document that is not accessible through this guidance portal, or similar guidance portals for other Executive Branch departments and agencies, except to establish historical facts.? To the extent any guidance document sets out voluntary standards (e.g., recommended practices), compliance with those standards is voluntary, and noncompliance will not result in enforcement action.? Guidance documents may be rescinded or modified in the Department’s complete discretion, consistent with applicable laws.? Furthermore, guidance documents might not represent the Department’s authoritative or official position, and, in those situations, are not entitled to receive judicial deference.? A guidance document may be considered the Department’s authoritative or official position only if it is issued in a form understood to reflect the Department’s authoritative policy, and only if it emanates from those Department officials whose actions in the relevant context may be said to reflect the considered views of the Department as a whole.? See Question 25 of OMB Memorandum M-20-02, Guidance Implementing Executive Order 13891 (October 31, 2019). |