How to Cite Federal and State Statutes: Formats and Short Forms

To cite federal and state statutes correctly, use a standard skeleton: title or chapter number, code abbreviation, section symbol and number, and the edition year of the code in parentheses. For federal law that produces citations like 28 U.S.C. § 1332 (2018); for state law, the same logic applies with each state’s own code name and abbreviation. The details that trip writers up most often are the year (which refers to the code edition, not the year the law passed), the choice between official and unofficial codes, and how to pinpoint a subsection or range.

The Five Parts of a Statute Citation

A complete statute citation carries five pieces of information. Drop one and the citation is incomplete.

  • Title or chapter number, which identifies the broad subject area within the code.
  • Code abbreviation, such as U.S.C. for the United States Code or a state-specific abbreviation.
  • Section number, preceded by a single section symbol (§) for one section or a double symbol (§§) for multiple.
  • Year in parentheses, referring to the edition of the code you consulted, not the year the law was originally enacted.
  • Popular name when applicable, placed at the beginning for commonly known acts.

The generic template is: [Title No.] [Code Abbreviation] § [Section No.] ([Year]). Every variation builds on that skeleton.

How to Cite a Federal Statute

Federal statutes are codified in the United States Code, which organizes the general and permanent laws of the country by subject into 53 titles, numbered 1 through 52 and 54, with title 53 held in reserve.1Library of Congress. United States Code – Federal Statutes: A Beginner’s Guide The format is: [Title No.] U.S.C. § [Section No.] ([Year of Code Edition]).

The federal diversity jurisdiction statute, for example, is cited as:

28 U.S.C. § 1332 (2018)

That points the reader to Title 28 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure), Section 1332, of the 2018 main edition of the U.S. Code.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1332 – Diversity of Citizenship; Amount in Controversy; Costs The main edition is published every six years, with annual cumulative supplements between editions.3GovInfo. About the United States Code If you consulted a supplement rather than the main edition, the year parenthetical should reflect that: 28 U.S.C. § 1332 (Supp. IV 2022).

Pinpointing Subsections

When your argument turns on a specific subsection, cite it directly. Add the subsection designation after the section number:

42 U.S.C. § 1983(a) (2018)

For a range spanning subsections within the same section, use one section symbol and a dash between the subsection designators:

28 U.S.C. § 105(a)(3)–(b)(1) (2018)

This precision matters in long statutes where a single section can run several pages.

Multiple Sections and Ranges

To cite more than one section, use the double section symbol (§§) with a dash between the first and last section numbers:

28 U.S.C. §§ 1331–1332 (2018)

For non-consecutive sections, separate them with commas: 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1337, 1343 (2018).

Avoid “et seq.” to signal a range. The Bluebook explicitly discourages it because it doesn’t tell the reader where the range ends. Instead of “42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq.,” write 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e–2000e-17 (2018).

Including a Popular Name

You can put the law’s popular name at the beginning of the citation when citing an act as a whole, when the statute is commonly known by that name, or when the name helps the reader identify the material.4Georgetown Law Library. Federal Statutes – Bluebook Guide For example:

Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101–1332 (2018)

If you need both the original session law section number and the U.S. Code location, include both:

Copyright Act of 1976 § 101, 17 U.S.C. § 107 (2018)

Laws That Haven’t Been Codified Yet

Not every federal law has been folded into the United States Code. Newly enacted laws, temporary provisions, and appropriations acts often exist only as session laws. When a statute hasn’t been codified, cite it by its public law number with a parallel reference to the Statutes at Large.5Library of Congress. Citations for and Popular Names of Statutes

A public law number has two parts: the number of the Congress that enacted it, followed by a sequential number. Pub. L. No. 109-58 is the 58th law passed during the 109th Congress. The Statutes at Large citation gives volume and starting page: 119 Stat. 594 means the law begins on page 594 of volume 119. Combined:

Energy Policy Act of 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-58, 119 Stat. 594

Once a law has been codified, cite the U.S. Code version instead.

