USA.gov is the official entry point to all federal government services, agencies, and information. The General Services Administration (GSA) maintains it as the authoritative directory of the entire federal establishment.
- USA.gov — The official portal of the U.S. government maintained by the General Services Administration. Access all federal agencies, services, and information organized by topic and audience. The single authoritative starting point for any federal government interaction.
- A–Z Index of Federal Agencies — Complete alphabetical listing of all federal departments, agencies, corporations, instrumentalities, and government-sponsored enterprises with official website links and contact information.
- GovInfo.gov — The GPO's official digital repository. Contains the Congressional Record (since 1873), the Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Code, Supreme Court opinions, and thousands of official government publications — all freely searchable and downloadable.
- Federal Register — The daily journal of the U.S. federal government. Published every business day, it contains executive orders, proposed rules, final rules, agency notices, and presidential proclamations. Regulations.gov (bot-blocked but live) allows public comment on proposed federal rules.
- Data.gov — The home of the U.S. Government's open data. Over 300,000 datasets from 100+ federal agencies covering agriculture, climate, education, energy, finance, health, safety, and more. All datasets are freely downloadable under open-government licenses.
The Executive Branch is led by the President and consists of the Executive Office of the President, 15 Cabinet-level departments, and more than 68 independent agencies. The 15 departments together employ approximately 2.9 million civilian workers — the largest employer in the United States.
- The White House — Official website of the President of the United States. Contains executive orders, presidential proclamations, Cabinet member biographies, briefing room statements, and the full text of presidential speeches and actions.
- Dept. of State — Passport and visa records, diplomatic mission directories, travel advisories, treaty archives, and foreign policy documents. The Office of American Citizens Services handles records for Americans abroad.
- Dept. of the Treasury — Covers IRS tax records, OFAC sanctions lists, FinCEN financial intelligence, Bureau of the Fiscal Service, U.S. Mint, and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The OFAC SDN (Specially Designated Nationals) list is the U.S. government's primary financial sanctions database.
- Dept. of Justice — Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Bureau of Prisons (BOP) inmate locator, DEA, ATF, U.S. Marshals Service, FOIA processing, civil rights enforcement, and the National Sex Offender Public Website (NSOPW).
- Dept. of the Interior — Bureau of Land Management (BLM) public land records, National Park Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, USGS scientific data, and federal land ownership databases.
- Dept. of Labor — OSHA inspection records, wage and hour violation cases, union financial disclosure reports (OLMS), ERISA pension plan filings, and unemployment insurance data by state.
- Dept. of Education — School performance data (College Scorecard), FAFSA, accreditation databases, student loan information, and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
- EPA — Environmental compliance and enforcement records, Superfund site database, Toxic Release Inventory (TRI), air and water quality data, and facility inspection reports — all publicly searchable by address or ZIP code.
- U.S. Census Bureau — Decennial census data, American Community Survey, population estimates, economic census, and the 2025 Annual Government Organization counts covering all state and local government entities.
The U.S. Congress consists of the Senate (100 senators, 2 per state, 6-year terms) and the House of Representatives (435 voting members, apportioned by population, 2-year terms). Congress introduces approximately 10,000–15,000 bills per session; roughly 300–600 are enacted into law.
- U.S. Senate — Official website. Contact all 100 senators, track legislation, access full text of Senate committee hearings, review Senate rules, and search the Senate roll-call vote database dating to 1989.
- target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" title="U.S. House of Representatives">U.S. House of Representatives — Find your representative by ZIP code, track all House bills and resolutions, view committee assignments and hearing schedules, and access House roll-call vote records.
- target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" title="Congress.gov — Official Record of U.S. Legislation">Congress.gov — The official record of all legislation introduced in both chambers. Full bill text, legislative status, vote records, Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports, and treaty documents — maintained by the Library of Congress. 403 bot-block on server; fully accessible in browsers.
