Find the statute that covers your question - the U.S. Code and state codes

Short answer: in LegiMatch's Statutes page you can describe a topic in plain words, such as "landlord keeping a tenant's security deposit", and see the official statute sections that may be relevant. Each one shows the government's own heading, its place in the code, the full official text, and the court decisions in our library that cite it. It covers every section of the Texas codes and the United States Code, and it shows the text only, never legal advice. The statute finder is free in every LegiMatch account and uses no credits.

How to use it

1. Open Statutes in LegiMatch.
2. In Find the law for a question, describe the topic in your own words.
3. Choose a state, U.S. Code (federal), or both.
4. Open a section to read the full official text and the decisions that cite it.

You can also ask the Research Librarian: "Which Texas law covers a security deposit?"

What you see for each section

Where the text comes from

Statutes are public law: the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed in Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc. (2020) that no one holds copyright in the law itself. We store only the official headings and text, never publishers' annotations, notes or summaries.

How the search finds sections

It compares the meaning of your question with each section's heading, its place in the code and its opening text, and gives extra weight to sections whose heading uses your words. If your question already contains a citation, that section comes first.

Limits to keep in mind

• Coverage grows state by state. The state list on the Statutes page shows every state available today.
• "May be relevant" isn't "applies". Whether a section governs a matter depends on the facts, its effective date, other sections, regulations and case law.
• Check for recent changes. Codes change after each legislative session. Confirm the current text on the official site before you rely on it, especially near a session.
• No advice. The finder shows official text. It never tells you what to do.

Frequently asked questions

Is the statute text official?

It comes from the official government publishers, the Office of the Law Revision Counsel for the U.S. Code and each state's own official publisher for state codes, such as the Texas Legislative Council for the Texas codes. Each section links to the official page so you can confirm it.

Which states are covered?

The federal U.S. Code and the official codes of 34 states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. The state codes are being loaded this week; the Statutes page shows what's available today.

Does it include annotations or case notes?

No. You see the official heading and text, plus the decisions in our library that cite the section. Publishers' annotations are copyrighted and not included.

How current is it?

The codes are refreshed monthly from the official sources. Always check the official site for very recent amendments.

Sources

• Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, Inc., 590 U.S. 255 (2020)
• Office of the Law Revision Counsel, United States Code (uscode.house.gov)
• Texas Legislative Council, Texas Constitution and Statutes (statutes.capitol.texas.gov)