The executive branch
compliance
Meeting what a law or regulation requires, and being able to show it: reports, records, audits, certifications.
In full
Most regulation runs on self-reporting checked by audit rather than on inspection of everyone, which is why recordkeeping requirements take up so much of a rule's text and so much of its cost estimate. A compliance cost is what a rule imposes on those it regulates, and is the figure most often argued over in a rulemaking docket.
Where to go next
Keep going
Browse every term in the glossary, or see the vocabulary in motion in the How government works walkthroughs.
A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.