Slip Laws in the United States

The laws (public or private) enacted by Congress are first published officially (and individually) as “slip laws.” Later they were reprinted in a bound volume of Statutes at Large.

Accessing New Laws

Currently they are not widely distributed in print. However, a number of online and print resources offer recently enacted laws, including:

Federal government web sites, such as Thomas and FDsys,
Subscription/fee-based web sites, e.g. Bloomberg Law, Lexis and Westlaw.
The “United States Code Congressional & Administrative News” (USCCAN) publishes monthly pamphlets that contain the full-text of all public laws in print. After each session of Congress the public laws are republished in permanent bound volumes of USCCAN.
US Code Service, Advance Series (in print)

FDsys explanation of Slip Laws

According to FDsys, both public and private laws “are also known as slip laws. A slip law is an official publication of the law and is competent evidence admissible in all state and Federal courts and tribunals of the United States. Public laws affect society as a whole, while private laws affect an individual, family, or small group.

After the President signs a bill into law, it is delivered to the Office of the Federal Register (OFR), National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) where it is assigned a law number, legal statutory citation (public laws only), and prepared for publication as a slip law. Private laws receive their legal statutory citations when they are published in the United States Statutes at Large.

Prior to publication as a slip law, OFR also prepares marginal notes and citations for each law, and a legislative history for public laws only. Until the slip law is published, through the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), the text of the law can be found by accessing the enrolled version of the bill.”

FDsys also states that after the President signs a bill into law (see enactment), “it is delivered to the Office of the Federal Register (OFR), National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) where it is assigned a law number, legal statutory citation (public laws only), and prepared for publication as a slip law. Private laws receive their legal statutory citations when they are published in the United States Statutes at Large.

Prior to publication as a slip law, the Office of the Federal Register also prepares marginal notes and citations for each law, and a legislative history for public laws only. Until the slip law is published, through the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), the text of the law can be found by accessing the enrolled version of the bill.

A slip law is an official publication of the law and is “competent evidence,” admissible in all state and Federal courts and tribunals of the United States (1 U.S.C. 113).”

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For a legal definition of Slip Laws, read Slip Laws in the Legal Dictionary here. Browse and search more U.S. and international free legal definitions and legal terms related to Slip Laws.

Slip Laws