# US federal rules taking effect (remote · referencesource.org)

Which published US federal rules take effect between two dates, and which CFR parts they amend?

- Trust score: 71/100 (medium)
- Registry status: active
- Liveness: live
- Owner verified: no
- Last scored: 2026-09-21

## Components

- remote · `referencesource.org`: 71/100 (this document), [markdown](https://verifymcp.io/servers/joelp22-maker-referencesource-rules/mcp-rules.md), [page](https://verifymcp.io/servers/joelp22-maker-referencesource-rules/mcp-rules)

## Channel facts

- Endpoint: `https://referencesource.org/mcp/rules`
- Transports: `streamable-http`
- Auth: `none`
- Version: `1.0.0`

## Trust breakdown

How this component scores in each security and reliability category. Every signal is checked automatically against the live server, and we only credit what we can confirm. Scores are 0–100 per category. Scoring method: https://verifymcp.io/docs/scoring (what has changed: https://verifymcp.io/docs/scoring/changelog)

Scored 2026-09-21.

- **Endpoint Security**: 74/100
  - The endpoint's TLS certificate is valid, in date, and uses a strong key.
  - No authorisation is required to call this server. Every tool declares its destructiveHint and none is destructive, so open access doesn't expose one.
  - HTTPS is enforced; there's no plaintext access path.
  - HSTS check failed: the Strict-Transport-Security header is absent.
  - DNSSEC check failed: this domain isn't protected by DNSSEC.
- **Transport & Reachability**: 100/100
  - Verified streamable-http transport via a live MCP handshake.
- **Schema Quality & AI Usability**: 73/100
  - AI-judged instruction clarity (excellent).
  - Context-footprint check failed: tool/resource definitions use about 953 tokens (~190/item across 5 items; 5 tools + 0 resources), over budget; trim descriptions and params.
  - Usage-examples check failed: none of the tools include examples.
- **Stability & Change Management**: 0/100
  - Stability not yet verified: not enough scan history yet (needs a 30-day window).
- **Tool Coverage**: 100/100
  - 100% of tools have a non-trivial description (not blank, and not just the tool's name).
  - 100% of tool parameters carry a description.
  - Structured output schemas are declared (100% of tools); any adoption earns full credit.
- **Tool Safety**: 100/100
  - No prompt-injection markers were found in the server instructions, tool names or descriptions we captured.
  - We read all 5 captured tool definition(s), and no name or description among them implies an irreversible operation.
  - An AI judge read all 6 captured unit(s) of tool text and found none that tries to manipulate the model reading it.
- **Capabilities**: 100/100
  - Implements a supported MCP spec version (2025-11-25); the latest is 2026-07-28.

**Unverified: 1 category.** A category scored 0 because we could not verify it: authentication we do not have, an unreachable endpoint, or not enough scan history. We only credit what we can confirm.

## Install

### How do I install the US federal rules taking effect MCP server?

US federal rules taking effect is a hosted endpoint at https://referencesource.org/mcp/rules, so there is nothing to install locally. Ready-made configuration for Claude, Cursor, VS Code, Codex and 5 more is on this page, copied from each client's own documentation.

### Claude

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http joelp22-maker-referencesource-rules 'https://referencesource.org/mcp/rules'
```

### Cursor

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "joelp22-maker-referencesource-rules": {
      "url": "https://referencesource.org/mcp/rules"
    }
  }
}
```

### VS Code

```json
{
  "servers": {
    "joelp22-maker-referencesource-rules": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://referencesource.org/mcp/rules"
    }
  }
}
```

### Codex

```toml
[mcp_servers.joelp22-maker-referencesource-rules]
url = "https://referencesource.org/mcp/rules"
```

### opencode

```json
{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "mcp": {
    "joelp22-maker-referencesource-rules": {
      "type": "remote",
      "url": "https://referencesource.org/mcp/rules",
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}
```

### OpenClaw

```bash
openclaw mcp add joelp22-maker-referencesource-rules --url 'https://referencesource.org/mcp/rules' --transport streamable-http
```

### Hermes

```yaml
mcp_servers:
  joelp22-maker-referencesource-rules:
    url: "https://referencesource.org/mcp/rules"
```

### Netclaw

```json
{
  "McpServers": {
    "joelp22-maker-referencesource-rules": {
      "Transport": "http",
      "Url": "https://referencesource.org/mcp/rules"
    }
  }
}
```

### Vellum

```bash
assistant mcp add joelp22-maker-referencesource-rules -t streamable-http -u 'https://referencesource.org/mcp/rules'
```

