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How to Research Federal Law

A practical walkthrough of the canonical free sources for U.S. federal law, the order in which to consult them, and how to cite what you find. Written for paralegals, journalists, law students, and self-represented litigants. Lawyers and academics will recognize most of it.

The source hierarchy

Federal law lives in five overlapping bodies, each with its own canonical free database:

  1. The U.S. Constitution— the supreme law.
  2. Federal statutes enacted by Congress, codified in the United States Code (USC).
  3. Federal regulations issued by agencies under statutory authority, codified in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
  4. Federal case law— opinions of the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Courts of Appeals (the "circuit courts"), and U.S. District Courts.
  5. Executive material— executive orders, presidential proclamations, signing statements, and OLC opinions.

1. Statutes — the U.S. Code

Most federal statutes you will research live somewhere in the 54 Titles of the U.S. Code. Title 26 is the Internal Revenue Code; Title 42 is public health and welfare; Title 28 is the Judiciary; Title 18 is criminal procedure; and so on.

Canonical free source: Cornell LII U.S. Code for plain-text browse and section-level URLs. For the official version, U.S. Code (House).

Citation form: Title U.S.C. § Section (e.g., 42 U.S.C. § 1983).

Currency note: The USC is republished annually with supplements; recent Public Laws may not yet appear in the codified text. For very recent enactments, check Congress.gov for the slip law.

2. Regulations — the Code of Federal Regulations

Statutes authorize agencies to make rules; those rules live in the CFR.

Canonical free source: eCFR — the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, updated daily by the National Archives.

Citation form: Title C.F.R. § Section (e.g., 29 C.F.R. § 825.100).

The Federal Register at federalregister.gov publishes proposed rules, final rules, agency notices, and presidential documents daily. Final rules issued there are eventually codified in the CFR.

3. Federal case law

U.S. Supreme Court opinions: supremecourt.gov; CourtListener (Free Law Project) for the full federal court system — SCOTUS, circuit, district, and bankruptcy courts.

Citation form: Case Name, Volume Reporter Page (Court Year) (e.g., Brown v. Bd. of Educ., 347 U.S. 483 (1954)).

4. Bills and legislative history

  • Congress.gov — bill text, status, sponsors, committee reports, floor actions, Public Law numbers.
  • GovInfo — the official publication record (Statutes at Large, Public Laws, Congressional Record).

5. Executive material

Putting it together — a typical research path

  1. Start with the statute. Find the USC section you care about on Cornell LII; read the surrounding chapter for context.
  2. Check whether implementing regulations exist. Look up the statute's number in the eCFR's "authority" or parallel-table cross-reference.
  3. Find leading federal cases interpreting the statute. Use CourtListener's citation search.
  4. Check for recent agency action: Federal Register search by agency and topic.
  5. Check for pending legislation: Congress.gov search.
  6. Cite carefully — see How to Cite Law.

Related guides

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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.