United States Code
Encyclopedia
The Code of Laws of the United States of America (variously abbreviated to Code of Laws of the United States, United States Code, U.S. Code, or U.S.C.) is a compilation and codification of the general and permanent federal laws of the United States. It contains 51 titles (along with a further 4 proposed titles) and is published every six years by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel
of the House of Representatives
. The current edition of the code was published in 2006, and according to the US Government Printing Office, is over 200,000 pages long.
is that of the "enrolled bill" (traditionally printed on parchment
) presented to the President
for his signature or disapproval. Upon enactment of a law, the original bill is delivered to the Office of the Federal Register
(OFR) within the National Archives and Records Administration
(NARA). After authorization from the OFR, copies are distributed as "slip laws" by the Government Printing Office (GPO). The Archivist assembles annual volumes of the enacted laws and publishes them as the United States Statutes at Large
. By law, the text of the Statutes at Large is "legal evidence" of the laws enacted by Congress. Slip law
s are also competent evidence.
The Statutes at Large, however, is not a convenient tool for legal research. It is arranged strictly in chronological order, so that statutes addressing related topics may be scattered across many volumes. Statutes often repeal or amend earlier laws, and extensive cross-referencing
is required to determine what laws are in effect at any given time.
The United States Code is the result of an effort to make finding relevant and effective statutes simpler by reorganizing them by subject matter, and eliminating expired and amended sections. The Code is maintained by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel (LRC) of the U.S. House of Representatives. The LRC determines which statutes in the United States Statutes at Large should be codified, and which existing statutes are affected by amendments or repeals, or have simply expired by their own terms. The LRC updates the Code accordingly.
Because of this codification approach, a single named statute (like the Taft-Hartley Act
, or the Embargo Act
) may or may not appear in a single place in the Code. Often, complex legislation bundles a series of provisions together as a means of addressing a social or governmental problem; those provisions often fall in different logical areas of the Code.
For example, a bill providing relief for family farms might affect items in Title 7 (Agriculture), Title 26 (Tax), and Title 43 (Public Lands
). When the bill is codified, its various provisions might well be placed in different parts of those various Titles. Traces of this process are generally found in the Notes accompanying the "lead section" associated with the popular name, and in cross-reference tables that identify Code sections corresponding to particular Acts of Congress.
Usually the individual sections of a statute are incorporated into the Code exactly as enacted; however, sometimes editorial changes are made by the LRC (for instance, the phrase "the date of enactment of this Act" is replaced by the actual date). Though authorized by statute, these changes do not constitute positive law
.
The LRC continues the process of revising, updating, and restating the existing body of statutory law
in codified form. As the LRC completes particular areas of the law, it proposes that the Congress enact those titles of the Code as "positive law
" (i.e., make it an act of Congress itself rather than a restatement of various acts). If a particular title of the United States Code is enacted into law, the enactment repeals all previous enactments on the subject (including those found in the Statutes at Large), thereby making that title of the United States Code "legal evidence" of the law in force.
By law, those titles of the United States Code that have not been enacted into positive law are "prima facie
evidence" of the law in effect. The United States Statutes at Large
remains the ultimate authority. If a dispute arises as to the accuracy or completeness of the codification of an unenacted title, the courts will turn to the language in the United States Statutes at Large. Where a title has been enacted into positive law, however, a court may neither permit nor require proof of the underlying original statutes. The distinction between enacted and unenacted titles is largely academic because the Code is nearly always accurate. The United States Code is routinely cited by the Supreme Court and other federal courts without mentioning this theoretical caveat. On a day-to-day basis, very few lawyers cross-reference the Code to the Statutes at Large. Attempting to capitalize on the possibility that the text of the United States Code can differ from the United States Statutes at Large, Bancroft-Whitney for many years published a series of volumes known as United States Code Service (USCS), which used the actual text of the United States Statutes at Large.
) or for a limited time, such as most appropriation
acts or budget
laws, which apply only for a single fiscal year. If these limited provisions are significant, however, they may be printed as "notes" underneath related sections of the Code. The codification is based on the content of the laws, however, not the vehicle by which they are adopted; so, for instance, if an appropriations act contains substantive, permanent legislation (as is sometimes the case), the permanent provisions will be incorporated into the Code even though they were adopted as part of a non-permanent enactment.
Not all titles use the same series of subdivisions above the section level, and they may arrange them in different order. For example, in Title 26 (the tax code), the order of subdivision runs:
In Title 38 (Veteran's Benefits) the order runs Title - Part - Chapter - Subchapter - Section. Put another way, the Title is always the largest division of the Code, and the section the smallest (except for subsections, paragraphs, clauses, etc.), but intermediate levels vary in both number and sequence from Title to Title.
The word "title" in this context is roughly akin to a printed "volume," although many of the larger titles span multiple volumes. Similarly, no particular size or length is associated with other subdivisions; a section might run several pages in print, or just a sentence or two. Some subdivisions within particular titles acquire meaning of their own; for example, it's common for lawyers to refer to a "Chapter 11 bankruptcy" or a "Subchapter S corporation
" (often shortened to "S corporation
").
According to one legal style manual, a sample citation would be "Privacy Act of 1974
, (2006)", read aloud as "Title five, United States Code, section five fifty-two A" or simply "five USC five fifty-two A."
, which is no longer in effect.
.
According to the preface to the Code, "From 1897 to 1907 a commission was engaged in an effort to codify the great mass of accumulating legislation. The work of the commission involved an expenditure of over $300,000, but was never carried to completion." In the absence of an official code, private publishers once again collected the more recent statutes into unofficial codes. The first edition of the United States Code (published as Statutes at Large Volume 44, Part 1) includes cross-reference tables between the U.S.C. and two of these unofficial codes, United States Compiled Statutes Annotated by West Publishing Co.
and Federal Statutes Annotated by Edward Thompson Co.
