US Statutes API: USC, CFR & State Codes
One API for US statutes: the complete US Code, the CFR, and 50 state codes (3.5M+ sections), plus the U.S. Constitution, the Federal Rules, and Executive Orders.
Self-serve REST and MCP, with section-level citations and direct links to the official text.
Building your own statute data pipeline?
- ✗Source the USC, the CFR, and state code trees from inconsistent government sites
- ✗Parse PDFs and XML with broken formatting, tables, and footnotes
- ✗Build and maintain search infrastructure
- ✗Handle section hierarchy, amendment history, and metadata extraction
- ✗Keep everything updated as statutes and regulations are amended
Or Use the Vaquill AI Statutes API
- ✓USC, CFR, and 50 state codes, indexed, cleaned, and structured
- ✓Section-level citations with direct links to the official text
- ✓Relevance-ranked search with per-corpus and per-state filters
- ✓Full section hierarchy and amendment history
- ✓Presidential Documents refreshed monthly from the Federal Register
We open-sourced the hard part: the scrapers
US law is public domain, but clean, structured bulk access to the compiled 50-state statutory codes has never existed in the open. Case law and federal law are open; the state codes sit behind commercial APIs. Open US Law publishes that missing layer and the scrapers that build it: all 50 state statutory codes plus the US Code, the CFR, state regulations, constitutions, and court rules, normalized to JSONL from official government sources. No database, no credentials. Scripts are Apache-2.0; the compiled data is CC BY 4.0.
Two honest ways in. Clone the scrapers when you want to self-host and control the pipeline. Use the hosted API below when you want the same law indexed, ranked, citation-linked, and kept fresh, so you never have to touch a broken government site again.
Statutes & Legislation API Endpoints
US Statutes, Constitutions, Rules & Executive Actions
Search across the entire US legal corpus
Search across 3.5M+ sections: the U.S. Code (54,855), the Code of Federal Regulations (219,745), Federal Register agency rules, final and proposed (121,214), state statutes across 52 jurisdictions (1.95M+ sections), state regulations from 45 states (1.1M+ rules), state constitutions across 51 jurisdictions, court rules from 7 states, the U.S. Constitution, the Federal Rules of Procedure (FRCP/FRCrP/FRE/FRAP/FRBP), and 3,593 Executive Orders plus Proclamations and Memos.
- ✓Pass `corpusType` to scope: `USC` | `CFR` | `STATE` | `CONSTITUTION` | `FEDERAL_RULES` | `STATE_CONSTITUTION` | `STATE_RULES` | `EXECUTIVE_ACTION`
- ✓Pass `state: "tx"` to restrict state corpora to a single state
- ✓Relevance-ranked results with per-state and per-corpus filters
- ✓Returns actId, citation, title, text excerpt, displayPath/breadcrumb hierarchy, relevance score, and links to HTML, PDF, and the official GovInfo source
- ✓Monthly refresh across all corpora
Get section metadata
Get metadata for any section across the 8 supported corpora: citation, title, breadcrumb, text excerpt, and edition year.
- ✓Lightweight metadata only (no body text)
- ✓Works for USC, CFR, state statutes, constitutions, federal rules, state rules, executive actions
- ✓Hierarchy path (title > chapter > section)
- ✓Cheap lookup for citation verification
Get full section text
Get the full text of a section across any corpus. HTML and plain-text formats returned. State sections that ship TXT-only (NY, MS, NJ, NV, AL, GA, NM, CO, CT, PA, TN, WY, LA) are rendered from the R2 TXT mirror.
- ✓Full statute text with formatting preserved
- ✓HTML for rendering + plain-text for processing/extraction
- ✓Cite-ready output for documents and motions
- ✓Auto-falls-back HTML to state-HTML to TXT for resilient delivery
List coverage by jurisdiction
Discover the jurisdictions we cover (50 states plus federal USC/CFR), each with section counts. Use this to know which jurisdictions are queryable before you call /statutes/search.
- ✓3.5M+ sections across 50 states plus federal corpora
- ✓Per-jurisdiction section count + hasData flag
- ✓One round-trip discovery for your client
List codes for a US state
List the distinct codes (Penal, Civil, Health & Safety, Education, ...) ingested for a US state. Texas alone has 23 codes; California, New York, and Florida have their full state code trees.
- ✓Returned `actId` values plug straight into /statutes/search filters
- ✓Section counts per code for sizing-aware queries
- ✓Cached for fast repeat calls
Integrate US Legal Data in Minutes
Search the US statute corpus in a single API call. No data infrastructure to build, no pipeline to maintain.
# Search the US statute corpus
curl -X POST https://api.vaquill.ai/api/v1/statutes/search \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $VAQUILL_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"query": "qualified immunity", "corpusType": "USC", "limit": 5}'
# Response includes:
# - Matching sections ranked by relevance
# - Citation, title, and a text excerpt per section
# - displayPath + breadcrumb hierarchy
# - Links to HTML, PDF, and the official GovInfo source
# - Envelope: total + creditsConsumed
{
"total": 3, "creditsConsumed": 4,
"results": [
{
"actId": "USC_T6_C4_S1104",
"citation": "6 U.S.C. § 1104 (2024)",
"title": "Immunity for reports of suspected terrorist activity",
"corpusType": "USC", "state": "federal", "year": 2024,
"relevanceScore": 0.73,
"excerpt": "Any person who, in good faith...",
"displayPath": "Title 6 > Chapter 4 > § 1104",
"htmlUrl": "https://statutes-us.vaquill.ai/...htm",
"pdfUrl": "https://statutes-us.vaquill.ai/...pdf",
"externalUrl": "https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/..."
