Get statute section metadata
Get detailed metadata for a specific statute section by its ID.
Cost: 2 credits. Not-found (404) and failed lookups are not charged.
The actId comes from /us/statutes/search results or Ask API sources (e.g., USC_T42_C21_S1983). It is structured but not meant to be hand-built; always take it from a prior response.
Returns citation, title hierarchy, breadcrumb, and links to every available format (HTML, PDF, XML, plain text, DOCX) where the source provides them. Use /us/statutes/section/{actId}/body for the full text.
Request
- Base URLhttps://api.vaquill.ai
- Auth
- HTTP bearer
- or API key in header X-API-Key
- TypeScriptA function with typed inputs. Its response is checked against the schema.
Path parameters
Section identifier, e.g. USC_T42_C21_S1983 (Title 42, Chapter 21, Section 1983, which a lawyer writes as 42 U.S.C. § 1983). Take it from a /us/statutes/search or /us/statutes/resolve result.
A citation also works here: 26 U.S.C. § 1, 42 USC 1983 or Cal. Civ. Code § 1950.5 is resolved with the same resolver /resolve uses, and the section is served. A citation costs this endpoint's price PLUS the /resolve price (2 credits), charged as its own line whether or not it resolves, exactly as /resolve charges; that is the same total as calling /resolve and then this endpoint, in one round trip. An exact act_id costs only this endpoint's price. When a citation resolves, or when the id only matched after surrounding whitespace, quotes or a trailing period were removed, the response carries resolvedFrom saying what your input was matched as. Check it the way you would check a /resolve answer. A citation containing / cannot travel in a URL path segment; resolve it with GET /us/statutes/resolve instead.
Do not assemble an id from a citation: the title and section are derivable, but the CHAPTER is not, so USC_T26_S1 misses. A miss returns 404 with reason and, where the section exists under another id, didYouMean.
State session laws (acts as enacted, ids starting SSL_) are not code sections: read them at /us/session-laws/{sessionLawId}.
Query parameters
Return every list entry and the whole history credit line. By default long lists are capped at 50 items and history at 4,000 characters, and responseBounds reports each cut with its total. No extra charge. Search, resolve, batch, neighbours and POST /sections apply the same caps with no full switch; their responseBounds appears only on a row that was cut, and this route returns the whole record.
Headers
Optional. 16 to 255 visible ASCII characters (a UUIDv4 is ideal). A retry with the same key and the same request replays the original 2xx response for 24 hours without charging again. The same key with a different request is rejected. Scope is the API key, method, path and body. The stored response body is a query-derived cache controlled by the account's data retention setting cacheQueryDerivedData: when it is false the body is never stored and a retry answers 409 idempotency_replay_unavailable, without charging again.
Response
Successful Response
Example response
{
"section": {
"source": "sct",
"body": "(a) If within a reasonable time after written or oral notice...",
"bodyUnavailable": true,
"bodyUnavailableReason": "image_only_source",
"bodyNote": "fetch_failed",
"matchContexts": [
{
"text": "(a) An employer shall not retaliate against an employee who files a complaint",
"highlights": [
[
7,
15
],
[
26,
35
]
]
}
],
"renumberedTo": "self:4651",
"renumberedToLabel": "section 10105 of Title 34",
"transferredTo": "34:10105",
"transferredToLabel": "section 10105 of Title 34",
"issueDate": "1999-05-25",
"statutoryAuthority": [
{
"display": "15 U.S.C. 78o",
"section": "78o",
"title": 15,
"type": "usc"
}
],
"implementingRegulations": [
{
"cfrTitle": 17,
"display": "17 CFR Part 240",
"part": "240",
"partName": "General Rules"
}
],
"rescindedOn": "2016-07-01",
"pendingAdoptions": [
{
"agency": "Department of Financial Services",
"effectiveDate": "2026-09-23",
"idNo": "DFS-23-26-00013-A",