The official version of the Code is published by the LRC as a series of paper volumes. The first edition of the Code was contained in a single bound volume; today, it spans several large volumes. Normally, a new edition of the Code is issued every six years, with annual supplements identifying the changes made by legislation in each session of Congress.
In practice, however, the Code is kept up-to-date on a near-current basis as laws are enacted, and notes are printed in the margins of the slip laws indicating where each section will be codified, if at all. Both the LRC and the GPO offer electronic versions of the Code to the public. The electronic version may be as much as 18 months behind current legislation, but it is the most up to date official version.
's Legal Information Institute
.
(part of Thomson Reuters
), and U.S.C.S. is published by LexisNexis
(part of Reed Elsevier
), which purchased the publication from the Lawyers Co-operative Publishing Co. in 1997 as a result of an antitrust settlement. These annotated versions contain notes following each section of the law, which summarize relevant court decisions, law review articles, and other authorities, and may also include uncodified provisions that are part of the Public Laws. The publishers of these versions frequently issue supplements that contain newly-enacted laws, which may not yet have appeared in an official published version of the Code. When an attorney is viewing an annotated code on an online service, such as Westlaw
or LexisNexis, all the citations in the annotations are hyperlink
ed to the referenced opinions and documents.
. These regulations are published chronologically in the Federal Register
and are then compiled by topic or subject matter in the Code of Federal Regulations
(C.F.R.), which constitutes an additional important source of federal law.
are indicated by blue shading below.
Note: The OLRC has produced a draft version of the codification of Title 35 (subtitles III and IV).
The subject matter of these titles exists today in one or several titles. If and when enacted, these titles would actually perform two functions: moving law from one location in the US Code to another, and to convert it into positive law.
* Includes Appendix of provisions not yet enacted into positive law.
Office of the Law Revision Counsel
The Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the United States House of Representatives prepares and publishes the United States Code, which is a consolidation and codification by subject matter of the general and permanent laws of the United States. The Office was created in 1974 when the provisions...
of the House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
. The current edition of the code was published in 2006, and according to the US Government Printing Office, is over 200,000 pages long.
Codification process
The official text of an Act of CongressAct of Congress
An Act of Congress is a statute enacted by government with a legislature named "Congress," such as the United States Congress or the Congress of the Philippines....
is that of the "enrolled bill" (traditionally printed on parchment
Parchment
Parchment is a thin material made from calfskin, sheepskin or goatskin, often split. Its most common use was as a material for writing on, for documents, notes, or the pages of a book, codex or manuscript. It is distinct from leather in that parchment is limed but not tanned; therefore, it is very...
) presented to the President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
for his signature or disapproval. Upon enactment of a law, the original bill is delivered to the Office of the Federal Register
Office of the Federal Register
The Office of the Federal Register is an agency of the United States government within the National Archives and Records Administration.The Office publishes the Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, and United States Statutes at Large, among others. It also administers the Electoral College....
(OFR) within the National Archives and Records Administration
National Archives and Records Administration
The National Archives and Records Administration is an independent agency of the United States government charged with preserving and documenting government and historical records and with increasing public access to those documents, which comprise the National Archives...
(NARA). After authorization from the OFR, copies are distributed as "slip laws" by the Government Printing Office (GPO). The Archivist assembles annual volumes of the enacted laws and publishes them as the United States Statutes at Large
United States Statutes at Large
The United States Statutes at Large, commonly referred to as the Statutes at Large and abbreviated Stat., are the official source for the laws and concurrent resolutions passed by the United States Congress...
. By law, the text of the Statutes at Large is "legal evidence" of the laws enacted by Congress. Slip law
Slip law
In the United States, a slip law is an individual Act of Congress, which are either public laws or private laws . They are part of a three-part model for publication of Federal statutes consisting of slip laws, session laws, and codification...
s are also competent evidence.
The Statutes at Large, however, is not a convenient tool for legal research. It is arranged strictly in chronological order, so that statutes addressing related topics may be scattered across many volumes. Statutes often repeal or amend earlier laws, and extensive cross-referencing
Cross-reference
A cross-reference is an instance within a document which refers to related or synonymous information elsewhere, usually within the same work. To cross-reference or to cross-refer is to make such connections. The term "cross-reference" is often abbreviated as x-ref, xref, or, in computer science,...
is required to determine what laws are in effect at any given time.
The United States Code is the result of an effort to make finding relevant and effective statutes simpler by reorganizing them by subject matter, and eliminating expired and amended sections. The Code is maintained by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel (LRC) of the U.S. House of Representatives. The LRC determines which statutes in the United States Statutes at Large should be codified, and which existing statutes are affected by amendments or repeals, or have simply expired by their own terms. The LRC updates the Code accordingly.
Because of this codification approach, a single named statute (like the Taft-Hartley Act
Taft-Hartley Act
The Labor–Management Relations Act is a United States federal law that monitors the activities and power of labor unions. The act, still effective, was sponsored by Senator Robert Taft and Representative Fred A. Hartley, Jr. and became law by overriding U.S. President Harry S...
, or the Embargo Act
Embargo Act of 1807
The Embargo Act of 1807 and the subsequent Nonintercourse Acts were American laws restricting American ships from engaging in foreign trade between the years of 1807 and 1812. The Acts were diplomatic responses by presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison designed to protect American interests...
) may or may not appear in a single place in the Code. Often, complex legislation bundles a series of provisions together as a means of addressing a social or governmental problem; those provisions often fall in different logical areas of the Code.
For example, a bill providing relief for family farms might affect items in Title 7 (Agriculture), Title 26 (Tax), and Title 43 (Public Lands
Public land
In all modern states, some land is held by central or local governments. This is called public land. The system of tenure of public land, and the terminology used, varies between countries...