}
]
}
Comprehensive Legal Data Coverage
We have already done the hard work of sourcing, parsing, deduplicating, and indexing legal data across jurisdictions.
US Code (USC)
The complete U.S. Code, with full-text search, section hierarchy, and amendment history.
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)
Federal regulations across all titles, indexed for fast full-text search.
State Statute Codes
1.95M+ sections across 50 state codes (Texas alone has 23 codes), scopable to a single state.
Constitutions & Federal Rules
The U.S. Constitution, state constitutions, and the Federal Rules (FRCP, FRCrP, FRE, FRAP, FRBP).
Executive Actions
3,593 Executive Orders, Proclamations, and Presidential Memos from the Federal Register, refreshed monthly.
Comprehensive Coverage
Search across the entire 3.5M+ section corpus, with per-state and per-corpus scoping.
Three Ways to Integrate
Choose the integration pattern that fits your stack. All patterns access the same US legal corpus: USC, CFR, and 52 state and territory statute codes.
REST API
Direct HTTP calls from any language. JSON request/response. Bearer token auth. Works with any backend.
Best for: Backend services, server-side apps
MCP Server
Install vaquill-mcp and use all endpoints as tools inside Claude, Cursor, VS Code, or Windsurf. No HTTP code needed.
Best for: AI-assisted workflows, developer tools
Security & Compliance
Legal data demands serious security. Here is how we protect your queries and your clients' data.
Bearer Token Auth
API keys prefixed with vq_key_ for easy identification. Rotate keys anytime from the dashboard.
HTTPS Only
All API traffic is encrypted in transit. Plain HTTP requests are rejected.
No Query Logging
We do not store your search queries. Only usage metrics for billing.
SOC 2 In Progress
SOC 2 Type II certification is in progress. Enterprise customers can request our current security documentation.
Data Residency
API servers and legal data hosted in the United States. No data leaves US infrastructure.
IP Whitelisting
Enterprise plans support IP-based access restrictions for additional security.
Legal API FAQ
Is the underlying legal data open source?
Yes. We open-sourced Open US Law (github.com/Vaquill-AI/open-us-law): the scrapers that build this corpus for all 50 state statutory codes plus the US Code, the CFR, state regulations, state and federal constitutions, and court rules, normalized to JSONL from official government sources. US law itself is public domain (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org); the scripts are Apache-2.0 and the compiled data is CC BY 4.0. Use the open scrapers to self-host and control the pipeline, or use the hosted API when you want the same law indexed, relevance-ranked, citation-linked, and refreshed monthly without maintaining scrapers.
What does the API cover?
The API covers 3.5M+ sections of US primary law: US Code (54,855), Code of Federal Regulations (219,745), Federal Register agency rules, final and proposed (121,214), state statutes across 52 jurisdictions, 50 states plus DC and Puerto Rico (1.95M+ sections), state regulations from 45 states (1.1M+ rules), state constitutions across 51 jurisdictions (~7.7K sections), court rules from 7 states (~8K rules), the U.S. Constitution (Articles + 27 Amendments), Federal Rules of Procedure (FRCP, FRCrP, FRE, FRAP, FRBP), agency guidance (2,509 documents), and 3,593 Executive Orders plus Proclamations and Memos. Federal corpora are refreshed weekly. The statutes endpoint accepts `corpusType` and `state` (2-letter code) filters for fine-grained scoping.
How is the data kept up to date?
All corpora are re-ingested weekly for federal corpora (state regulations monthly) as official sources publish updates, with amendment history preserved per section. This covers the U.S. Code, the CFR, state codes, and Presidential Documents from the Federal Register.
What authentication method do the APIs use?
All API endpoints use Bearer token authentication with keys prefixed vq_key_. Your pricing and usage are shown in your dashboard once you sign up.
Can I use the API for commercial products or internal in-house tools?
Yes. Our API serves legal-tech vendors building commercial products AND in-house teams building internal tools (intake bots, compliance lookups, contract-research assistants). All plans include commercial and internal usage rights. Enterprise plans include custom SLAs and dedicated support.
What response formats are supported?
All endpoints return JSON. Every source includes the section citation, full hierarchy, a relevance score, and direct links to the HTML, PDF, XML, and TXT mirrors of the official text so you can render or verify the exact provision.
Why should I use the Vaquill AI statutes API instead of building my own pipeline?
Building a statute pipeline from scratch means sourcing the U.S. Code, the CFR, and separate state code trees, parsing inconsistent document formats, building and maintaining search, handling section hierarchy and amendment history, and keeping everything updated. We have already done all of this across 3.5M+ sections. One API call gives you what would take months to build.
Can I try the API before committing to a plan?
Yes. The API is self-serve, with no card or sales call required: sign up at app.vaquill.ai, generate a key, and start building, or email contact@vaquill.ai. Your usage and pricing are shown in your dashboard.
Or Skip the API - Use Our MCP Connector
Install vaquill-mcp and get all 5 API endpoints as tools in Claude, Cursor, VS Code, and Windsurf. No HTTP calls, no auth headers - just ask your AI assistant.
Prefer the Open Dataset? It Is Free
The full statutory snapshot is published as open data under CC BY 4.0, with no signup and no paywall. Snapshot v2026.07 covers 2,046,009 sections: the statutory codes of all 50 states, DC, and Puerto Rico, the United States Code, and state constitutions, in one schema. The scrapers that build it are open source, so the corpus is fully reproducible. The API adds what a snapshot cannot: continuous freshness and section-level retrieval.
The statutory text is public domain (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). New dated snapshots publish quarterly.
Stop Building Legal Data Pipelines
We have already indexed the complete US Code, the CFR, 52 state and territory statute codes, the U.S. Constitution, the Federal Rules, and every Executive Order since 2015. Start building on our legal data infrastructure today.