The Regulatory Dark Matter Crisis: Why 70,401 Hidden Government Documents Threaten Business

According to Forbes, the 2025 Darklore Depository has identified 70,401 guidance documents currently accessible on federal agency websites, representing a significant drop from 108,023 documents a year ago. This decline stems primarily from documents removed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and other Health and Human Services components, with some agencies like the Office for Civil Rights dropping from 1,991 to just five documents. The analysis reveals that despite Trump’s 2019 Executive Order 13,891 requiring public disclosure of guidance documents, the standardized “/guidance” landing pages have largely disappeared since Biden revoked the order, creating what experts call “regulatory dark matter” that bypasses normal rulemaking processes. This hidden regulatory framework represents a substantial challenge for businesses trying to navigate federal requirements without clear visibility into all applicable rules.

The Real Business Impact of Regulatory Dark Matter

What makes regulatory dark matter particularly concerning for businesses isn’t just the volume—it’s the uncertainty and compliance risks created by inaccessible or poorly documented guidance. When agencies issue interpretive letters, policy memoranda, or advisory opinions without proper publication or notice-and-comment procedures, companies can unknowingly violate requirements they never knew existed. This creates a “dark matter” effect where the invisible regulatory mass exerts gravitational pull on business decisions without being directly observable. The compliance costs become particularly burdensome for small and medium-sized enterprises that lack the legal resources to track down every potential guidance document across multiple agency websites and subdirectories.

Why This Problem Has Deep Historical Roots

The current situation represents the culmination of decades of administrative law evolution that has increasingly blurred the lines between formal rulemaking and informal guidance. The legal foundation for this issue was clearly articulated in the landmark Appalachian Power Co. v. Environmental Protection Agency case from 2000, where the D.C. Circuit noted that “law is made, without notice and comment, without public participation, and without publication.” This pattern has accelerated as Congress passes increasingly broad statutes, delegating substantial interpretive authority to administrative agencies. The problem isn’t new—guidance documents from agencies like the Federal Highway Administration date back to the 1970s—but the digital age has both exacerbated the issue through proliferation while offering potential solutions through centralized portals.

The Hidden Economic Consequences

Beyond the immediate compliance burdens, regulatory dark matter creates significant economic distortions that often go unmeasured. When guidance documents remain hidden or difficult to access, they create information asymmetries that advantage larger corporations with dedicated compliance departments over smaller competitors. This effectively functions as a barrier to entry in regulated industries, reducing competition and innovation. The problem extends beyond traditional regulation into areas like grant programs and procurement policies, where Notices of Funding Opportunity can contain de facto regulatory requirements that never appear in the Federal Register or Code of Federal Regulations. The recent infrastructure bills and CHIPS Act have dramatically expanded these quasi-regulatory mechanisms, making transparency even more critical.

Practical Solutions That Transcend Political Cycles

The fundamental challenge with addressing regulatory dark matter is that solutions tend to become politicized rather than treated as good governance practices. What’s needed are structural reforms that survive administration changes. The Guidance Out of Darkness (GOOD) Act, which passed the House in March, represents one promising approach by codifying transparency requirements rather than relying on executive orders that can be revoked. Beyond simple disclosure, effective solutions should include standardized classification systems similar to Regulation Identifier Numbers, clear labeling of rescinded or superseded guidance, and requirements for economic impact assessments of significant guidance documents. The Federal Highway Administration’s approach to maintaining a dedicated page for canceled directives provides a model worth expanding across government.

The Future Regulatory Landscape

Looking ahead, the proliferation of regulatory dark matter threatens to undermine both regulatory predictability and democratic accountability. As agencies increasingly rely on guidance rather than formal rulemaking, the traditional checks and balances of the Administrative Procedure Act are circumvented. This trend is particularly concerning as emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and complex global supply chains require clear, stable regulatory frameworks. The solution isn’t necessarily less regulation, but better organized and more transparent regulation. The experience with Trump’s Executive Order 13,891 demonstrated that rapid transparency improvements are achievable—the challenge is making them permanent rather than subject to political whims.

Broader Implications for Governance

Ultimately, the regulatory dark matter problem reflects deeper issues in modern governance where efficiency sometimes trumps transparency and participation. The tension between agency flexibility and regulatory predictability isn’t easily resolved, but the current situation tilts too far toward opacity. As noted in earlier research like “Mapping Washington’s Lawlessness,” the problem has been growing for years. The solution requires recognizing that in a digital age, there’s no technical excuse for failing to provide comprehensive, searchable, and standardized access to all documents that effectively shape private behavior. The public and business community shouldn’t need to play detective to understand the full scope of requirements they’re expected to follow.