). When the bill is codified, its various provisions might well be placed in different parts of those various Titles. Traces of this process are generally found in the Notes accompanying the "lead section" associated with the popular name, and in cross-reference tables that identify Code sections corresponding to particular Acts of Congress.
Usually the individual sections of a statute are incorporated into the Code exactly as enacted; however, sometimes editorial changes are made by the LRC (for instance, the phrase "the date of enactment of this Act" is replaced by the actual date). Though authorized by statute, these changes do not constitute positive law
Positive law
Positive law is the term generally used to describe man-made laws which bestow specific privileges upon, or remove them from, an individual or group...
.
Legal status
The authority for the material in the United States Code comes from its enactment through the legislative process and not from its presentation in the Code. For example, the United States Code inadvertently omitted for decades, even after Congress amended it in 1982. In its 1993 ruling in U.S. National Bank of Oregon v. Independent Insurance Agents of America, the Supreme Court ruled that §92 was still valid law.The LRC continues the process of revising, updating, and restating the existing body of statutory law
Statutory law
Statutory law or statute law is written law set down by a legislature or by a legislator .Statutes may originate with national, state legislatures or local municipalities...
in codified form. As the LRC completes particular areas of the law, it proposes that the Congress enact those titles of the Code as "positive law
Positive law
Positive law is the term generally used to describe man-made laws which bestow specific privileges upon, or remove them from, an individual or group...
" (i.e., make it an act of Congress itself rather than a restatement of various acts). If a particular title of the United States Code is enacted into law, the enactment repeals all previous enactments on the subject (including those found in the Statutes at Large), thereby making that title of the United States Code "legal evidence" of the law in force.
By law, those titles of the United States Code that have not been enacted into positive law are "prima facie
Prima facie
Prima facie is a Latin expression meaning on its first encounter, first blush, or at first sight. The literal translation would be "at first face", from the feminine form of primus and facies , both in the ablative case. It is used in modern legal English to signify that on first examination, a...
evidence" of the law in effect. The United States Statutes at Large
United States Statutes at Large
The United States Statutes at Large, commonly referred to as the Statutes at Large and abbreviated Stat., are the official source for the laws and concurrent resolutions passed by the United States Congress...
remains the ultimate authority. If a dispute arises as to the accuracy or completeness of the codification of an unenacted title, the courts will turn to the language in the United States Statutes at Large. Where a title has been enacted into positive law, however, a court may neither permit nor require proof of the underlying original statutes. The distinction between enacted and unenacted titles is largely academic because the Code is nearly always accurate. The United States Code is routinely cited by the Supreme Court and other federal courts without mentioning this theoretical caveat. On a day-to-day basis, very few lawyers cross-reference the Code to the Statutes at Large. Attempting to capitalize on the possibility that the text of the United States Code can differ from the United States Statutes at Large, Bancroft-Whitney for many years published a series of volumes known as United States Code Service (USCS), which used the actual text of the United States Statutes at Large.
Uncodified statutes
Only "general and permanent" laws are codified; the Code does not usually include provisions that apply only to a limited number of people (a private lawStatutory law
Statutory law or statute law is written law set down by a legislature or by a legislator .Statutes may originate with national, state legislatures or local municipalities...
) or for a limited time, such as most appropriation
Appropriation (law)
In law and government, appropriation is the act of setting apart something for its application to a particular usage, to the exclusion of all other uses....
acts or budget
Budget
A budget is a financial plan and a list of all planned expenses and revenues. It is a plan for saving, borrowing and spending. A budget is an important concept in microeconomics, which uses a budget line to illustrate the trade-offs between two or more goods...
laws, which apply only for a single fiscal year. If these limited provisions are significant, however, they may be printed as "notes" underneath related sections of the Code. The codification is based on the content of the laws, however, not the vehicle by which they are adopted; so, for instance, if an appropriations act contains substantive, permanent legislation (as is sometimes the case), the permanent provisions will be incorporated into the Code even though they were adopted as part of a non-permanent enactment.
Organization
The Code is divided into 50 titles (listed below), which deal with broad, logically organized areas of legislation. Titles may optionally be divided into subtitles, parts, subparts, chapters, and subchapters. All titles have sections (represented by a §), as their basic coherent units, though sections are often divided into (from largest to smallest) subsections, paragraphs, subparagraphs, clauses, subclauses, items, and subitems. Congress, by convention, names a particular subdivision of a section according to its largest element. For example, "subsection (c)(3)(B)(iv)" is not a subsection but a clause, namely clause (iv) of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3) of subsection (c); if the identity of the subsection and paragraph were clear from the context, one would refer to the clause as "subparagraph (B)(iv)."Not all titles use the same series of subdivisions above the section level, and they may arrange them in different order. For example, in Title 26 (the tax code), the order of subdivision runs:
- Title
- (Subtitle)
- Chapter
- (Subchapter)
- Part
- (Subpart)
- Section
- (Subsection)
- Paragraph
- (Subparagraph)
- Clause
- (Subclause)
In Title 38 (Veteran's Benefits) the order runs Title - Part - Chapter - Subchapter - Section. Put another way, the Title is always the largest division of the Code, and the section the smallest (except for subsections, paragraphs, clauses, etc.), but intermediate levels vary in both number and sequence from Title to Title.
The word "title" in this context is roughly akin to a printed "volume," although many of the larger titles span multiple volumes. Similarly, no particular size or length is associated with other subdivisions; a section might run several pages in print, or just a sentence or two. Some subdivisions within particular titles acquire meaning of their own; for example, it's common for lawyers to refer to a "Chapter 11 bankruptcy" or a "Subchapter S corporation
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
" (often shortened to "S corporation
S Corporation
An S corporation, for United States federal income tax purposes, is a corporation that makes a valid election to be taxed under Subchapter S of Chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code....
").
