Sample Searches and URLs for Public and Private Laws

The government publications in FDsys can be searched using the Simple Search Box and the Advanced Search page. Once results are displayed, you can narrow your search results by clicking on links in the Narrow Your Search panel on the left hand side of the page. The sections under Narrow Your Search correspond to the metadata available for the documents. Collection specific links to narrow your search results will be displayed after you click on one of the collection under the Collection category.

Retrieve by Citation search can be used to retrieve documents in PDF format if you know the citation of the document. The collections can also be browsed in the Browse Government Publications area.

The following sections give examples of searches that you may want to use for the Public & Private Laws collection in FDsys.

Search Laws by Law Number and Congress

These examples will search for laws with the law number 318 from the 108th congress. This is typically displayed as 108-318.

Using the Simple Search Box, enter one of the following

collection:plaw docnumber:318 congress:108
collection:plaw and docnumber:318 and congress:108

Using the Advanced Search page,

Select Public and Private Laws from Available Collections in the box
Click Add to add Public and Private Laws to the Selected Collections box
Select Law Number under Search In
Enter 318 into the textbox marked for
Click on Add more search criteria
Select Congress Number under Search In
Enter 108 in textbox marked for

Search Laws by Law Type (Public or Private)

These examples will search for private laws only.

Using the Simple Search Box, enter one of the following

collection:plaw lawtype:private
collection:plaw and lawtype:private

Using the Advanced Search page,

Select Public and Private Laws from Available Collections in the box
Click Add to add Public and Private Laws to the Selected Collections box
Select Law Type under Search In
Select private in the pulldown menu marked for

Search by Statutes at Large Citation

These examples will search for laws that reference 80 Stat. 1112.

Using the Simple Search Box, enter one of the following

collection:plaw statutecitation:”80 Stat. 1112”
collection:plaw and statutecitation:”80 Stat. 1112”

Using the Advanced Search page,

Select Public and Private Laws from Available Collections in the box
Click Add to add Public and Private Laws to the Selected Collections box
Select Statutes At Large Citation under Search In
Enter 80 Stat, 1112 into the textbox marked for

Search Laws by U.S. Code Citation

These examples will search for laws that reference 43 U.S.C. 1337.

Using the Simple Search Box, enter one of the following

collection:plaw uscodecitation:43 U.S.C. 1337"
collection:plaw and uscodecitation:43 U.S.C. 1337"

Using the Advanced Search page,

Select Public and Private Laws from Available Collections in the box
Click Add to add Public and Private Laws to the Selected Collections box
Select U.S. Code Citation under Search In
Enter 43 U.S.C. 1337into the textbox marked for

Search Laws by Bill Citation

These examples will search for laws with S. 507 as the bill citation.

Using the Simple Search Box, enter one of the following

collection:plaw billscitation:"S. 507"
collection:plaw and billscitation:"S. 507"

Using the Advanced Search page,

Select Public and Private Laws from Available Collections in the box
Click Add to add Public and Private Laws to the Selected Collections box
Select Associated Bill Citation under Search In
Enter S. 507 into the textbox marked for

Search Laws by Date Range

These examples will search for laws published between April 1, 2008 and May 30, 2008.

Using the Simple Search Box, enter one of the following

collection:plaw publishdate:range(2008-04-01,2008-05-30)
collection:plaw and publishdate:range(2008-04-01,2008-05-30)

Using the Advanced Search page,

Select Date is Between under Publication Date
Select April in Month pulldown
Select 1 in the Day pulldown
Select 2008 in the Year pulldown
Select May in Month pulldown
Select 30 in the Day pulldown
Select 2008 in the Year pulldown
Select Public and Private Laws from Available Collections in the box
Click Add to add Public and Private Laws to the Selected Collections box

Search Laws by Congress Number and Keywords

These examples will search for laws from the 109th congress with fire safety in the full text of the document.

Using the Simple Search Box, enter one of the following

fire safety collection:plaw congress:109
fire safety and collection:plaw and congress:109

Using the Advanced Search page,

Select Public and Private Laws from Available Collections in the box
Click Add to add Public & Private Laws to the Selected Collections box
Select Congress Number under Search In
Enter 109 in textbox marked for
Click on Add Search Criteria
Select Full-Text of Publications and Metadata under Search In
Enter fire safety in textbox marked for

Sample Public and Private Laws URLs

FDsys uses a Package ID to create predictable URLs to public laws, private laws, and the More Information pages.

Identifier

Structure/Metadata Field

Example

Package ID

Public Laws:

PLAW-{Congress Number}publ{Law Number}

Private Laws:

PLAW-{Congress Number}pvtl{Law Number}

Public Laws:

PLAW-111publ4

Private Laws:

PLAW-111pvtl-22

More Information Page for a Law

Structure: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/{packageId}/content-detail.html

Example: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-111publ4/content-detail.html

PDF File for a Law

Structure: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/{packageId}/pdf/{packageId}.pdf

Example: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-111publ4/pdf/PLAW-111publ4.pdf

HTML File for a Law

Structure: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/{packageId}/html/{packageId}.htm

Example: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-111publ4/html/PLAW-111publ4.htm

Sample Public and Private Law Citation URLs

Additionally, the Law Type (PUBLIC or PRIVATE), Congress Number and Law Number can be used to construct URLs using the citation of the document.

PDF File for a Public and Private Law Law Citation

Structure: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/search/citation.result.PLAW.action?publicAndPrivateLaws.type={Law Type}&publicAndPrivateLaws.congress={Congress Number}&publicAndPrivateLaws.number={Law Number}&publication=PLAW&button.retrieve.document=Retrieve+Document

Example: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/search/citation.result.PLAW.action?publicAndPrivateLaws.type=PUBLIC&publicAndPrivateLaws.congress=111&publicAndPrivateLaws.number=4&publication=PLAW&button.retrieve.document=Retrieve+Document

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