General legal information, published for everyone. It does not apply the law to anyone’s particular situation and is not legal advice. Laws change and differ by place; check the primary sources below.
Quick summary
- Primary sources are the law itself: constitutions, statutes, regulations, court rules, and court decisions.
- Secondary sources, such as treatises, restatements, and articles, explain the law but are not binding.
- Citations follow a predictable pattern: volume or title, source abbreviation, page or section, and often a year.
- Official text is published free online by Congress, federal agencies, courts, and state legislatures.
What it means
Every House Legal guide lists its primary sources so readers can check the law directly. Knowing how to read a citation turns a string like "29 U.S.C. § 203(g)" into a specific provision that can be looked up and read in full.
Primary sources can be binding (a court must follow them) or persuasive (a court may consider them). Which sources are binding depends on the jurisdiction and the court.
Key terms
- Primary source
- A source of law itself, such as a statute, regulation, court rule, or judicial decision.
- Secondary source
- A source that explains or analyzes the law, such as a treatise, law review article, or restatement.
- Statute
- A law enacted by a legislature, organized into a code by subject.
- Regulation
- A rule issued by an agency under authority granted by a statute.
- Reporter
- A series of books that publishes court decisions in order; cases are cited by volume and page.
- Pin cite
- A reference to the specific page or subsection being relied on.
- Binding vs. persuasive authority
- Binding authority must be followed by the court; persuasive authority may be considered but need not be followed.
How the law works
Federal statutes
29 U.S.C. § 203(g) means Title 29 of the United States Code, section 203, subsection (g). The official text is published by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel at uscode.house.gov. Statutes are sometimes also cited by their popular name or by public law number (for example, "Pub. L. No. 111-148").
Federal regulations
29 C.F.R. § 795.105 means Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations, part 795, section 105. The current text is on eCFR (ecfr.gov). New and proposed rules, with the agency's explanation, appear first in the Federal Register, cited like 89 Fed. Reg. 1638 (Jan. 10, 2024) (volume 89, page 1638).
Court decisions
McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792 (1973) names the parties, then gives the volume (411), reporter (U.S. Reports, for the Supreme Court), first page (792), and year. Federal appellate decisions appear in the Federal Reporter (F., F.2d, F.3d, F.4th) and trial-court decisions in the Federal Supplement (F. Supp.); the court is shown in parentheses, such as "(2d Cir. 1976)". Supreme Court opinions are free on supremecourt.gov, and many lower-court opinions are available through court websites and govinfo.gov.
State law
Each state has its own code and citation style, for example Cal. Lab. Code § 2775 (California Labor Code, section 2775) or 6 Del. C. § 18-201 (Title 6 of the Delaware Code, section 18-201). State legislatures publish their codes online, and state courts publish recent opinions. State citations in House Legal guides link to the official legislature or court site where one exists.
Checking that a source is current
Statutes are amended, regulations are revised, and cases are overruled. Official code websites usually note when text was last updated. Before relying on a case, researchers check later decisions that cite it ("citators"). House Legal guides show a last-updated date, but the law may have changed since.
Examples
Hypothetical example
Reading a statute citation
"42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(e)(1)" points to Title 42 of the U.S. Code, section 2000e-5, subsection (e), paragraph (1), the provision setting time limits for filing an EEOC charge.
Hypothetical example
Reading a case citation
"Abercrombie & Fitch Co. v. Hunting World, Inc., 537 F.2d 4 (2d Cir. 1976)" is a 1976 decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, published in volume 537 of the Federal Reporter, Second Series, starting at page 4.
Common questions
Are sites like Cornell's Legal Information Institute official?
They are reliable free reproductions, but not the official publications. For official text, use the publishing government body, such as uscode.house.gov, ecfr.gov, govinfo.gov, or a state legislature's website.
What does "et seq." mean?
Latin for "and the following." "15 U.S.C. § 1051 et seq." refers to section 1051 and the sections that follow it in the same act.
Is a restatement the law?
No. Restatements are secondary sources published by the American Law Institute. Courts often adopt their rules, but a restatement is binding only to the extent a court in that jurisdiction has adopted it.
Important distinctions
Statute vs. regulation
Statutes are passed by a legislature; regulations are issued by agencies to implement statutes. A regulation cannot validly go beyond the authority the statute grants.
Binding vs. persuasive authority
A decision from a higher court in the same jurisdiction is binding; decisions from other states or other federal circuits are persuasive only.
Primary sources
- Official sourceUnited States Code (official)United States (federal)
- Official sourceElectronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR)United States (federal)
- Official sourceFederal RegisterUnited States (federal)
- Official sourceGovInfo (U.S. Government Publishing Office)United States (federal)Official publications including court opinions and the Code.
- Official sourceSupreme Court of the United States — OpinionsUnited States (federal)
Links go to official or widely used free sources. Check that a source is current before relying on it. Browse all sources →
- Last updated
- Oct 8, 2026
- Jurisdiction
- United States
- Written by
- House Legal editorial (AI-assisted)