According to one legal style manual, a sample citation would be "Privacy Act of 1974
Privacy Act of 1974
The Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552a, Public Law No. 93-579, establishes a Code of Fair Information Practice that governs the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of personally identifiable information about individuals that is maintained in systems of records by federal agencies...
, (2006)", read aloud as "Title five, United States Code, section five fifty-two A" or simply "five USC five fifty-two A."
Treatment of repealed laws
When sections are repealed, their text is deleted and replaced by a note summarizing what used to be there. This is so that lawyers reading old cases can understand what the cases are talking about. As a result, some portions of the Code consist entirely of empty chapters full of historical notes. For example, Title 8, Chapter 7 is labeled "Exclusion of Chinese." This contains historical notes relating to the Chinese Exclusion ActChinese Exclusion Act (United States)
The Chinese Exclusion Act was a United States federal law signed by Chester A. Arthur on May 8, 1882, following revisions made in 1880 to the Burlingame Treaty of 1868. Those revisions allowed the U.S. to suspend immigration, and Congress subsequently acted quickly to implement the suspension of...
, which is no longer in effect.
Cases of awkward numbering
Sometimes, Congress or the LRC underestimates the future importance of a new government program, and does not reserve enough space in the U.S.C.'s section numbers for future statutes related to that program. Then Congress never gets around to the task of reorganizing and renumbering all the sections in a title, which forces Congressional drafters to resort to awkward methods to shoehorn new laws into the existing section numbering of a title. One method is to add additional letters and numbers to section numbers; another method is to simply jam more subsections under a single section number. In turn, some parts of the U.S.C. feature sections with strange numbers which have so many subsections included that they become very difficult to read. Many examples can be found in the statutes governing the huge Medicare and Medicaid programs, which were originally assigned, respectively, to sections 1395 and 1396 of Title 42. Take for example , which requires state approval of marketing materials for certain organizations.Early compilations
Early efforts at codifying the Acts of Congress were undertaken by private publishers; these were useful shortcuts for research purposes, but had no official status. Congress undertook an official codification called the Revised Statutes approved June 22, 1874, for the laws in effect as of December 1, 1873. Congress re-enacted a corrected version in 1878. The Revised Statutes were enacted as positive law, but subsequent enactments were not incorporated into the official code, so that over time researchers once again had to delve through many volumes of the Statutes at LargeStatutes at Large
Statutes at Large is the name given to published collections or series of legislative Acts in a number of jurisdictions:-England and Great Britain:* The Statutes at Large:...
.
According to the preface to the Code, "From 1897 to 1907 a commission was engaged in an effort to codify the great mass of accumulating legislation. The work of the commission involved an expenditure of over $300,000, but was never carried to completion." In the absence of an official code, private publishers once again collected the more recent statutes into unofficial codes. The first edition of the United States Code (published as Statutes at Large Volume 44, Part 1) includes cross-reference tables between the U.S.C. and two of these unofficial codes, United States Compiled Statutes Annotated by West Publishing Co.
Thomson West
West publishes legal, business, and regulatory information in print, and on electronic services such as Westlaw. Since the late 19th century, West has been one of the most prominent publishers of legal materials in the United States...
and Federal Statutes Annotated by Edward Thompson Co.
Official code
During the 1920s, some members of Congress revived the codification project, resulting in the approval of the United States Code by Congress in 1926.The official version of the Code is published by the LRC as a series of paper volumes. The first edition of the Code was contained in a single bound volume; today, it spans several large volumes. Normally, a new edition of the Code is issued every six years, with annual supplements identifying the changes made by legislation in each session of Congress.
In practice, however, the Code is kept up-to-date on a near-current basis as laws are enacted, and notes are printed in the margins of the slip laws indicating where each section will be codified, if at all. Both the LRC and the GPO offer electronic versions of the Code to the public. The electronic version may be as much as 18 months behind current legislation, but it is the most up to date official version.
Internet versions
A number of other online versions are freely available, such as CornellCornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
's Legal Information Institute
Legal Information Institute
The Legal Information Institute is a non-profit, public service of Cornell Law School that provides no-cost access to current American and international legal research sources online at . The organization is a pioneer in the delivery of legal information online. Founded in 1992 by Peter Martin and...
.
Annotated codes
Practicing lawyers who can afford them almost always use an annotated version of the U.S. Code from a private company. The two leading annotated versions are the United States Code Annotated, abbreviated as U.S.C.A., and the United States Code Service, abbreviated as U.S.C.S. The U.S.C.A. is published by WestWest (publisher)
West publishes legal, business, and regulatory information in print, and on electronic services such as Westlaw. Since the late 19th century, West has been one of the most prominent publishers of legal materials in the United States...
(part of Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters Corporation is a provider of information for the world's businesses and professionals and is created by the Thomson Corporation's purchase of Reuters Group on 17 April 2008. Thomson Reuters is headquartered at 3 Times Square, New York City, USA...
), and U.S.C.S. is published by LexisNexis
LexisNexis
LexisNexis Group is a company providing computer-assisted legal research services. In 2006 it had the world's largest electronic database for legal and public-records related information...
(part of Reed Elsevier
Reed Elsevier
Reed Elsevier is a publisher and information provider operating in the science, medical, legal, risk and business sectors. It is listed on several of the world's major stock exchanges. It is a FTSE 100 and FT500 Global company...
), which purchased the publication from the Lawyers Co-operative Publishing Co. in 1997 as a result of an antitrust settlement. These annotated versions contain notes following each section of the law, which summarize relevant court decisions, law review articles, and other authorities, and may also include uncodified provisions that are part of the Public Laws. The publishers of these versions frequently issue supplements that contain newly-enacted laws, which may not yet have appeared in an official published version of the Code. When an attorney is viewing an annotated code on an online service, such as Westlaw
Westlaw
Westlaw is one of the primary online legal research services for lawyers and legal professionals in the United States and is a part of West. In addition, it provides proprietary database services...
or LexisNexis, all the citations in the annotations are hyperlink
Hyperlink
In computing, a hyperlink is a reference to data that the reader can directly follow, or that is followed automatically. A hyperlink points to a whole document or to a specific element within a document. Hypertext is text with hyperlinks...
ed to the referenced opinions and documents.
