United States Navy Regulations is the principal regulatory document of the Department of the Navy, endowed with the sanction of law, as to duty, responsibility, authority, distinctions and relationships of various commands, officials and individuals. Other directives issued within the Department of the Navy may not conflict with, alter or amend any provision of Navy Regulations.

Navy Regulations are issued by the Secretary of the Navy, and are permanent regulations of general applicability, as opposed to other regulations that he or she may issue in accordance with law.

The Chief of Naval Operations

Chief of Naval Operations

The Chief of Naval Operations is a statutory office held by a four-star admiral in the United States Navy, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Navy. The office is a military adviser and deputy to the Secretary of the Navy...

 is responsible for maintaining Navy Regulations, and for ensuring that they conform to the current needs of the Department of the Navy. Any additions, changes or deletions to the U.S. Navy Regulations must be approved by the Secretary of the Navy. Most regulations apply to U.S. Marines

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

 when aboard ship.

History

Navy Regulations began with the enactment by the Second Continental Congress

Second Continental Congress

The Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that started meeting on May 10, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon after warfare in the American Revolutionary War had begun. It succeeded the First Continental Congress, which met briefly during 1774,...

 of the "Rules for the Regulation of the Navy of the United Colonies" on November 28, 1775. The first issuance by the United States Government which covered this subject matter was "An Act for the Government of the Navy of the United States," enacted on March 2, 1799. This was followed the next year by "An Act for the Better Government of the Navy of the United States."

In the years preceding the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, twelve successor publications were promulgated under a number of titles by the President, the Navy Department and the Secretary of the Navy. A decision by the Attorney General

United States Attorney General

The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...

 that the last of the pre-Civil War issuances was invalid led to the inclusion in the 1862 naval appropriations bill of a provision that "the orders, regulations, and instructions heretofore issued by the Secretary of the Navy be, and they are hereby, recognized as the regulations of the Navy Department, subject, however, to such alterations as the Secretary of the Navy may adopt, with the approbation of the President of the United States."

Thirteen editions of Navy Regulations were published in accordance with this authority (later codified as Section 1547, Revised Statutes) between 1865 and 1948. The 1973 edition of Navy Regulations was published under authority of , which provided that "United States Navy Regulations shall be issued by the Secretary of the Navy with the approval of the President." In 1981, this provision was amended to eliminate the requirement for presidential approval.

While leaving this provision unaffected, Congress enacted the Goldwater-Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of 1986 (Pub. L. 99–443), which granted each of the service secretaries the authority to prescribe regulations to carry out his or her statutory functions, powers and duties.