Administrative materials include agency decisions, orders, and guidance documents. Bluebook Rule 14 governs many administrative sources, while Rule 15 applies to agency reports and books. The citation format depends on the issuing agency and the publication source.
Agency decisions often appear in official reporters or electronic databases. For example, decisions of the National Labor Relations Board are cited to N.L.R.B. with volume and page. Guidance documents or policy statements often appear on agency websites and may be cited with a URL and date.
When citing administrative materials, identify the agency clearly, use the proper reporter or document title, and include the year of the decision or publication.
Agency Decision
NLRB v. J. Weingarten, Inc., 202 N.L.R.B. 446 (1973).
Administrative Opinion
In re XYZ Corp., 45 S.E.C. Docket 1234, 1240 (1990).
Agency Guidance
U.S. Dep't of Labor, Fact Sheet 17A: Exemption for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales and Computer Employees (Jan. 2020), https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/17a.
Administrative Order
Order on Consent, In re ABC Corp., No. C-12345, at 3 (F.T.C. Mar. 4, 2021).
Use the official reporter if available and include the agency abbreviation, volume, page, and year.
Provide the agency name, title of the guidance, publication date, and the full URL.
Some do. Regulations are Rule 14, while guidance, reports, and decisions may follow Rule 14 or Rule 15 depending on the source.
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Learn the Bluebook rules for citing cases from federal and state courts with correct reporter, court, and year format.
Cite the U.S. Constitution and state constitutions with correct article, amendment, and section formatting.
Cite books, treatises, and hornbooks with the right author, title, edition, and page format.
Cite websites, online reports, and digital sources with proper author, title, and URL format.
Cite federal and state court rules with correct rule numbers, abbreviations, and parentheticals.
Format citations for law review articles, journal essays, and academic legal publications following Bluebook Rule 16 conventions.
Format citations for the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.), Federal Register rules, and state administrative regulations following Bluebook Rule 14.
Format citations for bilateral and multilateral treaties, international agreements, and conventions following Bluebook Rule 21.4.
Disclaimer: While this guide follows Bluebook 21st edition rules, always verify citations with official Bluebook resources or your institution's requirements. This content is for educational assistance only.
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