Other relevant codifications
The Code generally contains only those Acts of Congress known as public laws (although the notes sometimes contain related Executive Orders and other presidential documents). The Code does not contain statutes known as private laws. It also does not contain statutes that are not considered permanent (such as appropriations); nor does it contain regulations adopted by executive agencies through the rulemaking process set out in the Administrative Procedure ActAdministrative Procedure Act
The Administrative Procedure Act , , is the United States federal law that governs the way in which administrative agencies of the federal government of the United States may propose and establish regulations. The APA also sets up a process for the United States federal courts to directly review...
. These regulations are published chronologically in the Federal Register
Federal Register
The Federal Register , abbreviated FR, or sometimes Fed. Reg.) is the official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains most routine publications and public notices of government agencies...
and are then compiled by topic or subject matter in the Code of Federal Regulations
Code of Federal Regulations
The Code of Federal Regulations is the codification of the general and permanent rules and regulations published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government of the United States.The CFR is published by the Office of the Federal Register, an agency...
(C.F.R.), which constitutes an additional important source of federal law.
Parts of interest
- The Uniform Code of Military JusticeUniform Code of Military JusticeThe Uniform Code of Military Justice , is the foundation of military law in the United States. It is was established by the United States Congress in accordance with the authority given by the United States Constitution in Article I, Section 8, which provides that "The Congress shall have Power . ....
is contained in Title 10, Chapter 47. It defines infractions such as absence without leave and contains the popularly-known phrase, "Conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentlemanConduct unbecoming an officer and a gentlemanConduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman is an offense subject to court martial defined in the punitive code, Article 133, of the United States Uniform Code of Military Justice , enacted at ....
". - Title 11 is the U.S. Bankruptcy CodeBankruptcy in the United StatesBankruptcy in the United States is governed under the United States Constitution which authorizes Congress to enact "uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States." Congress has exercised this authority several times since 1801, most recently by adopting the Bankruptcy...
. Some of the different types of bankruptcyBankruptcyBankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
are commonly referred to simply by their chapter numbers:- Chapter 7Chapter 7, Title 11, United States CodeChapter 7 of the Title 11 of the United States Code governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States...
- Chapter 11Chapter 11, Title 11, United States CodeChapter 11 is a chapter of the United States Bankruptcy Code, which permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Chapter 11 bankruptcy is available to every business, whether organized as a corporation or sole proprietorship, and to individuals, although it is most...
- Chapter 13Chapter 13, Title 11, United States CodeChapter 13 of the United States Bankruptcy Code, codified under Title 11 of the United States Code, governs a form of bankruptcy in the United States that allows individuals to undergo a financial reorganization supervised by a federal bankruptcy court. The goal of Chapter 13 is to enable...
- Chapter 7
- Title 18 deals with federal crimesCriminal lawCriminal law, is the body of law that relates to crime. It might be defined as the body of rules that defines conduct that is not allowed because it is held to threaten, harm or endanger the safety and welfare of people, and that sets out the punishment to be imposed on people who do not obey...
, penalties and prisons. - Title 26 is also known as the Internal Revenue CodeInternal Revenue CodeThe Internal Revenue Code is the domestic portion of Federal statutory tax law in the United States, published in various volumes of the United States Statutes at Large, and separately as Title 26 of the United States Code...
. Much of Title 26 is administered and enforced by the Internal Revenue ServiceInternal Revenue ServiceThe Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
and is one of the largest portions of the Code. - Title 28 governs procedure in the United States federal courtsUnited States federal courtsThe United States federal courts make up the judiciary branch of federal government of the United States organized under the United States Constitution and laws of the federal government.-Categories:...
. - Title 42 is a large and complex title which includes statutes governing several large federal government programs like Social SecuritySocial Security (United States)In the United States, Social Security refers to the federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program.The original Social Security Act and the current version of the Act, as amended encompass several social welfare and social insurance programs...
and MedicareMedicare (United States)Medicare is a social insurance program administered by the United States government, providing health insurance coverage to people who are aged 65 and over; to those who are under 65 and are permanently physically disabled or who have a congenital physical disability; or to those who meet other...
as well as entitlements, civil rights and many social programs. One provision, , is the basis for a wide range of federal civil rightsCivil rightsCivil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
actions in federal courts; it is the codification of the Civil Rights Act of 1871Civil Rights Act of 1871The Civil Rights Act of 1871, , enacted April 20, 1871, is a federal law in force in the United States. The Act was originally enacted a few years after the American Civil War, along with the 1870 Force Act. One of the chief reasons for its passage was to protect southern blacks from the Ku Klux...
. Section 1983 cases include suits alleging use of excessive force by police and First Amendment suits against public schools to maintain church/state separation. Section 1983 itself is quite short; the annotations (i.e., the digests and summaries of court decisions interpreting it), however, span several volumes. Chapter 6A of Title 42 is the Public Health Service ActPublic Health Service ActThe Public Health Service Act is a United States federal law enacted in 1944. The full act is captured under Title 42 of the United States Code "The Public Health and Welfare", Chapter 6A "Public Health Service"....
.
