---
title: "Formal Rulemaking"
type: Legal Term
source: https://casebriefly.com/legal-terms/formal-rulemaking
---

# Formal Rulemaking

A rulemaking procedure required under Sections 556 and 557 of the APA when a statute mandates that rules be made 'on the record after opportunity for an agency hearing.' Formal rulemaking resembles a trial-like proceeding with oral testimony, cross-examination of witnesses, and a decision based on an exclusive record. Because of its extreme procedural costs, courts apply the trigger narrowly: in United States v. Florida East Coast Railway (1973), the Supreme Court held that only statutes using specific 'on the record' language require formal rulemaking. As a result, formal rulemaking is rarely used today, having been largely supplanted by informal notice-and-comment procedures.

## Related Terms

- informal-rulemaking
- notice-and-comment-rulemaking
- apa-administrative-procedure-act
- adjudication

## Related Cases

- chevron-usa-inc-v-natural-resources-defense-council

## Example

Under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act's 'on the record' requirement, the FDA had to conduct formal rulemaking with trial-type hearings to set standards of identity for peanut butter, a process that famously took over a decade.

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Source: [Formal Rulemaking — CaseBriefly](https://casebriefly.com/legal-terms/formal-rulemaking)