### Other

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "joelp22-maker-referencesource-rules": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://referencesource.org/mcp/rules"
    }
  }
}
```

The mcpServers block is a cross-client convention. Remote transports vary, so check your client's docs.

## Changelog

Every change recorded for this component, newest first. Days that predate change tracking, or that we cannot explain, say so: "we were watching and nothing happened" and "we were not watching" are different claims.

### 2026-09-21 (score 71)

First indexed and scored.

## MCP tools (5)

### `list_rules_taking_effect` (~219 tokens)

List federal rules taking effect between two dates

What lands on me, and when? Lists already-published US federal final rules whose effective date falls between two dates, soonest first, optionally from one agency. Each with the rule title, the agency, the CFR parts amended, the document number, the rule's own DATES paragraph and a verbatim quote of the Federal Register record. This is the compliance-calendar question — use it for "what takes effect in Q4", not for searching the Federal Register by topic.

Input parameters:

- `agency` (string): Optional agency filter, matched case-insensitively as a substring of the agency name ("Coast Guard", "aviation"). Call list_agencies for the names as the Federal Register writes them.
- `from` (string, required): ISO start date, inclusive, e.g. "2026-10-01".
- `limit` (integer): How many to return, 1–20. Default 20.
- `to` (string, required): ISO end date, inclusive, e.g. "2026-12-31".

Output parameters:

- `coverage` (string)
- `from` (string)
- `register` (object)
- `rules` (array)
- `rules_matched` (integer)
- `rules_returned` (integer)
- `to` (string)

### `get_rule` (~111 tokens)

Get one rule by Federal Register document number

Everything this register holds for one final rule: title, agency, effective date, the rule's own DATES paragraph, the CFR parts it amends, its publication date, a link to the rule on federalregister.gov, and a verbatim quote of the Federal Register API record it was read from. Document numbers look like "2026-13685" and appear in every other tool's results.

Input parameters:

- `document_number` (string, required): Federal Register document number, e.g. "2026-13685".

Output parameters:

- `register` (object)
- `rule` (object)

### `list_agencies` (~88 tokens)

List the agencies with rules taking effect

Which agencies have rules coming? Returns each agency in this register with how many rules it has taking effect, the soonest and latest of those dates. Call it to get an agency name exactly as the Federal Register writes it before filtering with list_rules_taking_effect — "Federal Aviation Administration", not "FAA".

Input parameters:

- `query` (string): Optional case-insensitive substring filter on the agency name.

Output parameters:

- `agencies` (array)
- `agencies_total` (integer)
- `coverage` (string)
- `register` (object)

### `list_rules_amending_cfr_part` (~187 tokens)

List rules amending a CFR part

Is anything changing in the part of the CFR I am subject to? Give a CFR title and part — "49 CFR 192", "40 CFR 52", "21 CFR 1308" — and get the already-published final rules that amend it, soonest effective date first, with each rule's DATES paragraph and a verbatim quote. The part is matched whole, so "40 CFR 5" never returns rules about 40 CFR 52.

Input parameters:

- `cfr_part` (string, required): The CFR title and part together, e.g. "49 CFR 192". A bare part number is refused: it is ambiguous across the fifty CFR titles.
- `from` (string): Optional ISO date; only rules taking effect on or after it.
- `limit` (integer): How many to return, 1–20. Default 20.

Output parameters:

- `cfr_part` (string)
- `coverage` (string)
- `register` (object)
- `rules` (array)
- `rules_matched` (integer)
- `rules_returned` (integer)

### `verify_quote` (~175 tokens)

Check a claimed fact about a rule against the register

Is this right? Check a claim about a final rule — its effective date, its agency, the CFR parts it amends — against the Federal Register record instead of trusting it. Says whether the claim matches a stored value, appears only in the verbatim quote, or differs (and then what the record says instead). Effective dates are exactly where a confident wrong answer costs money.

Input parameters:

- `claimed_value` (string, required): The value to check, exactly as claimed, e.g. "Terminated" or "2026-10-29".
- `document_number` (string, required): Federal Register document number of the rule the claim is about, e.g. "2026-13685".
- `field` (string): Which field the claim is about, if you know it. Without it, every stored field of the record is checked.

Output parameters:

- `attestation` (string)
- `claimed_value` (string)
- `in_source_quote` (boolean)
- `match` (object)
- `quote_source` (string)
- `record` (object)
- `stored_values` (object)
- `verdict` (string): matches_record: the claim equals a stored value (match.match_type says how exactly). matches_quote: it appears in the verbatim source quote but is not a stored value. differs: the record was found an…

## Diagnostics

Captured diagnostic sections: TLS, DNSSEC, Authorisation, Transports. The full working is on the page: https://verifymcp.io/servers/joelp22-maker-referencesource-rules/mcp-rules#diagnostics

## Score history

- 2026-09-21: 71

## Common questions

### What is the US federal rules taking effect MCP server?

US federal rules taking effect is an MCP server listed in the public MCP registry as io.github.joelp22-maker/referencesource-rules. Which published US federal rules take effect between two dates, and which CFR parts they amend? This page covers its hosted endpoint (https://referencesource.org/mcp/rules).

### Is the US federal rules taking effect MCP server safe to use?

US federal rules taking effect scores 71 out of 100 on VerifyMCP. That is a record of what we were able to check automatically, not an endorsement. The category breakdown on this page shows every signal behind the number, including the ones we could not confirm.

### What tools does the US federal rules taking effect MCP server expose?

US federal rules taking effect exposes 5 tools: list_rules_taking_effect, get_rule, list_agencies, list_rules_amending_cfr_part, verify_quote. Their descriptions and schemas cost roughly 780 tokens of context every time the server is loaded.

### Does the US federal rules taking effect MCP server require authentication?

No. We connected to US federal rules taking effect without credentials and it answered, so anything it exposes is reachable by anyone who knows the address.

### Is the US federal rules taking effect MCP server still maintained?

US federal rules taking effect is still listed as active in the MCP registry. We last reached this channel on 21 September 2026. Those dates come from our own scans of the registry and the channel itself, not from anything the publisher announced.

## Links

- Remote endpoint: https://referencesource.org/mcp/rules
- Repository: https://github.com/joelp22-maker/referencesource-mcp
- Website: https://referencesource.org/federal-rules-taking-effect
- Changelog RSS feed: https://verifymcp.io/servers/joelp22-maker-referencesource-rules/mcp-rules.xml
- Changelog JSON feed: https://verifymcp.io/servers/joelp22-maker-referencesource-rules/mcp-rules.json
- HTML version of this page: https://verifymcp.io/servers/joelp22-maker-referencesource-rules/mcp-rules