Get the sections around this one
The sections immediately before and after a given section, in statutory order.
Cost: 2 credits. Not-found and failed lookups are not charged, and neither is an answer with no neighbour on either side (note says why it is empty).
Search cannot answer "what comes next", because relevance ranking is not statutory order: the definitions a section relies on usually sit a few sections back and its exceptions a few forward.
Neighbours never cross the containing chapter (or, where a section has no chapter, the containing title or state code), so you get the sections a reader would actually turn to, not the numerically adjacent row from an unrelated part of the corpus.
Neighbours stay within ONE container: the first section of a chapter has an empty previous and the last has an empty next, even when the code continues in the adjacent chapter, part or title (which are not traversed). When that is why a side is empty, note says so, so an empty side is not read as the start or end of the whole code. Superseded or not-yet-effective versions of a section are never returned as neighbours, and a section is never its own neighbour.
Ordering is natural, not lexicographic: 9 before 10, 240.9 before 240.10, 1983 before 1983a.
Bounded rows. A heavily amended section (26 U.S.C. 1) carries hundreds of references and a credit line of tens of thousands of characters. Each row keeps the first 50 items of every long list and the first 4,000 characters of history and committeeNote. A row that was cut carries responseBounds (truncated, and per field the total, what was returned and nextOffset); a row that was not cut omits it. The whole record is one call away: GET /us/statutes/section/{actId}?full=true.
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
How many sections to return on EACH side.
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
The section plus its neighbours.
Example response
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"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": [
{
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"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": {
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"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,
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"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"
},
"previous": [
{
"source": "sct",
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],
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{
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},
"effectiveDate": "2002-11-25",
"effectiveDateRaw": "September 8, 1916",
"historyEffectiveDate": "2009-06-19",
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"2012-11-01"
],
"pendingAmendments": [
{
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"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"
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"topics": [
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"Pesticides and pests"
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"documentTypeLabel": "Rule",
"documentSubtype": "Proclamation",
"action": "Final rule.",
"president": "George W. Bush",
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"frVolume": 66,
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"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",
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"program": "Old-Age and Survivors Insurance",
"languageCode": "es",
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"supersessionActions": {
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},
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"expirationDate": "2029-03-01",
"expirationDateRaw": "03-01-2029",
"sourcePageStart": 114,
"sourcePageEnd": 114,
"displayLabel": "MPEP § 2165.03",
"publicationDate": "2001-12-14",
"topLevelTitle": "Title 9: Criminal",
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"sourceUrl": "https://www.mass.gov/regulations/240-CMR-200-licensure-of-cosmetologists"
}
],
"next": [
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],
"renumberedTo": "self:4651",
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{
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"idNo": "DFS-23-26-00013-A",
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"adoptedAfterCurrentThrough": true,
"responseBounds": {
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},
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],
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"languageCode": "es",
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},
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"subtitleName": "AIR QUALITY",
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"versionId": "11948",
"referencedShortTitles": [
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],
"resolvedFrom": {
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"actId": "USC_T26_C1_S1",
"via": "citation",
"subsection": "(h)(11)",
"matchLevel": "container",
"container": {
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"childCount": 12,
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},
"repair": {
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},
"registerReference": {
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},
"processingTimeMs": 240.5,
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}Changes
No recorded changes to this operation across all 1 revision of this API.