Revisions and restatements

Corrigenda and corrections in official journals

Last checked 6 November 2026 · 5 sources

Short answer

A corrigendum is a formal notice that corrects a text already published in an official journal. The EU Official Journal prints corrigenda as separate items that point back to the original act ¹. In the United States, the party that made an error in the Federal Register is responsible for correcting it, and substantive agency errors need a new published document ². Statistics offices use their own correction notices. ONS places a Correction banner at the top of the affected release ³.

EU example: Corrigendum in OJ L 147 of 30 May 2022 to rules published in OJ L 140 of 19 May 2022 ¹
US rule on who corrects: The party that made the error, citing 1 CFR 18.15(c) ²
US deadline to report OFR processing errors: Within 3 months of publication ²
ONS correction marker: Blue collapsible banner titled Correction ³
Statistics Denmark correction marker: Correction shown in red with a date ⁵

What a corrigendum is

A corrigendum in the EU Official Journal appears as its own entry, with its own OJ series, number and date, and it links back to the act it concerns ¹.

An example from EUR-Lex shows the pattern. A corrigendum published in OJ L 147 on 30 May 2022 concerns the Rules of Procedure of the European Economic and Social Committee, which appeared in OJ L 140 on 19 May 2022 ¹. The corrigendum states that the publication should be considered null and void ¹.

Corrections in the US Federal Register

The Office of the Federal Register (OFR) sets out who corrects what. The party that made the error is responsible for correcting it, under 1 CFR 18.15(c) ². If OFR or the Government Publishing Office made a processing error that changes the text, OFR prepares a correction that conforms to the agency's original document ². The agency liaison officer must report such an error within 3 months of publication ².

If an agency finds an error in its own document, it must issue a signed document correcting it ². OFR says an agency must publish a document in the Federal Register to correct substantive errors ². Where the error already reached the Code of Federal Regulations, the agency uses a correcting amendment ².

Who caused the error	Who corrects	Form
OFR or GPO processing ²	OFR ²	OFR correction in a set format ²
Issuing agency, before the CFR changed ²	The agency ²	Signed correction document ²
Issuing agency, after the CFR changed ²	The agency ²	Correcting amendment to the CFR ²

Corrections in official statistics

Statistics offices separate corrections from planned revisions. ONS says correction of errors amends published statistics after a mistake is found, and it reports the correction at the top of the affected release in a blue collapsible banner titled Correction ³. Eurostat treats revisions that correct errors as unscheduled revisions, governed by its error management policy ⁴.

Statistics Denmark says an error is corrected as soon as possible ⁵. In its news releases the correction goes into the latest version, shown in red with a date, and subscribers receive an email ⁵. In StatBank tables it prefers to correct on the same day the error is found, with a footnote ⁵.

How to check for a corrigendum

On EUR-Lex, open the act and look for linked corrigenda with their own OJ reference and date ¹.
On the Federal Register, search the document number for later correction or correcting amendment notices ².
On ONS releases, look for the Correction banner at the top of the page ³.
On Eurostat datasets, read the Data revision practice metadata ⁴.

Common questions

What can a corrigendum say?

It can correct a published text. In a 2022 EUR-Lex example it stated that a publication should be considered null and void ¹.

Who fixes a mistake in the Federal Register?

The party that made it. OFR fixes its own and GPO processing errors, and agencies fix their own errors with a signed document ².

How do I know an ONS release was corrected?

ONS shows a blue collapsible banner titled Correction at the top of the affected release ³.

Are corrections the same as revisions?

No. ONS says revisions are not published to correct a mistake ³. Eurostat files error fixes under unscheduled revisions ⁴.

Rules and charges change. Check the official source linked on this page before you pay or travel. Spotted an error? Email hello@recordsdisagree.com.

Sources

Statistical revisions explained
Why GDP, jobs and other official figures change after release, how agencies schedule revisions, and how a revision differs from a correction of an error.
Financial restatements explained
How companies correct errors in published accounts under US rules and IFRS, what a Form 8-K Item 4.02 notice means, and how EU enforcers act.
Why official records disagree
The main reasons two official records show different figures for the same thing: timing, revisions, corrections, scope, definitions and restatements.
How to compare two conflicting records
A step by step method for comparing two official figures that disagree, from vintage and scope to corrections, restatements and documentation.