How to Cite a State Statute

State statute citations follow the same logic as federal ones but use each state’s own code name and abbreviation. States organize their statutes differently. Some use numbered titles like the federal system. Others use named codes organized by subject, such as a penal code, family code, or business and professions code. Still others use chapter-and-section numbering.

The Bluebook’s Table T1 lists the proper abbreviation and format for every state’s code. A few examples show the variation:

  • Cal. Penal Code § 187 (West 2024). California organizes statutes into named codes, and the citation includes the publisher because the official code isn’t separately published.
  • Tex. Fam. Code Ann. § 6.001 (West 2024). Texas similarly uses named codes with an “Ann.” designation for the annotated version.
  • Some states use a single code with numbered sections, producing citations that look closer to the federal format.

The year in the parenthetical follows the same rule as federal citations: it’s the edition of the code you consulted, not the year the legislature passed the law. Check Table T1 or your state’s own citation guidance rather than guessing. A wrong code abbreviation is one of the fastest ways to signal unfamiliarity with a jurisdiction.

Official Codes Come First

The United States Code (U.S.C.) is the official federal code. Westlaw publishes the United States Code Annotated (U.S.C.A.), and LexisNexis publishes the United States Code Service (U.S.C.S.). Both are unofficial codes that add case annotations, legislative history notes, and other editorial content.

The Bluebook requires you to cite the official code whenever the statute appears there. Cite U.S.C.A. or U.S.C.S. only when the provision hasn’t yet been incorporated into the U.S.C. or when the unofficial version contains information not found in the official one. When you do cite an unofficial code, the format is the same but includes the publisher’s name before the year:

28 U.S.C.A. § 1332 (West 2024)

The same principle applies at the state level. Most states have an official code and one or more unofficial annotated versions. Cite the official code unless you have a specific reason not to. The ALWD Guide to Legal Citation follows a similar preference.

Short Forms After the First Citation

After you’ve given the full citation once, you don’t need to repeat every element. The Bluebook allows short forms when the statute was cited in full within the same footnote or one of the preceding five footnotes. If the gap is larger, use the full citation again.

Short forms typically drop the title number and year, keeping just enough for the reader to identify the statute. A short form for 28 U.S.C. § 1332 (2018) might look like: § 1332. You can also use “Id.” if the immediately preceding citation is to the same statute, changing only the section number if needed: Id. § 1333.

One formatting quirk catches many writers. When referring to a statute in the body text of a law review article (as opposed to a footnote), the Bluebook requires you to spell out the word “section” rather than use the § symbol. In footnote citations, the symbol is fine.

Mistakes That Weaken Citations

A handful of errors show up repeatedly:

  • Wrong year. The year in parentheses is the code edition you consulted, not the year the statute was enacted. Citing “42 U.S.C. § 1983 (1871)” because the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1871 is wrong.
  • Unofficial code when the official one is available. Citing U.S.C.A. or U.S.C.S. when the statute appears in the U.S.C. signals carelessness.
  • Vague ranges. Using “et seq.” instead of specifying the ending section number.
  • Missing subsection designators. Citing § 1332 when your argument hinges on § 1332(a) forces the reader to hunt through a long provision.
  • Improvised section symbols. Writing “sec.” or “s.” instead of the § symbol. Word processors and character maps include it.

Check the Court’s Own Rules

The Bluebook and the ALWD Guide are the two dominant citation manuals, but neither is universal. Many state courts and some federal courts have their own citation rules that override or modify Bluebook conventions. A state supreme court may require citations to its own official code using an abbreviation that differs from Table T1. Some courts require parallel citations to both official and unofficial reporters. Others ban certain short forms or demand specific formatting for electronic sources.

Before filing anything, check the local rules of the court where you’re submitting. Local citation requirements almost always appear in the court’s published rules of practice or in a standing order. Getting the substance of your citation right while using the wrong format for that particular court is an avoidable mistake.