Citing Statutes
Bluebook Guide
Federal Statutes
  • A full citation of federal statute includes:
    • The official name of the act, if any
    • The published source in which the act can be found
    • The year of the cited code edition (not the year the act was passed)
      • Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, 29 U.S.C. §§ 621-634 (2018).
    • If only citing one section of the code, provide a specific section number, and only use one § symbol
      • Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, 29 U.S.C. § 623 (2018).
  • If available, cite the current official code for statutes currently in force. The official code for federal statutes is the United States Code, which is abbreviated to U.S.C.
  • If the statute does not have an official name, the citation should tell the reader the following:
    • 1. The title number
    • 2. The abbreviated name of the code
    • 3. The section numbers in which the act is codified
    • 4. The year of the cited code edition (not the year the act was passed)
  • Example:
    • 1 U.S.C. § 1 (2018).
State Statutes
  • For state statutes, cite an official code if available.
  • Although the citation form for individual state codes varies, a full citation of most state codes includes the following elements:
    • 1. The abbreviated name of the code, as listed in T1.3
    • 2. The cited section numbers
    • 3. The year of cited code edition (not the year the act was passed)
  • Example:
    • Fla. Stat. § 186.004 (2022)
    • Fla. Stat. Ann. § 186.004 (West 2022)