Briefly
Bluebook Citation

How to Bluebook a Statute

8 min read
Quick Answer

How to Bluebook a Statute

Cite a federal statute by title number, code abbreviation, section symbol, and section number under Bluebook Rule 12 — e.g., 42 U.S.C. § 1983 — and cite a state statute in whatever format Table T1.3 prescribes for that state, which varies enormously. The main judgment calls are which source to cite (official code, unofficial code, or session law), whether a date or publisher parenthetical is required, and how to signal amendments.

What does Rule 12 actually require?

Rule 12 governs statutes; Bluepages B12 is the condensed version for briefs and memos. Unlike case citations, statutory citations look the same in both academic footnotes and practitioner documents — ordinary roman type, no italics — so you do not have to run the usual typeface conversion.

The rule sets a source preference. Cite the current official code (U.S.C. for federal law, the official state code listed first in T1.3) whenever the statute appears there. Cite an unofficial code — U.S.C.A., U.S.C.S., or a commercial state code — when the official version is unavailable, out of date, or when you are quoting annotations. Cite the session laws (Statutes at Large for federal law) when the provision is uncodified, when you need the version in force at a particular time, or when the act's structure matters more than its scattered code placement.

A full federal citation has four possible components: title number, code abbreviation, section symbol and number, and a parenthetical. Only the parenthetical is genuinely contested territory.

How do you cite the U.S. Code?

The baseline form is: 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Title number first, then the code, then the section. Do not write "USC," "U.S.C.A. § 1983" when you mean the official code, or "Sec." in place of §. Leave a space between § and the number.

The date parenthetical is where editions diverge. The 20th edition required the year of the code edition for every U.S.C. citation — 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (2012). The 21st edition dropped that requirement for the current official code, so a bare 42 U.S.C. § 1983 is now correct, with a year supplied only when you are citing an earlier edition, a supplement, or when the timing of the language matters to your argument. Confirm which edition your professor, journal, or court requires before you commit; this is the single most common source of red ink on statute cites.

Unofficial codes always take a publisher parenthetical: 42 U.S.C.A. § 1983 (West 2023); 42 U.S.C.S. § 1983 (LexisNexis 2022). If you are citing a database version, give the currency information instead — for example, 42 U.S.C.A. § 1983 (Westlaw through Pub. L. No. 118-31). Rule 12.5 covers electronic sources.

Include the act's popular name when the statute is commonly known by it or when the name helps the reader: Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101–12213. The Internal Revenue Code gets its own shortcut under Rule 12.9.1 — write I.R.C. § 61 rather than 26 U.S.C. § 61.

When do you cite session laws instead of the code?

Use the session-law form when the provision was never codified, when you are describing what Congress enacted as a package, or when you must pin down a superseded version. The federal form is: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pub. L. No. 111-148, § 1001, 124 Stat. 119, 130 (2010).

Order of elements: act name, public law number, pinpoint section of the act, volume of Statutes at Large, first page of the act, pinpoint page, year of enactment. If the act is codified and you want the reader to find the current text, append a parenthetical: (codified as amended at 42 U.S.C. §§ 300gg-11 to 300gg-19). Rule 12.4 governs.

When a statute has been amended or repealed and that history matters, say so in a parenthetical under Rule 12.6.2: 8 U.S.C. § 1252 (amended 2005), or Pub. L. No. 88-352, 78 Stat. 241 (repealed in part 1972). Do not silently cite a repealed provision as if it were live law — that is a substantive error, not a formatting one.

How do you cite state statutes?

There is no single state format. Table T1.3 gives the required abbreviation, the preferred code, and the parenthetical for each of the fifty states, and you must look it up every time. The variation is driven by whether a state has an official code, whether it organizes law by subject-matter codes or by consecutive title numbers, and which commercial publisher produces the version practitioners actually use.

Examples of the structural range:

  • Subject-matter codes with a publisher parenthetical: Cal. Penal Code § 187 (West 2020); N.Y. Penal Law § 125.25 (McKinney 2019); Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 19.02 (West 2021).
  • Title-and-section codes: Del. Code Ann. tit. 8, § 141 (2021); 42 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5524 (2020).
  • Official codes needing no publisher: Fla. Stat. § 776.012 (2023).
  • Chapter-based codes: Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93A, § 2 (2022).

How do you handle sections, subsections, and spans?

Rule 3.3 controls. One section takes a single symbol (§ 1983); two or more take a doubled symbol (§§ 1981–1983). For a span, give the full range rather than abbreviating with "et seq." — the Bluebook disfavors it, and a reader cannot tell where the statute ends. For nonconsecutive sections, separate with commas: §§ 1983, 1985, 1988.

