Forms of Federal Statutory Publication

The four forms of federal statutory publications are slip laws, session laws (or advance session laws), Codes, and Annotated Codes. As a researcher, you will most frequently use an Annotated Code for accessing federal law. It is, however, important to understand each stage of federal legislative publication and the implications for research.

This lesson is designed to give you an introduction to the intricacies of federal statutory publication. You should understand how the different forms are interconnected as well as the differences between them by the completion of this lesson.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this lesson, the student will be able to:

1. Identify the four forms of federal statutory publications.
2. Recognize which form of publication is authoritative when there is a conflict between two versions.
3. Choose the correct form of statutory publication to consult based upon the goal of the research.
4. Describe how the different forms are interconnected as well as the differences between them.