LibGuides: LRAW Research Spring 2025: Updating Federal Statutes

Updating the Official Print U.S. Code

The Office of the Law Revision Counsel (OLRC) of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) publish a revised edition of the official un-annotated print (or "main edition" ) of the U.S. Code every six years. Between revisions, the GPO updates the official print U.S. Code with five annual hardbound cumulative supplements (I-V).

For example, the 2012 main edition of the official print U.S. Code was updated by Supplement I (2013), Supplement II (2014), Supplement III (2015), Supplement IV (2016), and Supplement V (2017). To check for amendments or the repeal of a statute, or to find new laws enacted after the print 2012 main edition was published, you would consult the latest hardbound print cumulative supplement for that title.

The House and the GPO are currently publishing hardbound cumulative supplements for the 2018 revised main edition of the U.S. Code. As of June 26, 2023, the Law Library has received Supplement I (2019), Supplement II (2020) and Supplement III (2021) for the 2018 main edition. All available titles of the U.S. Code can be found online through the House's OLRC website and the GPO's govinfo website (see below).

The U.S. Code Online

The OLRC's United States Code website provides online access to the 1994, 2000, 2006, 2012 and 2018 main editions of the U.S. Code and each edition as revised by individual supplements I through V. The entirety of Supplement III (2021) for the 2018 main edition was available on this website as of June 26, 2023.

Updating Online
Federal statutes are enacted and amended by Public Laws. The Currency and Updating page of the U.S. House's Office of Law Revision Counsel (OLRC) website indicates through which Public Law and date the U.S. Code online is current. The OLRC updates its online version of the U.S. Code throughout each congressional session and includes a currency note at the top of each section of the U.S. Code.

If an individual code section has been affected by any recently passed laws, a link is provided to view those laws in a list of "Pending Updates". If there are no pending updates listed, the section is current as shown. No Pending Updates link is provided for the whistleblower provision of the Sarbanes Oxley Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1514A below. The currency note at the top of the statute tells you that it is current through June 25, 2023.

The U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) uses the OLRC's U.S. Code information for its "virtual main editions" on its govinfo website. The GPO certifies each page as authentic using an eagle logo that says "Authenticated U.S. Government Information."

Updating Print Annotated Codes (U.S.C.A. & U.S.C.S.)

Each volume of the print unofficial annotated versions of the U.S. Code (U.S.C.A. and U.S.C.S.) is updated annually by either a cumulative pocketpart inserted in the back of that volume or a separate cumulative softbound supplement shelved next to it. These supplements to the hardbound volumes include any amendments or notice of repeal for individual code sections and any new research resources or case notes that have been added to a code section's annotations since the hardbound volume was last published.

Between publications of the annual supplements for each volume, softbound supplementary pamphlets are provided at the end of the U.S.C.A. and the U.S.C.S. that provide the same updating information for each entire set (all titles and sections).

U.S.C.A. on Westlaw & U.S.C.S. on Lexis

The most up-to-date annotated codes are available on Westlaw (U.S.C.A.) and Lexis (U.S.C.S.). Additionally, when using Westlaw or Lexis, you can use their citators to check for pending or very recent changes to a federal statute (See Updating Federal Statutes & Finding Other Resources Using Citators (KeyCite & Shepard's)).