Subsections and clauses follow the section number in parentheses with no intervening space: 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(1). When the section number itself contains a hyphen, as in 2000e-2, keep it; do not confuse it with an en dash marking a range.

Under Rule 6.2(c), spell out "Section" when it begins a sentence in text ("Section 1983 creates a cause of action..."). Within a citation, always use the symbol. In law review text, spell out "section" when referring to a section of an act by name rather than by code cite.

How do you short-cite a statute?

Rule 12.10 permits several short forms after a full citation. The cleanest is to drop everything but the section: § 1983. You may also use 42 U.S.C. § 1983 again in full, which is never wrong and is often clearer in a long document that discusses several statutes.

Id. works normally: if the immediately preceding citation is 42 U.S.C. § 1983, then Id. § 1985 points to a different section of the same title. Do not use supra for statutes.

In a brief, courts often prefer that you name the statute in text ("section 1983," "the ADA") and reserve the formal cite for the first reference. That is a readability convention, not a Bluebook rule, but no judge will penalize you for it.

What errors show up most often?

Run this checklist before you submit. Most statute-cite deductions come from three or four repeat offenders, not from exotic rules.

  • Adding a date parenthetical to a current U.S.C. cite under the 21st edition, or omitting one under the 20th — know which edition governs.
  • Omitting the publisher from an unofficial code cite (West, McKinney, LexisNexis).
  • Using "et seq." instead of the full section span.
  • Citing U.S.C.A. or U.S.C.S. when the official U.S.C. contains the provision.
  • Guessing a state format instead of opening T1.3.
  • Citing regulations under Rule 12 — the C.F.R. and the Federal Register are governed by Rule 14, and procedural rules like Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) by Rule 12.9.3.

Key Takeaways

  • The federal baseline is title, U.S.C., section: 42 U.S.C. § 1983, with a date parenthetical only if your edition or your argument requires one.
  • Every unofficial code citation needs a publisher parenthetical; every official code citation does not.
  • State statute format varies state by state and you must consult Table T1.3 rather than reason by analogy.
  • Cite session laws (Pub. L. No. __, __ Stat. __) for uncodified provisions, historical versions, or when the act's structure matters.
  • Use §§ and full spans for multiple sections; the Bluebook disfavors "et seq."
  • Statutory citations use ordinary roman type in both briefs and law review footnotes, so no typeface conversion is needed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I still need the year in parentheses after a U.S.C. cite?
It depends on which edition of the Bluebook governs your work. The 20th edition required the code edition year on every U.S.C. citation; the 21st edition eliminated that requirement for the current official code and reserves the year for older editions, supplements, and situations where timing matters. Ask your legal writing professor or check your journal's style memo, because both forms are defensible and only one will be graded as correct.
When should I cite U.S.C.A. or U.S.C.S. instead of U.S.C.?
Cite an unofficial code when the official U.S.C. does not yet contain the provision — the official code lags recent enactments — or when you are relying on the annotations or a database version for currency. Add the publisher parenthetical: (West 2023) or (LexisNexis 2022). If you pulled the text from Westlaw or Lexis and currency is important, give the currency statement instead of a bare year under Rule 12.5.
How do I cite a statute that has been amended since enactment?
If you are citing the current codified text, just cite the code section; the code already reflects amendments. If you are citing the original act, add "as amended" or note the amendment year in a parenthetical under Rule 12.6.2, and use "(codified as amended at [code cite])" to point the reader to the live text. If your argument turns on a prior version, cite the session law that contained that version and give its year.
Can I use 'et seq.' to cite a whole act?
The Bluebook disfavors it under Rule 3.3, and you should give the actual span instead — for example, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101–12213 rather than 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. Some courts and practitioners still use it routinely, so you will see it in opinions and briefs. For a graded law school assignment, use the full span.
Where do the section symbol and spaces go?
Put one space between § and the section number (§ 1983), no space between the section number and a subsection (§ 1983(a)), and use §§ with a space before the first number when citing more than one section. Spell out "Section" only when it opens a sentence in text, per Rule 6.2(c).
Is a citation to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure a statute cite?
No. Procedural rules are covered by Rule 12.9.3 and take a distinct form — Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), Fed. R. Evid. 403 — with no date parenthetical when you are citing the current version. Administrative regulations are governed by Rule 14 and cite to the C.F.R., not the U.S.C.

Related Guides