Compiled by Richard J. McKinney
Assistant Law Librarian, Federal Reserve Board
Last revised in January 2008
The U.S. Statutes at Large is a chronological arrangement of all laws enacted by Congress.
The U.S. Code is an updated, subject arrangement of all general and permanent U.S. law so enacted.
Historical Outlines, Explanatory Notes, Lists
Basic Overview on How Federal Laws Are Published, Organized and Cited [PDF]
How to Find U.S. Statutes and U.S. Code Citations [PDF] (Fourth Rev. Ed, 1980; Office of the Federal Register)
Positive Law Codification in the United States Code [PDF] (Office of the Law Revision Counsel)
United States Code: Historical Outline and Explanatory Notes [PDF]
United States Code: List of Positive Law Titles with Enacting Cites and Location to Revision Notes [PDF]
Unraveling the Mysteries of the U.S. Code: A Q&A [PDF]
United States Statutes: Historical Outline and Source Notes
[PDF]
U.S. Statutes at Large: List of Documents and Information Included [PDF]
Tables from the Law Revision Counsel
United States Code Classification Tables (updates Code by year in public law and code order, including current year)
United States Code: Table I - Revised Titles (former sections to new positive law sections - PDF, Jan. 2005)
United States Code: Table II - Revised Statutes (R.S. sections to U.S.C. sections - PDF, Jan. 2005)
United States Code: Table III - Statutes at Large (statute sections to U.S.C. sections, including amendments - PDF, Jan. 2005)
United States Code: Table IV - Executive Orders (Order No. to location in U.S.C. notes - PDF, Mar. 2005)
United States Code: Table V - Proclamations of the President (Proclamation No. to location in U.S.C. notes - PDF, Jan. 2005)
Parallel Table of Authorities and Rules (U.S.C. cites to C.F.R. cites - United States Code sections cited as authoritiy in various CFR citations - Office of the Federal Register on GPO Access - PDF, Jan. 2006)
Electronic Sources for U.S. Statutes and the U.S. Code
Cornell's Legal Information Institute - U.S. Code and Popular Name Table
- Has effective date in January within 1 to 3 years of current date. Disregard release dates. Can search, browse, cite and link to individual sections. Also has a popular name table that links to many U.S. Code cites.
Findlaw - U.S. Code and Popular Name Table
- The effective date is shown on the top right of each page which is in January within 1 to 3 years of current date. Can search, browse, cite and link to individual sections. Also has a popular name table. Beware that the notes area of a USC section may be incomplete.
GPO Access - U.S. Code and Public Laws (U.S. Government Printing Office)
- 2000 Edition, Supplement II of Code effective as of January 6, 2003. Can search, browse, and link to individual sections. Also has a searchable and browseable Public and Private Laws database that includes PDF files from 1995 of all U.S. statutes.
HeinOnline has digital U.S. Statutes At Large (not word searchable).
Law Revision Counsel, Office of the - U.S. Code (official compilers and publishers of the U.S. Code in the U.S. House of Representatives)
- The effective date is shown on the top right of each page which is in January within 1 to 3 years of the current date. Has Word files for whole chapters of titles not for individual sections, but can get just the section by cite method. Can search or browse. For popular names of law search as in example "Jones Act" AND "Popular Names. See also Acts Cited by Popular Name
LexisNexis - U.S. Code and U.S. Statutes at Large (subscription or credit card service)
- Has an updated Code (USCS) and back years from 1992 (files US1992, US1994, etc.). Updates may take a few weeks. Can search or browse. Also has a popular name table (file GENFED;USNAME) from 1789 with cites to amendments and links to Code cites of some of those amendments. Has U.S. Statutes at Large from 1789 (in PDF, not directly searchable) available by citation method and a searchable public law file from 1988.
Library of Congress - U.S. Statutes at Large and Public Laws via THOMAS service
- Covers the years 1789-1873; browseable but not directly searchable; part of Library's American Memory Project. Though THOMAS service on Congress has the text of public laws back to 1989 (enrolled bill version) and information about laws back to 1973.
LoisLaw.com - U.S. Code (subscription service)
Has current U.S. Code - searchable and browseable.
Potomac Publishing Company - U.S. Statutes at Large (subscription service)
- From 1789 to Present; PDF copies of statutes. It is the only early statutes that is word searchable. Also on Lexis, but not word searcable
The Law.net - U.S. Code (subscription service)
- Has current U.S. Code - searchable and browseable.
VersusLaw.com - U.S. Code (subscription service)
- Has current U.S. Code - searchable and browseable.
Westlaw - U.S. Code and U.S. Statutes at Large (subscription or credit card service )
- Has an updated Code (USCA) from 1990 (see files USCA90, USCA94, etc. and a new "effective date" sevice from 1996). Updates may take a few weeks. Can search or browse. Also has a popular name index (file USCA-POP) from 1789 with breakdown links to USCA cites and public law numbers of recent laws. Has a new U.S. Statutes at Large premium service from 1789 to 1972 (not directly searchable) and a public law file (USCCAN-PL) from 1973.
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Compiled and Maintained by Rick McKinney, Assistant Law Librarian, Federal Reserve Board
