Home 
 1. Adjudication, Formal 
 2. Adjudication, Informal 
 3. Advice, Information 
 4. ADR 
 5. Agency Head 
 6. ALJ 
 7. Bias 
 8. Decisionmaking 
 9. Discretion 
 10. Due Process 
 11. Emergency Decisionmaking 
 12. Evidence 
 13. Hearing Alternatives and Types 
 14. Investigation 
 15. Judicial Review 
 16. Rulemaking 
3. Advice, Information
agency action
The agency itself is the most profitable source of information about the agency.  A close working relationship with agency staff based on mutual respect will be the most valuable tool that a lawyer will have.  Most agency advice and information will be of an informal oral nature or be in the form of documents which are readily shared but which may or may not be formally indexed or published.  In some situations, more formal forms of information may be required. This section discusses some of these.
attorney general opinion
Statutes may permit individuals to seek advice about agency concerns by submitting a question to the office of the appropriate attorney general.
declaratory order, agency
An APA may provide for a procedure to use to request a formal answer to a specific, written question from the agency.  The agency usually has discretion not to respond to such an inquiry. Where a response is given, the APA usually will provide that the agency is bound by its response on that particular factual situation.
declaratory order, court
Statutes may permit individuals to seek a formal declaratory order from a court about the agency.
estoppel, res judicata
Statutes and agency legislative rules often do not give detailed, specific information.  A party may request information from the agency about a specific matter.  The most common form of inquiry will be to approach an employee of the agency on an informal basis and specify the request.  The issue arises as to whether the informal advice received is binding on the government.  The general answer is that the informal advice is not necessarily binding.  These doctrines are equitable in nature and courts will have to decide each of these cases on its particular facts.
interpretative rule
Agencies may provide interpretative rules, as compared to legislative rules.  Interpretative rules are not usually the product of a specific APA procedure.  They may appear in the form of memos, handbooks, or even in speeches.  They are often a significant source of information about how the agency will exercise its delegation of authority.  Since interpretative rules do not require notice and comment procedures, the agency can change them at any time.  In that sense, they do not "bind" the agency.  Courts may substitute their judgment for that of the agency when an interpretative rule is challenged, although courts will frequently defer to the agency's expertise in the interpretation.
Top