Statutes at Large (Stat.)

Acts of Congress are published in the United States Statutes at Large. Volumes 1 through 18, which have all the statutes passed from 1789 to 1875, are available on-line at the Library of Congress, here. In the list below, statutes are listed by X Stat. Y, where X is the volume of the Statutes at Large and Y is the page number, as well as either the chapter or Public Law number. See examples below.

Sessions (Sess.) and Chapters (ch.)

Each Congress has two to four sessions. Under the numbering system used from 1789 until 1957, the Acts in each session are numbered sequentially as Chapters. This numbering included both laws applicable to the general public and laws relating to specific individuals, e.g., to grant pensions to disabled veterans.^[1]

Examples

• The Militia Act of 1862 of July 17, 1862, Sess. 2, ch. 201, was the 201st Act of the second session of the 37th Congress.
• The National Banking Act of February 25, 1863, Sess. 3, ch. 58, was the 58th Act of the third session of the 37th Congress.
• The Global Anti-Semitism Review Act of 2004 of October 16, 2004, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 108–332 (text) (PDF), 118 Stat. 1282, was the 332nd Act of Congress (statute) passed in the 108th Congress. It can be found in volume 118 of the U.S. Statutes at Large, starting at page 1282.
• The Help America Vote Act of October 29, 2002, Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States) 107–252 (text) (PDF), 116 Stat. 1666, was the 252nd Act of the 107th Congress. It can be found in volume 116 of the U.S. Statutes at Large, starting at page 1666.

1789 to 1901: 1st through 56th Congresses

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (March 2024)

1901 to 2001: 57th through 106th Congresses

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (March 2024)

2001 to present: 107th and subsequent Congresses