Also called: Legal Editor, Office of the Federal Register, Regulations Editor
Edits and publishes the government's daily newspaper of new rules, presidential orders, and public notices that carry the force of law.
Every weekday the Federal Register publishes hundreds of pages from agencies: new safety rules, endangered species listings, executive orders. Editors check each document follows strict legal formatting, that dates and citations are right, and that it gets codified into the official rulebook. They catch errors that could make a rule legally invalid.
Federal GS pay, 2026 estimate; DC-area locality pay is higher.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's degree; editing experience and comfort with legal language.
Ways in: 4-year college, On-the-job training. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: English, Political Science, Journalism, Paralegal Studies.
Growing slowly. A small office inside the National Archives (approx.).
Medium risk in 5 years, high in 10. AI tools now format and check documents; a smaller team keeps final legal editing and sign-off.
Classes: AP English, Government.
Official data: O*NET occupation 27-3041.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.