Government Document Search
Search documents published on US government websites: federal agencies, states, counties and cities. DocJax limits the search to .gov addresses and starts with PDF, the format most agencies publish in.
File type
Your search
site:.gov filetype:pdf
What Is on .gov Websites?
Only US government bodies can register a .gov address, so every result is an official source. Agencies post reports, studies, budgets, audits, statistics, grant notices, forms and meeting minutes, mostly as PDF with data tables in Excel.
Works made by US federal employees as part of their job are in the public domain, so most federal documents can be reused freely.
How to Find a Government Document
- Use the words the document would use, like
annual report,auditorstrategic plan. - Add a place or agency name, or type one agency's website under Where.
- Add Excel when you want the data behind a report.
- Put a year in the title field to find the latest edition.
Other Countries' Government Sites
Most other countries use their own domain endings, like gov.uk, canada.ca, gov.au and europa.eu. Pick One website under Where and type that ending to search a different government.
For research and course material, .edu search covers universities. Journalists' source documents are on DocumentCloud search.
Questions
How do I search only government websites on Google?
Add site:.gov to your search, for example wildfire report site:.gov. Results then come only from US government websites.
Are government documents free to use?
US federal government works are in the public domain. State and local governments set their own rules, though most of their public records can be viewed and shared.
Does .gov include state and city governments?
Yes. Federal agencies, states, counties, cities and tribal governments can all use .gov addresses.