In most cases, the first appeal is to the agency, not to the courts, and is often done in writing.  The review can also be to a political body, such as the appeal of food sanitation citations to the city counsel.  State and federal courts require persons who want to contest agency actions to go though the agency review process before they can go to court. This is called exhaustion of remedies and saves the court's time and gives it a better record to review.

Agency decisions can be reviewed by the courts according to the standards set by the legislature. If the regulated party believes that the action violates the Constitution or is not authorized by law, she may appeal directly to the courts. For example, there have been many challenges to rules banning smoking in restaurants, claiming that the health department does not have the authority to issue the rule. If the court rejects the constitutional challenge, the person has usually waived the agency appeal because she went to court before exhausting the agency process.