Law & Statute Citation Generator

How to Use the Law Citation Generator

1. 1. Find the act's name and its code citation. A federal statute is printed in the United States Code as a title number, the abbreviation U.S.C. and a section: 42 U.S.C. § 12101. Congress.gov, the Office of the Law Revision Counsel and Cornell's Legal Information Institute give it.
2. 2. Fill in the details. The generator opens on Manual Entry with the source type set to Law / statute. Type the act's name in Title, the code (U.S.C.) in Journal / Publication, the title number in Volume, the section in Page(s) with the § sign, and the year in Date / Year.
3. 3. Pick a style. Choose APA, MLA, Chicago or another style, then copy the reference and in-text citation.
4. 4. Check the year. APA uses the year of the Code edition you consulted for a U.S.C. citation. Enter that year, not the year Congress passed the act.

Anatomy of a Statute Citation

A federal act also has a Public Law number and a place in the Statutes at Large (for example Pub. L. No. 101-336, 104 Stat. 327). The form has no box for a Public Law number, so use the Code citation here and add the Public Law number by hand if your instructor wants it.

Law Citation Examples

Section 12101 of the Americans with Disabilities Act, in Title 42 of the U.S. Code.

MLA has no rule for statutes, and the generator's MLA line (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. U.S.C., vol. 42, 1990, p. § 12101.) is a general one. Delete the p. before the section sign, and put the act's name, the code citation and the year in the order your instructor expects. APA and Chicago both follow the Bluebook for statutes, which is why they match.

Common Mistakes

• Using the year the act was passed. In a U.S.C. citation the year belongs to the Code edition. The act's year is already in its name.
• Leaving out the section sign. Type it into the Page(s) box, or the generator prints the bare number.
• Citing a summary page. Cite the act or the Code itself, not a website's explanation of it.
• Using one tool for cases and statutes. A court decision has a reporter and a court. Use the Court Case Citation Generator.
• Forgetting state law. A state statute has its own code abbreviation (Cal. Civ. Code § 1714). Enter that in the code box.

Which Tool Do You Need?

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I cite a law in APA 7?

Give the act's name, the title number, the code, the section and the year of the Code: Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 (1990). In text, use the name and the year: (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 1990).

How do I cite a law in MLA 9?

MLA has no specific rule for statutes, so treat it as a government document: the act's name, the code citation, and the year or the publisher. Ask your instructor whether the Bluebook form of the citation is expected.

How do I cite a law in Chicago style?

Chicago follows the Bluebook: the act's name, the title, the code and the section, and the year in parentheses. Statutes are normally cited in notes and left out of the bibliography.

What is the difference between a statute and an act?

An act is a law passed by a legislature. A statute is the law as it appears in the code. You usually cite the act by its name and the statute by its code section.

How do I cite a bill that has not become law?

Use the Bill Citation Generator: a bill has a number, a session of the legislature and a sponsor, not a code section.

Which citation styles does the law generator support?

APA 7, MLA 9 and Chicago 18 at the top of the list, and any of the other styles. Switch the style and the same details are reformatted.