How to Tell Which eCFR Edition You're Reading

When you open a section of the Code of Federal Regulations on eCFR, the page is not a static, unchanging document — it is a dated snapshot. You can tell exactly which snapshot you’re looking at, and when the specific section you’re reading last changed, using three markers that are printed right on the page: the title-level currency statement, the dated-snapshot nature of “current” text, and the bracketed amendment-history citation at the end of each section.

This original record-reading guide is a general reading aid, not cited evidence. It does not depict a source record; the article text and source links provide the facts.

Key points

• The eCFR Title 42 chapter page displays a currency statement with two dates: how current the display is, and when the title was last amended.
• “Current” on eCFR is a dated snapshot, not a permanent state — the system ties a specific date to whatever text it serves.
• 42 CFR 423.38 ends with a bracketed citation to the Federal Register notices that produced its current text; the last entry in that bracket is that section’s most recent listed change.
• eCFR is a convenience copy for reading and research, not the legally official text of record.

The title-level currency statement

At the top of the eCFR Title 42, Chapter IV page, eCFR states how current that display is and when the underlying title was last amended:

“Displaying title 42, up to date as of 9/03/2026. Title 42 was last amended 8/13/2026.” — eCFR Title 42, Chapter IV

The two dates answer two different questions. “Up to date as of” tells you how recently eCFR’s editors reconciled the displayed text against the Federal Register. “Last amended” tells you when a substantive change was last incorporated into the title. These dates will not always match, and that gap is normal — it does not mean anything is wrong with the page.

The dated-snapshot nature of “current”

On eCFR, “current” refers to the text as it stood on the date shown in the title-level currency statement, not to a fixed, unchanging document. If you return to the same section later, that date may have moved and the text may have changed, so treat every eCFR page as time-stamped and note the date shown whenever you cite or rely on it.

The section-level amendment citation

Below the currency statement, 42 CFR 423.38 carries a bracketed history line listing the Federal Register notices that produced its current text:

“89 FR 30830, Apr. 23, 2024; 91 FR 17584, Apr. 6, 2026” — eCFR 42 CFR 423.38, Enrollment periods

In this section, the entries appear in order, and the last one — “91 FR 17584, Apr. 6, 2026” — identifies the most recent Federal Register notice already incorporated into the section’s displayed text. That’s the fastest way to check when this specific section, rather than the whole title, last changed. This bracketed line shows only what has already been folded into the section’s text; it does not show whether a newer amendment has been published in the Federal Register but not yet incorporated.

eCFR is an editorial, informational convenience copy maintained for reading and research. The annual printed CFR and the Federal Register itself remain the legally official texts of record; if the wording on eCFR were ever in question, those official sources — not eCFR — would govern.

Source records

• eCFR Title 42, Chapter IV currency banner
• eCFR 42 CFR 423.38, Enrollment periods