What Are Statutory and Regulatory Requirements?

A statutory requirement is a requirement written into a law passed by a legislative body, while regulatory requirements are those requirements made by a government agency in accordance with the law, according to the Maryland Office of the Secretary of State. A legislature gives agencies the right to make regulations.

Statutes may also be referred to as laws, while regulations are also known as regulatory rules, according to the California Department of Consumer Affairs. For example, the Consumer Safety Protection Act gives the Consumer Safety Protection Agency the ability to regulate products. In this example, the existence of the agency is a statutory requirement, while the actual decision to recall or ban a product is a regulatory requirement.