Titles
Titles that have been enacted into positive lawPositive law
Positive law is the term generally used to describe man-made laws which bestow specific privileges upon, or remove them from, an individual or group...
are indicated by blue shading below.
| Title 1 Title 1 of the United States Code Title 1 of the United States Code outlines the general provisions of the United States Code. In 2011, H.R.3 proposed a new "Chapter 4. Prohibiting Taxpayer Funded Abortions and Providing for Conscience Protections." The bill is in the United States Congress.... |
General Provisions |
| Title 2 Title 2 of the United States Code Title 2 of the United States Code outlines the role of Congress in the United States Code.Title 2 of the United States Code outlines the role of Congress in the United States Code.... |
The Congress United States Congress The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.... |
| Title 3 Title 3 of the United States Code Title 3 of the United States Code outlines the role of the President of the United States in the United States Code.-Chapter 1—Presidential Elections and Vacancies:This chapter deals with elections for President every four years, and vacancies.... |
The President President of the United States The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.... |
| Title 4 Title 4 of the United States Code Title 4 of the United States Code outlines the role of flag of the United States, Great Seal of the United States, Washington, DC, and the states in the United States Code.-Chapter 1:... |
Flag Flag of the United States The national flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows... and Seal Great Seal of the United States The Great Seal of the United States is used to authenticate certain documents issued by the United States federal government. The phrase is used both for the physical seal itself , and more generally for the design impressed upon it... , Seat of Government Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution.... , and the States |
| Title 5 Title 5 of the United States Code Title 5 of the United States Code outlines the role of government organization and employees in the United States Code. It also is the Title that specifies Federal holidays .* Part I: The Agencies Generally... |
Government Federal government of the United States The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and... Organization and Employees* |
| Title 6 Title 6 of the United States Code Title 6 of the United States Code governs Domestic Security in the United States Code.-Title 6 — Domestic Security:Title 21 has five chapters: — Homeland Security... (original) |
Surety Bonds (repealed) (Enacted into positive law by the 80th Congress in 1947; combined into Title 31 when it was enacted into positive law.) |
| Title 6 | Domestic Security |
| Title 7 Title 7 of the United States Code Title 7 of the United States Code outlines the role of agriculture in the United States Code.: Commodity Exchanges: Cotton Standards: Grain Standards: Naval Stores: Importation of Adulterated Seeds: Insecticides and Environmental Pesticide Control: National Laboratory Accreditation: Insect Pests... |
Agriculture Agriculture Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the... |
| Title 8 Title 8 of the United States Code Title 8 of the United States Code outlines the role of aliens and nationality in the United States Code.* The first eleven chapters have been repealed, omitted, or transferred to elsewhere in the Code, in their entirety.-External links:... |
Aliens and Nationality |
| Title 9 Title 9 of the United States Code Title 9 of the United States Code outlines the role of arbitration in the United States Code.-External links:*, via United States Government Printing Office*, via Cornell University... |
Arbitration Arbitration Arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution , is a legal technique for the resolution of disputes outside the courts, where the parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons , by whose decision they agree to be bound... |
| Title 10 Title 10 of the United States Code Title 10 of the United States Code outlines the role of armed forces in the United States Code.It provides the legal basis for the roles, missions and organization of each of the services as well as the United States Department of Defense... |
Armed Forces United States armed forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military... (including the Uniform Code of Military Justice Uniform Code of Military Justice The Uniform Code of Military Justice , is the foundation of military law in the United States. It is was established by the United States Congress in accordance with the authority given by the United States Constitution in Article I, Section 8, which provides that "The Congress shall have Power . .... ) |
| Title 11 Title 11 of the United States Code Title 11 of the United States Code is the primary source of bankruptcy law in the United States Code.-Contents:Title 11 is subdivided into nine chapters. It used to include more chapters, but some of them have since been repealed in their entirety... |
Bankruptcy Bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy in the United States is governed under the United States Constitution which authorizes Congress to enact "uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States." Congress has exercised this authority several times since 1801, most recently by adopting the Bankruptcy... |
| Title 12 Title 12 of the United States Code Title 12 of the United States Code outlines the role of Banks and Banking in the United States Code.-External links:*, via United States Government Printing Office*, via Cornell University... |
Banks and Banking |
| Title 13 Title 13 of the United States Code Title 13 of the United States Code outlines the role of the United States Census in the United States Code.-External links:*, via United States Government Printing Office*, via Cornell University... |
Census Census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common... |
| Title 14 Title 14 of the United States Code Title 14 of the United States Code outlines the role of the United States Coast Guard in the United States Code.*Part I—Regular Coast Guard*Part II—Coast Guard Reserve and Auxiliary-External links:*, via United States Government Printing Office... |
Coast Guard United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency... |
| Title 15 Title 15 of the United States Code Title 15 of the United States Code outlines the role of the commerce and trade in the United States Code.Notable legislation in the title includes the Federal Trade Commission Act, the Clayton Antitrust Act, the Sherman Antitrust Act, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Consumer Product Safety... |
Commerce and Trade |
| Title 16 Title 16 of the United States Code Title 16 of the United States Code outlines the role of conservation in the United States Code.—National Parks, Military Parks, Monuments, and Seashores —Historic Sites, Buildings, Objects, and Antiquities—Archaeological Resources Protection—National Forests—Forests; Forest Service; Reforestation;... |
Conservation |
| Title 17 Title 17 of the United States Code Title 17 of the United States Code is the title of the United States Code that outlines United States copyright law.—Subject Matter and Scope of Copyright—Copyright Ownership and Transfer—Duration of Copyright—Copyright Notice, Deposit, and Registration—Copyright Infringement and... |
