Code of Federal Regulations Title 20. Employees' Benefits § 20.426.15 When guidance documents are nonbinding

(a) Guidance documents lack the force and effect of law, unless expressly authorized by law or incorporated into a contract.

(b) We will include a disclaimer on guidance documents clarifying that they do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the public in any way, and are intended only to provide clarity to the public regarding existing requirements under the law or agency policies. When a guidance document is binding because the law authorizes binding guidance or because a contract incorporates the guidance, we will modify the disclaimer to reflect either of those facts.