Federal & State Lawfederalstatelaw.com

How to Cite Law

A quick reference for the most common U.S. legal citation forms. For formal academic or court filings, consult The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (21st ed., 2020) or the ALWD Guide to Legal Citation. For citing pages on this site, see Citation Methodology.

Federal statutes

Form: Title number U.S.C. § Section (Year)

Examples:

  • 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (2018)— civil-rights cause of action
  • 15 U.S.C. § 1681 (2018)— Fair Credit Reporting Act
  • 29 U.S.C. § 207(a)(1) (2018)— FLSA overtime; note the subsection

Federal regulations

Form: Title number C.F.R. § Section (Year)

Examples:

  • 29 C.F.R. § 825.100 (2026)— FMLA general rule
  • 17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5 (2026)— SEC anti-fraud rule

Federal cases

SCOTUS form: Case Name, Volume U.S. Page (Year)

Examples:

  • Brown v. Bd. of Educ., 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
  • Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966)

Circuit court form: Case Name, Volume F.4th Page (Circuit Year)

  • Doe v. Smith, 50 F.4th 1234 (9th Cir. 2023)

District court form: Case Name, Volume F.Supp.3d Page (District Year)

  • Roe v. Doe, 600 F.Supp.3d 100 (S.D.N.Y. 2023)

State statutes (common short forms)

  • Cal. Penal Code § 530.5
  • Tex. Fam. Code § 152.001
  • N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 218
  • Fla. Stat. § 741.30
  • 720 ILCS 5/14-2(Illinois Compiled Statutes — the numbering pattern is chapter/act/section)
  • 23 Pa. C.S. § 3106 (Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes)

State cases

State cases use the state's reporter abbreviation:

  • People v. Anderson, 6 Cal. 3d 628 (1972)
  • Roe v. Wade, 314 F.Supp. 1217 (N.D. Tex. 1970) (a federal case from Texas, included for contrast)
  • Tarasoff v. Regents, 17 Cal. 3d 425 (1976)

Federal Register

Form: Volume Fed. Reg. Page (Date)

  • 89 Fed. Reg. 12,345 (Feb. 14, 2026)

Executive orders

Form: Exec. Order No. Number, Volume Fed. Reg. Page (Date)

  • Exec. Order No. 14080, 87 Fed. Reg. 47,221 (Aug. 1, 2022)

Constitutional provisions

  • U.S. Const. amend. I
  • U.S. Const. art. III, § 2
  • Cal. Const. art. I, § 13

Uniform and model acts

  • U.C.C. § 2-207 (Am. Law Inst. & Unif. Law Comm'n 2022)
  • Unif. Premarital & Marital Agreements Act § 9 (Unif. Law Comm'n 2012)

Short forms and Id.

On second reference, use a short form: Brown, 347 U.S. at 495; or Id. at 495 if the immediately preceding cite was to the same case. Use Id.sparingly — it can confuse readers if the reference chain is long.

Citing pages on this site

See Citation Methodology for Bluebook, ALWD, APA, and BibTeX examples for citing pages on Federal & State Law.

Related guides

This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.