Copyright Copyright Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time... s |
| Title 18 | Crimes and Criminal Procedure Criminal procedure Criminal procedure refers to the legal process for adjudicating claims that someone has violated criminal law.-Basic rights:Currently, in many countries with a democratic system and the rule of law, criminal procedure puts the burden of proof on the prosecution – that is, it is up to the... * |
| Title 19 Title 19 of the United States Code Title 19 of the United States Code outlines the role of customs and duties in the United States Code.—Collection Districts, Ports, And Officers—Foreign Trade Zones—The Tariff Commission—The Tariff and Related Provisions—Tariff Act of 1930—Smuggling—Trade Fair Program—Trade Expansion... |
Customs Customs Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country... Duties |
| Title 20 Title 20 of the United States Code Title 20 of the United States Code outlines the role of education in the United States Code.—Office of Education—Teaching of Agricultural, Trade, Home Economics, and Industrial Subjects—Smithsonian Institution, National Museums and Art Galleries—National Zoological Park—Government Collections and... |
Education |
| Title 21 Title 21 of the United States Code Title 21 of the United States Code governs Food and Drugs in the United States Code.-Title 21 — Food and Drugs:Title 21 has 26 chapters: — Adulterated or Misbranded Foods or Drugs — [Teas] — Filled Milk... |
Food and Drugs Food and Drug Administration The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments... |
| Title 22 Title 22 of the United States Code Title 22 of the United States Code outlines the role of foreign relations and intercourse in the United States Code.—Diplomatic and Consular Service Generally—Consular Courts—United States Court for China—Passports—Preservation of Friendly Foreign Relations Generally—Foreign Diplomatic and Consular... |
Foreign Relations Foreign relations of the United States The United States has formal diplomatic relations with most nations. The United States federal statutes relating to foreign relations can be found in Title 22 of the United States Code.-Pacific:-Americas:-Caribbean:... and Intercourse |
| Title 23 Title 23 of the United States Code Title 23 of the United States Code outlines the role of highways in the United States Code.—Federal-Aid Highways—Other Highways—General Provisions—Highway Safety—Research And Technology-External links:*, via United States Government Printing Office... |
Highways |
| Title 24 Title 24 of the United States Code Title 24 of the United States Code outlines the role of hospitals and psychiatric hospitals in the United States Code.—Navy Hospitals, Army and Navy Hospital, and Hospital Relief for Seamen and Others—Soldiers and Airmens Home—National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers—Saint Elizabeths... |
Hospital Hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays.... s and Asylums |
| Title 25 Title 25 of the United States Code Title 25 of the United States Code outlines the role of Indians in the United States Code.—Bureau of Indian Affairs—Officers of Indian Affairs—Indian Claims Commission—Agreements With Indians—Performance by United States of Obligations to Indians—Protection of Indians—Government of Indian Country... |
Indians Native Americans in the United States Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as... |
| Title 26 Internal Revenue Code The Internal Revenue Code is the domestic portion of Federal statutory tax law in the United States, published in various volumes of the United States Statutes at Large, and separately as Title 26 of the United States Code... |
Internal Revenue Code Internal Revenue Code The Internal Revenue Code is the domestic portion of Federal statutory tax law in the United States, published in various volumes of the United States Statutes at Large, and separately as Title 26 of the United States Code... |
| Title 27 Title 27 of the United States Code Title 27 of the United States Code outlines the role of intoxicating liquors in the United States Code.—General Provisions—Prohibition of Intoxicating Beverages—Beer, Ale, Porter, and Similar Fermented Liquor—Industrial Alcohol—Penalties—Prohibition Reorganization Act of 1930—Transportation in... |
Intoxicating Liquors Alcoholic beverage An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption... |
| Title 28 Title 28 of the United States Code Title 28 is the portion of the United States Code that governs the federal judicial system.It is divided into six parts:* Part I: Organization of Courts* Part II: Department of Justice... |
Judiciary Judiciary The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes... and Judicial Procedure |
| Title 29 Title 29 of the United States Code - Code Chapters :Title 29 has 35 chapters:-External links:*, via United States Government Printing Office*, via Cornell University... |
Labor |
| Title 30 Title 30 of the United States Code Title 30 of the United States Code outlines the role of mineral lands and mining in the United States Code.—United States Bureau of Mines—Mineral Lands and Regulations in General—Lands Containing Coal, Oil, Gas, Salts, Asphaltic Materials, Sodium, Sulphur, and Building Stone—Leases and Prospecting... |
Mineral Lands and Mining Mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock... |
| Title 31 Title 31 of the United States Code Title 31 of the United States Code outlines the role of the money and finance in the United States Code.* Subtitle I—General* Subtitle II—The Budget Process* Subtitle III—Financial Management* Subtitle IV—Money** — Sacagawea dollar... |
Money and Finance |
| Title 32 Title 32 of the United States Code Title 32 of the United States Code outlines the role of the United States National Guard in the United States Code.—Organization—Personnel—Training—Service, Supply, And Procurement—Homeland Defense Activities-External links:... |
National Guard |
| Title 33 Title 33 of the United States Code Title 33 of the United States Code outlines the role of navigable waters in the United States Code.—Navigable Waters Generally—International Rules for Navigation at Sea—Navigation Rules for Harbors, Rivers, and Inland Waters Generally—Navigation Rules for Great Lakes and Their Connecting and... |
Navigation and Navigable Waters |
| Title 34 Title 34 of the United States Code Title 34 of the United States Code outlined the role of the United States Navy in the United States Code prior to 1956. It was entirely repealed when the laws within it were either eliminated or moved into the new revision of Title 10 by an act of Congress on 1956-08-10.... |
Navy United States Navy The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S... (repealed all of Title 34 in 1956 when Navy was moved into Title 10 Title 10 of the United States Code Title 10 of the United States Code outlines the role of armed forces in the United States Code.It provides the legal basis for the roles, missions and organization of each of the services as well as the United States Department of Defense... subtitle C) |
| Title 35 Title 35 of the United States Code Title 35 of the United States Code is a title of United States Code regarding patent law. The sections of Title 35 govern all aspects of patent law in the United States. There are currently 37 chapters, which include 376 sections , in Title 35.Federally recognized forms of intellectual property are... |
