The Texas Administrative Code is a subject-based compilation of all the regulations promulgated by state agencies in Texas. It is the state equivalent of the Code of Federal Regulations. Every time a Texas agency (such as the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the Texas Railroad Commission, or the Texas Department of Transportation, among others) issues a regulation, it is first published in the Texas Register. This is the state equivalent to the Federal Register, though the Texas Register is only published weekly. Once the regulation comes into force, it is then codified into the relevant title of the Texas Administrative Code.
You can find a complete list of Texas agencies at the TRAIL website.
The TAC contains sixteen subject-based titles. Each regulation is categorized into a title for codification. Note that there are a lot of numbers that do not correspond to a title.
Title 1: Administration
Title 4: Agriculture
Title 7: Banking and Securities
Title 10: Community Development
Title 13: Cultural Resources
Title 16: Economic Regulation
Title 19: Education
Title 22: Examining Boards
Title 25: Health Services
Title 28: Insurance
Title 30: Environmental Quality
Title 31: Natural Resources and Conservation
Title 34: Public Finance
Title 37: Public Safety and Corrections
Title 40: Social Services and Assistance
Title 43: Transportation
Within each title are “parts.” For example, the parts in Title 1: Administration are as follows:
Part 1: Office of the Governor
Part 2: Texas Ethics Commission
Part 3: Office of the Attorney General
Part 4: Office of the Secretary Of State
Part 5: Texas Facilities Commission
Part 7: State Office of Administrative Hearings
Part 8: Texas Judicial Council
Part 10: Department of Information Resources
Part 12: Commission on State Emergency Communications
Part 15: Texas Health and Human Services Commission
Within each part are chapters, within each chapter are subchapters, and within each subchapter are sections. Section citations use the format “§3.25,” where “3” refers to the Chapter and “25” refers to the section. A full TAC citation may look like this: 1 Tex. Admin. Code § 3.25 (2009). The first number is the title, the number after the section symbol is the chapter and section number, and the year establishes which edition of the TAC you are referring to. Parts and subchapters are not used to cite to a TAC section.
Title
Source abbreviation (Tex. Admin. Code for the Texas Administrative Code)
Section number
Date (year)
For example, for the citation 31 Tex. Admin. Code § 201.1 (2005):
"31" is the Title number of the Texas Administrative Code.
"Tex. Admin. Code" is the abbreviation for the Texas Administrative Code.
"§ 201.1" is the section of Title 31 in which the text of the relevant regulation can be found.
"2005" indicates the year of publication of the volume of the Texas Administrative Code in which the regulation was found.
The General Index is a subject index arranged in alphabetical order, located in the last two volumes. Under general subject headings and specific sub-headings, the General Index provides detailed cross-references to relevant rules and regulations adopted by the various agencies, commissions, and departments of the State of Texas and codified in the TAC.
Updating Texas Administrative Code
Each volume of the unofficial version of the TAC, published by Thomson West, is replaced annually. For the most current information, look at the Texas Register (weekly publication of proposed, passed, and amended agency regulations).
The Texas Register is published every week. It is administered by the office of the Texas Secretary of State, and it details all the changes (proposed or final) made to Texas regulations by state agencies. The Texas Register is available in print, with included final changes added to the Texas Administrative Code during the annual update of applicable volumes. It is also available online.
Using the online version of the Texas Register isn’t intuitive, but once you learn to navigate the site, you can find a lot of information. The online Texas Register is part of The Portal to Texas History, a digital repository managed by the University of Texas. When searching and navigating through the site, you should keep in mind that the Portal contains far more than just the Texas Register. Make sure to limit to just the Texas Register collection when searching, if the option is provided to you.
A simple search box is provided at the top of the page, which allows you to select whether you want to search through the full text of the Register or limit your search to other fields (such as title, subject, or metadata). The advanced search mimics basic Boolean searching, allowing you to limit by date and collection (as discussed above, make sure to limit to the Texas Register collection).
Once you find your search results, you can click on the title of a particular volume to get more information or see the full text. Even though the volume was selected through a keyword search, when you click the title, you are taken to a general page for the entire volume. You will need to keyword search again, within that particular volume, to find the pages containing those words. This search box is at the top right of the volume page.
If you’d rather browse through the volume, you’ll need to click on the image of the Texas Register (under the “Brief Record” tab). You can then browse through the volume by page number.