Statutes are laws passed by a state legislature or the U.S. Congress that command, prohibit, or declare something. It is sometimes called legislation. Statutes are published in several formats: slip laws, session laws, statutory codes and annotated codes.
Image Source: 2012 Edition of the United States Code by Coolcaesar. Used under CC BY-NC 2.0.
A standard three-part citation tells you where to find a statute in the code for your jurisdiction:
| Title Number | Name of Code | Section Number |
| 42 | U.S.C. | § 1983 |
The United States Code (U.S.C.) is the official source of the Federal Code. Citations to the United States Code Service (USCS) and the United States Code Annotated (USCA) follow a similar format, e.g., 26 U.S.C.A. § 115 or 26 U.S.C.S. § 115.
Homepage Search: You can simply enter a citation (if known) or keyword(s) based on the statute topic. Be sure to select the correct jurisdiction (State or Federal). Please note: Citations should be provided exactly as they are written.
Narrow down as needed using filters on the left panel.
Browse: You can also search using the Statutes & Court Rules option. Simply select "Statutes & Court Rules " from within the All Content Area. You will then have the option to search within Cases.
Or browse by relevant jurisdiction or by topic.