Patent Patent A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention.... s |
| Title 36 Title 36 of the United States Code Title 36 of the United States Code outlines the role of Patriotic Societies and Observances in the United States Code.*Subtitle I—Patriotic and National Observances and Ceremonies*Subtitle II—Patriotic and National Organizations... |
Patriotic Societies and Observances Patriotism Patriotism is a devotion to one's country, excluding differences caused by the dependencies of the term's meaning upon context, geography and philosophy... |
| Title 37 Title 37 of the United States Code Title 37 of the United States Code outlines the role of Pay and Allowances of the Uniformed Services in the United States Code.—Definitions—Basic Pay—Special and Incentive Pays—Allowances—Leave—Payments to Missing Persons—Payments to Mentally Incompetent Persons—Allotments and Assignments of... |
Pay and Allowances of the Uniformed Services |
| Title 38 Title 38 of the United States Code Title 38 of the United States Code outlines the role of Veterans' Benefits in the United States Code.* Part I—General Provisions* Part II—General Benefits* Part III—Readjustment and Related Benefits* Part IV—General Administrative Provisions... |
Veterans' Benefits |
| Title 39 Title 39 of the United States Code Title 39 of the United States Code outlines the role of United States Postal Service in the United States Code.* Part I—General* Part II—Personnel* Part III—Modernization and Fiscal Administration* Part IV—Mail Matter* Part V—Transportation of Mail... |
Postal Service United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States... |
| Title 40 Title 40 of the United States Code Title 40 of the United States Code outlines the role of Public Buildings, Properties, and Public Works in the United States Code.* Subtitle I—Federal Property and Administrative Services* Subtitle II—Public Buildings and Works... |
Public Buildings, Properties, and Works Public works Public works are a broad category of projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community... |
| Title 41 Title 41 of the United States Code Title 41 of the United States Code, titled "Public Contracts," enacted on January 4, 2011, consists of federal statutes regarding public contracts in the United States Code.... |
Public Contracts |
| Title 42 Title 42 of the United States Code Title 42 of the United States Code is the title of the United States Code dealing with public health, social welfare, and civil rights.—The Public Health Service—The Public Health Service, Supplemental Provisions—Sanitation and Quarantine—Leprosy—Cancer—Viruses, Serums, Toxins, Antitoxins,... |
The Public Health and Welfare |
| Title 43 Title 43 of the United States Code Title 43 of the United States Code outlines the role of Public Lands in the United States Code.—Bureau of Land Management—United States Geological Survey—Surveys—District Land Offices—Land Districts—Withdrawal From Settlement, Location, Sale, or Entry—Homesteads—Timber and Stone Lands—Grazing... |
Public Lands |
| Title 44 Title 44 of the United States Code Title 44 of the United States Code outlines the role of public printing and documents in the United States Code.- Chapters :The title contains 41 chapters:-External links:*, via United States Government Printing Office*, via Cornell University... |
Public Printing Printing Printing is a process for reproducing text and image, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. It is often carried out as a large-scale industrial process, and is an essential part of publishing and transaction printing.... and Documents |
| Title 45 Title 45 of the United States Code Title 45 of the United States Code outlines the role of rail transport in the United States Code.-External links:*, via United States Government Printing Office*, via Cornell University... |
Railroads Rail transport Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on... |
| Title 46 Title 46 of the United States Code Title 46 of the United States Code outlines the role of shipping in the United States Code.* [Subtitle I—General]* Subtitle II—Vessels and Seamen* Subtitle III—Maritime Liability* [Subtitle IV—Reserved]* Subtitle V—Merchant Marine... |
Shipping |
| Title 47 Title 47 of the United States Code Title 47 of the United States Code defines the role and structure of the Federal Communications Commission, an independent agency of the United States government, and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, part of the United States Department of Commerce... |
Telegraph Telegraphy Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages via some form of signalling technology. Telegraphy requires messages to be converted to a code which is known to both sender and receiver... s, Telephone Telephone The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other... s, and Radiotelegraphs |
| Title 48 Title 48 of the United States Code Title 48 of the United States Code outlines the role of United States territories and insular areas in the United States Code.-External links:*, via United States Government Printing Office*, via Cornell University... |
Territories and Insular Possessions Insular area An insular area is a United States territory, that is neither a part of one of the fifty U.S. states nor the District of Columbia, the federal district of the United States... |
| Title 49 Title 49 of the United States Code Title 49 of the United States Code is a code that regards the role of transportation in the United States of America.The title was enacted by , § 1, October 17, 1978, ; , § 1, January 12, 1983, ; and , July 5, 1994,... |
Transportation (enacted into positive law in stages; Title IV in 1978, Title I in 1983, and Titles II, III, and V-X in 1994) |
| Title 50 Title 50 of the United States Code Title 50 of the United States Code outlines the role of War and National Defense in the United States Code.-External links:*, via United States Government Printing Office*, via Cornell University* Appendix to Title 50, via Cornell University... |
War and National Defense |
| Title 51 Title 51 of the United States Code Title 51 of the United States Code , entitled "National and Commercial Space Programs", is the compilation of the general laws regarding space programs. It was promulgated by U.S. President Barack Obama on December 18, 2010 when he signed into law.-Background :Since the 1940s, many statutes have... |
National and Commercial Space Programs |
Note: The OLRC has produced a draft version of the codification of Title 35 (subtitles III and IV).
Proposed titles
The Office of Law Revision Counsel has produced draft text for an additional four titles of federal law.The subject matter of these titles exists today in one or several titles. If and when enacted, these titles would actually perform two functions: moving law from one location in the US Code to another, and to convert it into positive law.
| Title 52 | Voting and Elections |
| Title 53 | Small Business |
| Title 54 | National Park System |
| Title 55 | Environment |
External links
- U.S. Code Official Government site
- Office of Law Revision Counsel (Search the U.S. Code House of Representatives Site)
- Acts listed by popular name (at Cornell's U.S. Code site)
- Positive Law Codification in the United States Code
- United States Statutes and the United States Code: Historical Outlines, Notes, Lists, Tables, and Sources