Example: Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993,
Federal example: Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, 29 U. S. C. State example: Va. Code Ann.
Federal example: Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, 29. U. S. C. §§ 2601 – 2654 State codes may have number formats that differ from the federal code format. For example, the section number format for the Virginia Code is x-x. For example: Va. Code Ann. § 20-13
Federal example: Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, 29. U. S. C. §§ 2601 – 2654 (2012). State example: Va. Code Ann. § 20-13 (2012).
Example: Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993,
Federal example: Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, 29 U. S. C. State example: Va. Code Ann.
Federal example: Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, 29 U. S. C. §§ 2601 – 2654 State example: Va. Code Ann. § 20-13
Federal example: Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, 29 U. S. C. §§ 2601 – 2654 (2012). State example: Va. Code Ann. § 20-13 (2012).
Example: “The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 provided most employees with the right to unpaid leave without losing their jobs. " If including the year in your text makes the writing clunky, include the year the statute was enacted after the common name of the statute. For example: “The Family and Medical Leave Act (1993) allows parents to take unpaid time off after the birth or adoption of a child. " For statutes that don’t have a common name, simply include the statutory citation in parentheses after the sentence in which you discuss it. For example: “The State of Virginia requires marriages to be licensed before they are recognized as legal (Va. Code Ann. § 20-13). "
You can typically find a copy of the Bluebook at a public or university library. A research librarian also may be able to answer your citation questions. If you live near a law school, speak to one of the law librarians. They are specially trained in Bluebook citation format.
If you are using Chicago style and your instructor or supervisor wants you to include a listing for statutes in your bibliography as well, use the same format as you would for the footnote.
Example: Family and Medical Leave Act,
Federal example: Family and Medical Leave Act, 29 U. S. C. State example: Va. Code Ann.
Federal example: Family and Medical Leave Act, 29 U. S. C. §§ 2601 – 2654 State example: Va. Code Ann. § 20-13
Federal example: Family and Medical Leave Act, 29 U. S. C. §§ 2601 – 2654 (1993). State example: Va. Code Ann. § 20-13 (1919).
Federal example: (29 U. S. C. § 2601). State example: (Va. Code Ann. § 20-13).
Federal example: United States, Congress, House. State example: Commonwealth of Virginia, Virginia General Assembly.
Federal example: United States, Congress, House. United States Code. State example: Commonwealth of Virginia, Virginia General Assembly. Code of Virginia.
Federal example: United States, Congress, House. United States Code. Office of the Law Revision Counsel, 14 Jan. 2017, State example: Commonwealth of Virginia, Virginia General Assembly. Code of Virginia. Michie Company, 1 Jul. 2018,
