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Yes: US federal agencies must accept comments mailed to the address printed in the Federal Register notice for the proposed rule. Agencies strongly recommend filing through regulations.gov instead, because mail addressed to federal offices passes through offsite security screening that can add days of delay. Mail early and use tracking.
Every proposed rule published in the Federal Register contains a section called "ADDRESSES" that lists where comments go. That is the only address you should use: agencies split comments between dockets and electronic portals, and a letter mailed to the wrong office can sit unopened past the deadline. The notice also gives the docket or rule number. Write that number prominently at the top of your letter and on the envelope. Agency staff sort incoming comments by docket number, and a letter without it can be misfiled into the wrong proceeding.
It is not hostility to mail; it is logistics. Physical mail to federal agencies is routed through offsite screening facilities for security reasons, and that detour can delay delivery by days, sometimes longer around holidays. Electronic comments land in the docket the same day and are immediately searchable by the public and the agency. Mail also has to be opened, date-stamped, and scanned into the docket by staff before it counts the same way. None of this means mailed comments are worth less once they are in the docket, but it means you cannot treat the comment deadline like a postmark deadline. A comment mailed the day before the deadline is at real risk of arriving late and being excluded from the record.
| Mailing your comment | Filing on regulations.gov | |
|---|---|---|
| Address | The ADDRESSES address in the Federal Register notice, with the docket number on the letter and envelope | The docket page for the rule; the number is entered automatically |
| Timing | Arrive before the deadline; send a week or more early because of screening delays | Same-day receipt in the docket |
| Proof it got there | Tracking plus delivery confirmation on the envelope | The confirmation number on the portal |
| Weight in the record | Same as electronic once it is scanned into the docket | Same |
| Best for | People who want a physical paper trail, or who cannot use the portal | Nearly everyone else, especially near the deadline |
Agencies are legally required to consider and respond to substantive comments, so the content matters far more than the channel. A substantive comment does at least one of three things. First, it cites the specific section or provision of the proposal it addresses: "Section 3(b) of the proposal" beats "your proposal" because the agency knows exactly what to answer. Second, it brings evidence the agency does not already have: data, studies, or concrete examples from your experience showing how the rule would work in practice. Third, it proposes an alternative: a different threshold, a phased timeline, an exemption for a class of affected parties. The classic ineffective comment is a form letter that only says "I support" or "I oppose" the rule. Agencies log those as votes, but they are not obligated to engage with them, and they rarely change anything.
Yes. Comment periods close on the stated date, usually at the end of the business day Eastern time, and agencies are not required to consider comments that arrive after. Unlike a court filing, there is no judge to grant an extension; the deadline is set in the Federal Register notice and it holds. One practical trap: comment periods are sometimes measured from publication, not from when you happened to see the notice, so by the time a rule makes the news, half the window may be gone. Another: agencies occasionally reopen or extend comment periods, but you cannot count on it. If you are mailing, count backward from the deadline with a full week of cushion for screening, and if the cushion is gone, file electronically and mail nothing.
The idea is similar but the machinery differs. Canadian federal rulemaking usually runs through the Canada Gazette, where proposed regulations appear with a comment period, and comments go to a named contact by email or mail rather than through a single portal like regulations.gov. Provinces each run their own consultation processes, often tied to a ministry rather than a central register. The substantive-comment advice applies identically: cite the provision, bring evidence, propose an alternative. The timing advice is even more important in Canada because some consultation windows are short, sometimes measured in weeks, and mailed submissions need the same lead time.
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