"issueDate": "2026-09-23",
"scope": "part"
}
],
"adoptedAfterCurrentThrough": true,
"responseBounds": {
"truncated": true,
"fields": [
{
"field": "publicLaws",
"unit": "items",
"total": 190,
"returned": 50,
"nextOffset": 50
}
]
},
"effectiveDate": "2002-11-25",
"effectiveDateRaw": "September 8, 1916",
"historyEffectiveDate": "2009-06-19",
"priorEffectiveDates": [
"2004-12-17",
"2012-11-01"
],
"pendingAmendments": [
{
"id": "FRULES_FRCP_R26_P2027",
"status": "approved_by_standing_committee",
"cycle": 2027,
"effectiveDate": "2027-12-01",
"commentPeriodEnd": "2026-02-16",
"sourceUrl": "https://www.uscourts.gov/rules-policies/pending-rules-and-forms-amendments",
"textComplete": true,
"commentDocketIds": [
"USC-RULES-CV-2025-0004"
]
}
],
"abstract": "This regulation extends time-limited tolerances for pesticides.",
"agencies": [
"Environmental Protection Agency"
],
"agencySlugs": [
"environmental-protection-agency"
],
"topics": [
"Environmental protection",
"Pesticides and pests"
],
"documentTypeLabel": "Rule",
"documentSubtype": "Proclamation",
"action": "Final rule.",
"president": "George W. Bush",
"signingDate": "2026-04-02",
"executiveOrderNumber": "14179",
"proclamationNumber": "10886",
"instrumentNumberSource": "derived_from_text",
"datesText": "This regulation is effective December 14, 2001.",
"frVolume": 66,
"frStartPage": 64768,
"frEndPage": 64775,
"wordCount": 6271,
"issuingAgency": "Pollution Control Board",
"adoptingCitations": [
"37 Ill. Reg. 16539"
],
"lawImplemented": "Section 4656.1, Public Resources Code",
"lastAmendedDate": "2013-10-04",
"amendmentNote": "Amended at 37 Ill. Reg. 16539, effective October 4, 2013",
"currencyYear": 2025,
"reviewDate": "11/1/2028",
"originalEnactmentDate": "1934-06-27",
"originalEnactmentDateRaw": "June 27, 1934",
"releaseDate": "2018-06-14",
"documentNumber": "21-CA-211066",
"caseName": "Dunn-Edwards Corp.",
"forum": "Administrative Proceeding",
"court": "U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts",
"relatedDocuments": [
"Consent Order",
"Stipulation"
],
"settlementAmount": "$16,500",
"requesters": [
"Preece, Inc."
],
"program": "Old-Age and Survivors Insurance",
"languageCode": "es",
"volume": 1,
"articleNumber": "1",
"articleName": "Declaration of Rights",
"ruleSetCode": "NDSUPCTADMINR",
"edition": "2025",
"relatedCitations": [
"RCW 28A.150.290"
],
"supersessionActions": {
"modifies": [
"Rev. Proc. 2011-47"
]
},
"subtitle": "11",
"subtitleName": "AIR QUALITY",
"publisherKey": "430000000310400000000000000000000",
"versionId": "11948",
"referencedShortTitles": [
"Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act"
],
"subjectNumber": "47",
"audience": "All Persons Engaged in Marketing",
"sourceCharStart": 263194,
"sourceCharEnd": 264198,
"matchSegment": "note",
"matchNoteYear": 1993,
"alternateCitations": [
"4 L.P.R.A. § 2077"
],
"expirationDate": "2029-03-01",
"expirationDateRaw": "03-01-2029",
"sourcePageStart": 114,
"sourcePageEnd": 114,
"displayLabel": "MPEP § 2165.03",
"publicationDate": "2001-12-14",
"topLevelTitle": "Title 9: Criminal",
"externalUrl": "https://www.mass.gov/regulations/240-CMR-200-licensure-of-cosmetologists",
"sourceUrl": "https://www.mass.gov/regulations/240-CMR-200-licensure-of-cosmetologists"
},
"resolvedFrom": {
"input": "26 U.S.C. § 1",
"actId": "USC_T26_C1_S1",
"via": "citation",
"subsection": "(h)(11)",
"matchLevel": "container",
"container": {
"kind": "chapter",
"label": "U.S. Const. art. III",
"childCount": 12,
"children": [
{
"actId": "CONST_US_A3_S1",
"citation": "U.S. Const. art. III, § 1",
"status": "in_force"
}
]
},
"repair": {
"kind": "code_name",
"cited": "Jud. Ct. Acts Law",
"interpretedAs": "N.Y. Judiciary Law § 475",
"alternatives": [
{
"actId": "STATE_NY_FCT_S475",
"citation": "N.Y. Fam. Ct. Act § 475"
}
]
},
"registerReference": {
"citation": "36 Pa. Bull. 510",
"state": "il",
"kind": "page",
"ruleCount": 2
}
},
"processingTimeMs": 240.5,
"creditsConsumed": 4
}Changes
No recorded changes to this operation across all 1 revision of this API.