- Congressional Record (GovInfo) — Complete floor proceedings of the Senate and House dating to 1873. Searchable full text, downloadable by date or member.
The federal judicial branch consists of the Supreme Court of the United States (9 justices), 13 Courts of Appeals (circuit courts), 94 district courts, and specialized courts including the U.S. Tax Court, Court of International Trade, and Court of Federal Claims. All federal court records are accessible through PACER.
- Supreme Court of the United States — Official opinions, oral argument transcripts and audio, court rules, case dockets, and the full text of all Supreme Court decisions from 1991 onward. Historic opinions available through GovInfo.
- PACER — Federal Court Records — Public Access to Court Electronic Records. Search and retrieve case and docket information from all 94 federal district courts, 13 circuit courts, and bankruptcy courts. Cost: $0.10/page; accounts accruing under $30/quarter pay nothing. The PACER Case Locator allows name-based searches across all federal courts simultaneously.
- United States Courts (uscourts.gov) — Federal court finder, judge directories, court statistics, rules and procedures, and educational resources for all 94 federal judicial districts.
ℹ Note on PACER: Documents filed in federal courts after approximately 1996 are generally available through PACER. Older records require contacting the clerk's office directly or requesting from the Federal Records Center.
Federal law — including the OPEN Government Data Act (2018), the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (DATA Act, 2014), and the Government Performance and Results Act — requires federal agencies to make data publicly available in machine-readable formats. The following portals provide free access to the primary federal open-data repositories.
- USASpending.gov — The official source for data on how the federal government spends money. Covers all federal contracts (recipient, amount, period, agency, NAICS code), grants, loans, direct payments, and other financial assistance. Search by agency, recipient, state, congressional district, or award type.
- Data.gov — Over 300,000 open datasets from more than 100 federal agencies. Topics span agriculture, climate, consumer, ecosystems, education, energy, finance, health, local government, manufacturing, maritime, ocean, public safety, and science.
- Federal Register — The daily official record of proposed and final rules, executive orders, presidential proclamations, and agency notices. Every rule that has the force of law must be published here before it takes effect.
- National Archives (NARA) — The official repository of permanently valuable federal records. Includes declassified government documents, military service records, immigration records, presidential library collections, and the original charters of freedom (Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights).
- target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" title="Government Accountability Office">Government Accountability Office (GAO) — The investigative arm of Congress. Publishes reports, testimonies, and legal decisions on federal agency performance, spending, and regulatory compliance. GAO reports are free and searchable. 403 bot-block from server; live in browsers.
The Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. § 552), signed by President Johnson in 1966 and significantly amended in 1996 (E-FOIA Act) and 2016 (FOIA Improvement Act), grants every person — regardless of citizenship — the right to request records from any federal executive branch agency. Agencies must respond within 20 business days. In FY 2025, federal agencies collectively received more than 1.2 million FOIA requests.
- FOIA.gov — The Department of Justice's central FOIA portal. Contains every federal agency's FOIA contact information, online request submission links, FOIA reading rooms (previously released documents), annual FOIA statistics reports, and guidance on how to file. Many agencies accept requests directly through FOIA.gov's MaPS system.
- National Archives FOIA — NARA's FOIA portal for requesting access to historically significant federal records in NARA's custody, including classified records and presidential records. NARA received over 1,200 FOIA requests in FY 2025 per its annual FOIA report.
- IRS FOIA — Request IRS documents, tax-exempt organization filings (Form 990s), legal memoranda, and agency guidance. Note: individual tax returns are protected by IRC § 6103 and are not disclosable via FOIA.
- — Search previously released USPS records including contracts, audit reports, and policy documents.
ℹ FOIA Tip: Nine categories of records are exempt from mandatory disclosure, including national security information (Exemption 1), internal agency personnel rules (Exemption 2), trade secrets (Exemption 4), and personal privacy information (Exemption 6). Agencies may withhold exempt portions but must release the rest of the document.
