Manual: volumes, parts, chapters
Structure changes between editions, and content moves between chapters. Cite the edition alongside the section when you rely on a manual, and expect to re-check your citation after a reorganization.
Policy Library
Browse policy references by topic and issuing body
The library is a catalog, not a summary service. Each entry tells you what a document is, who issues it, how it is organized, and what kind of question it can answer. Filter by topic when you know the subject, by issuing body when you already trust the source, and by document type when you need a manual rather than a circular.
What the catalog contains
Four document types cover most of what compliance and documentation teams reach for. Each type behaves differently once you open it, so the catalog names the type up front.
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Policy manuals
Searchable repositories maintained through an agency's own update process, such as the USCIS Policy Manual. Good when your question is procedural and you need the current edition.
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Circulars
Numbered guidance documents with periodic revisions, including OMB Circular A-11 and OMB Circular A-123. Good when you need a citation that survives a revision cycle.
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Style guides
Documents that govern how an organization writes, such as the HMRC content style guide and the ARPANSA Style Manual. Good when the drafting itself is the problem.
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Directories
Collections that point to standards rather than setting one, like the Digital.gov collection of agency style guides. Good when you want to see how several bodies handle the same element.
Filtering by issuing body
Issuing body matters because it tells you how much weight a document carries in your context. A budget office circular and a local council style guide are both authoritative, but only within their own jurisdiction and remit.
The library labels each entry with its issuing body so you do not apply a national standard where a local one governs, or the reverse.
- National office
- Applies across agencies and grants. Useful for budget, internal control, and cross-agency procedure. Check whether your program is covered before citing it in a local document.
- Agency
- Governs that agency's own operations and forms. Binding on its staff, informative to everyone else who has to read their material.
- Local council
- Sets writing and service conventions for one authority. Do not lift its rules into a national policy document without saying so.
- Standards body
- Publishes reference material rather than enforcing it. Most useful when you need a defensible definition or a drafting convention.
Filtering by document type
Type predicts structure. Knowing the type before you open the document saves time, because you know whether to search or to read in order.
Circular: numbered sections and appendices
Numbered sections and appendices you can cite precisely, with periodic revisions. The numbering is stable enough to point at a paragraph, which is why internal control and audit work leans on circulars.
Style guide: rules by element
Headings, links, numbers, lists. Read the section that matches what you are writing instead of the whole document.
Directory: pointers to standards
A list of sources rather than a rulebook. Best when several bodies publish on the same topic and you want to compare their handling.
When two types apply
Internal control work often touches a circular and a program manual at once. The catalog lists both so you can decide which one your citation should name.
A reference that says only "see Circular A-11" forces the reader to guess. Name the level you mean: section, subsection, appendix, or volume.
Document hierarchy and how to respect it
Hierarchy is the spine of policy documentation. The library records the internal structure of each entry so your cross-references land on the right level the first time.
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Volume
The largest division of a manual. Use it when one program area is covered by a single volume and your reader needs to find the right shelf.
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Part
Groups chapters by theme. A staff manual may combine parts, so check the current edition before naming one in a citation.
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Chapter
The level most people actually read. If you point at a chapter, say so, because a chapter reference and a section reference carry different weight.
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Section
The finest numbered level in most manuals. Use it for the specific rule you apply, and include the subsection letter when the rule has exceptions.
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Appendix
Holds forms, tables, and worked examples that sit outside the numbered flow. Cite it by title as well as number, since appendices get relettered.
Controlled vocabulary across entries
Controlled vocabulary means one term, one meaning, used the same way everywhere. It is the reason an agency can publish hundreds of pages and still be searchable. The library applies a controlled vocabulary to its own entries, so a "policy manual" is always a manual and never interchangeably called a handbook or a guide. That consistency is also what the HMRC content style guide argues for in customer-facing tax content.
When you add a document to your own reference list, pick one term and keep it. Two names for the same instrument is how a search starts returning nothing.
One term per instrument across every entry, index line, and short description.
Document type named from the issuing body's own wording wherever that wording exists.
Cross-references between related documents
Some questions need two documents. Entries list related references so you can follow the thread without returning to search.
Internal control and a program manual
Internal control work often touches Circular A-123 and a program-specific manual at once. Cite the circular for the control requirement, then the manual for how your program implements it.
Budget narrative and a style guide
Budget narrative writing can involve Circular A-11 and an agency style guide. The circular tells you what to include; the style guide tells you how to write it.
Manual and its parent circular
A program manual usually implements one or more numbered circulars. Follow the link in either direction so the reader can see which document is doing the work.
Two style guides on one page
When a document has to satisfy a house style guide and a funder's conventions at the same time, compare the rules for headings, numbers, and links first. Most conflicts live in those three elements. Our style and writing standards and documentation standards pages cover how we compare them.
How entries are reviewed
Each entry is checked against the source it describes and carries a review date. When an agency restructures a manual or reissues a circular, the entry is updated rather than replaced, so links and citations stay stable.
If a page you relied on has moved, report it and we will correct the entry. Corrections are the main way the catalog stays trustworthy between reviews.
What an entry gives you before you open the source
- Issuing body Who published it, and which jurisdiction or remit it governs.
- Document type Manual, circular, style guide, or directory, so you know whether to search or read in order.
- Internal structure The levels the document uses, so a cross-reference can name a section rather than the whole instrument.
- Review date When the entry was last checked against the source, and when it was last amended.
- Related references Other entries that answer the next question you are likely to have.
Known limits of the catalog
This is a curated selection, not a complete index of federal or state guidance. It favors documents that are widely cited in compliance and documentation work.
Niche program guidance, internal-only manuals, and documents behind access controls are generally out of scope. If your question depends on one of those, the catalog will point you at the closest public reference instead of guessing.
Send the title, issuing body, and a link if you have one. Suggestions are considered on the same criteria as existing entries: whether the document is widely cited and whether it can be checked against a stable public source.
Where to go next
Start with the entry that matches your question, or read the two comparison pages if you are deciding how to write rather than what to cite. If your reference list spans several issuing bodies, the rulemaking and public comment references cover the stage after a document is published.
Questions about the catalog itself can go to our contact page. Office hours are Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM Eastern Time.