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Directives

Directives include all the internal guidance documents that we use within Rural Development. Directives are to provide guidance to staff and are not intended for the public. To the extent possible, all documents have been made available in either Adobe Acrobat Ver 5.0 and higher, and are 508 compliant.

If you are having problems with this page, need a hard copy of any of the documents due to accessibility issues or would like to be added to the Regulations Update distribution list (available for Rural Development employees only with a valid Rural Development e-mail address), please e-mail comments@usda.gov.

Administrative Notices (ANs)

ANs are internal use document for issuing temporary clarifications to RD employees. ANs are tied to an instruction and are used to clarify items within that instruction. They have an expiration date of one year. The file name also includes the instruction(s) that the AN is tied to.

Electric Sample Documents

These documents are sample documents used within the Electric Program.

Form Letters

A Form Letter is a pre-composed letter, the text of which may not be altered and that is required by an RD Instruction. They are intended for internal use only.

Guide Letters

A Guide Letter is a sample letter that prescribes the style and contains information for use in preparing a letter or memorandum. The text of a Guide Letter may be altered to fit the situation at hand. They are intended for internal use only.

Handbooks

Handbooks are statements of policy and guidelines that prescribe the methods for conducting business within Rural Development. They are for internal guidance only.

Informational Publications

These documents are currently specific to the Rural Utilities Service.

Instructions

Instructions are statements of policy and guidelines that prescribe the methods for conducting business within Rural Development. They are for internal guidance only. As a service to our customers, we post Rural Development's Instructions in two file formats: Adobe Acrobat (PDF) and Microsoft Word (doc).

Procedure Notices (PNs)

PNs will be issued at planned intervals to transmit new or changes to Instructions and forms to RD employees. They are intended for internal use only.

Unnumbered Letters

Unnumbered Letters (ULs). Unnumbered letters are internal use document that provides general information to the RD employees. They have an expiration date of one year. Current Unnumbered Letters are listed by month and will open with a listing of ULs released for the month. Expired ANs are removed. Each listing is enclosed in a box, if you click in the box, it will take to the desired letter.