Each of the 50 states, Washington D.C., and U.S. territories operates its own independent government with executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The U.S. Census Bureau's 2025 Annual Government Organization count identifies more than 90,000 distinct governmental units across the United States — including 50 state governments, 3,000+ county governments, 19,000+ municipal governments, 16,000+ townships, 12,000+ school districts, and 38,000+ special districts.
- USA.gov — States & Territories — Official links to all 50 state government websites plus Washington D.C. and U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands). Each link goes to the state's official .gov portal.
- USA.gov — Local Governments — Directory of county, municipal, and township government resources. Find local government websites, contact information, and service portals by state and locality.
- target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" title="Census Bureau 2025 Government Organization Counts">Census Bureau — 2025 Government Organization Counts — The U.S. Census Bureau's official count of all governmental units in the United States, updated 2025. Includes state governments, counties, municipalities, townships, school districts, and special districts.
For state-specific public records — criminal records, court records, vital records, DMV, property — use our State Public Records directory to navigate directly to each state's official government agencies by record type.
The federal government is the nation's largest employer with approximately 2.9 million civilian employees across all 50 states and territories, plus an additional 1.3 million active-duty military personnel. Understanding federal employment and spending data is essential for government contractors, researchers, journalists, and citizens tracking taxpayer funds.
- target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" title="USAJOBS — Federal Government Employment">USAJOBS.gov — The official federal government job board. All competitive civil service positions must be posted here. Search by agency, location, pay grade (GS-1 through GS-15+), and occupational series. 403 bot-block from server; fully accessible in browsers.
- USASpending.gov — Search all federal prime awards (contracts, grants, loans, direct payments) since 2008. Filter by agency, fiscal year, state, recipient, NAICS code, or award type. Agency profile pages show each department's total obligations and outlays.
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) — Employment statistics for all sectors including federal, state, and local government employment levels, wage data, and occupational outlook. 403 bot-block from server; live in browsers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is USA.gov and what can I find there?
USA.gov is the official web portal of the United States government, maintained by the General Services Administration (GSA). It provides a single point of access to all federal departments, agencies, and services — including benefit programs, government jobs, official contact information, and links to state government portals. It is the authoritative starting point for any interaction with the federal government online.
How do I file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with a federal agency?
Submit your request in writing (letter, email, or online form) directly to the FOIA office of the specific federal agency that holds the records you want. Identify the records as specifically as possible. Agencies must respond within 20 business days under 5 U.S.C. § 552. FOIA.gov provides a central portal listing every federal agency's FOIA contact information, reading rooms, and submitted-request logs. Many agencies now accept requests through FOIA.gov's MaPS (Multi-Agency Public System) directly.
How many federal agencies does the United States government have?
The precise number is debated because it depends on how "agency" is defined. The Federal Register officially lists approximately 441 agencies. The United States Government Manual lists 96 independent executive units plus 220 components of the 15 Cabinet departments. The Executive Branch alone includes 15 Cabinet-level departments, 68 independent agencies (such as the EPA, NASA, SSA, and FEC), and more than 300 advisory boards and commissions.
What is GovInfo.gov and what documents does it contain?
GovInfo.gov is the U.S. Government Publishing Office's (GPO) official digital repository of authentic government publications. It contains the Congressional Record (floor proceedings since 1873), the Federal Register (daily executive branch rules and notices), the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), the United States Code (U.S.C.), Supreme Court slip opinions, the Budget of the United States Government, the Economic Report of the President, and thousands of other official documents — all freely searchable and downloadable.
How do I find my elected representatives in Congress?
Visit house.gov and enter your ZIP code to find your U.S. House member. Visit senate.gov to find your two U.S. senators by state. Congress.gov allows you to track all legislation introduced in both chambers, see full bill text, review voting records, and read Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports. For state legislators, use your state's official legislature website (e.g., legislature.ca.gov for California, capitol.texas.gov for Texas).