First, the easy way: PERRLA
In PERRLA, choose Statutes (under Legal References), then A state statute. Type the state in State Name, the code's name as the legislature's site gives it in Statute Source Title (Occupations Code, or Florida Statutes), and the chapter or section in Statute Source Location, spelled out the MLA way: chapter 301, or section 464.003. Put the year the code is current through in Original Year, and paste the link in URL (Web address). PERRLA starts the entry with the legislature, and the in-text citation can point to the section you used.
The MLA entry doesn't print the Name of the Statute or Act, so name the act in your sentence. If you use the Insert section symbol - § button under Statute Source Location, PERRLA spells it out in MLA: § becomes section, and §§ before a range becomes sections.
Citing the board of nursing's page? Paste its URL into PERRLA's reference search, and PERRLA fills in the board as the group author, the page title, and the link. Check that the Website Name matches the group author, so PERRLA starts the entry with the title, and add a Retrieval Date if the page has no date of its own.
Not using PERRLA yet? Here is how to build the same works cited entry by hand.
The parts of the works cited entry
1. Author: the legislature
The state legislature passed the act, so it's the author. MLA's own state-law examples name the state, then the legislature, and end with a period.
Texas State, Legislature.
MLA 9 also lets you give a government body's name the way the source does, like the Texas Legislature, so either form is accepted. The board of nursing isn't the author of the act. It enforces the law, and it's the author of its own pages.
2. Title: the state code
The act lives inside the state's code of laws, and MLA cites the code you read. Give the code's name as the legislature's site shows it, capitalized like a title, in plain type, with no italics or quotation marks. End with a period.
Occupations Code.
Some states have one code, like the Florida Statutes. Others split their laws into subject codes: Texas puts nursing in its Occupations Code, and California puts it in the Business and Professions Code. The act's own name, like the Nursing Practice Act, goes in your sentence.
3. Chapter or section
Next, tell your reader where in the code the act is, spelled out: the chapter for the whole act, or the section for one rule. Capitalize the first word, since it starts a new part of the entry.
Chapter 301,
MLA gives you two choices. Cite the whole act and name the section you're using in your in-text citation, like the Texas example below. Or, if you read one section's own page, cite that section, like the Florida example.
4. Year
Then give the year the code is current through, followed by a comma. Legislature sites say which version you're reading: Florida's says "The 2026 Florida Statutes," and Texas's says its statutes are current through the 2025 legislative sessions.
2025,
Citing an older version, like the law in effect during a study you're discussing? Use that version's year.
5. URL
End with the URL of the page where you read the law, without https://, followed by a period.
statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/OC/htm/OC.301.htm.
That's the Texas Legislature's statutes site; Florida's is called Online Sunshine. Use the legislature's own site, the official copy, rather than a site that republishes the law.
Examples
The whole act: Texas's Nursing Practice Act
Chapter 301 of the Texas Occupations Code, which names itself the Nursing Practice Act in its first section. The entry covers the whole chapter, and the in-text citation points to section 301.002, where Texas defines professional nursing.
Works Cited
Texas State, Legislature. Occupations Code. Chapter 301, 2025, statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/OC/htm/OC.301.htm.
- In-text citation(Texas State, sec. 301.002)
- Narrative citationAs the Texas Legislature defines it in the Nursing Practice Act, professional nursing … (sec. 301.002).
One section: Florida's definitions
Section 464.003 of the 2026 Florida Statutes, the definitions section of Florida's Nurse Practice Act, read on its own page. When your paper relies on one section, you can cite that section instead of the whole act, and point to the subsection in the in-text citation: subsection 19 defines the practice of professional nursing.
Works Cited
Florida State, Legislature. Florida Statutes. Section 464.003, 2026, www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0400-0499/0464/Sections/0464.003.html.
- In-text citation(Florida State, sec. 464.003(19))
- Narrative citationThe Florida Legislature defines the practice of professional nursing as … (sec. 464.003(19)).
The board of nursing's page about the act
The Texas Board of Nursing's page on the act, which explains that the board treats Chapters 301, 303, and 304 of the Occupations Code as the Nursing Practice Act and links to past versions. It's a webpage, not the law. The board wrote the page and runs the site, so the entry starts with the title. The only date is a 2013 copyright line in the footer, older than the 2023 act the page links to, so the entry ends with the date you read it instead.
Works Cited
"Laws and Rules: Nursing Practice Act." Texas Board of Nursing, www.bon.texas.gov/laws_and_rules_nursing_practice_act.asp.html. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.
- In-text citation("Laws")
- Narrative citationThe Texas Board of Nursing's page "Laws and Rules: Nursing Practice Act" explains that …
In-text citations
An MLA 9 in-text citation uses the first words of the Works Cited entry. For a state law, that's the state, not the act's name and not a year. Statutes have no page numbers, so point to the section instead, with a comma and sec. before the number.
- The whole act, one section used: (Texas State, sec. 301.002)
- A subsection: keep the subsection's number in parentheses: (Florida State, sec. 464.003(19))
- Name in your sentence: give only the section at the end: As the Texas Legislature defines it in the Nursing Practice Act, professional nursing … (sec. 301.002).
- The board's webpage: the title in quotation marks, shortened to its first noun: ("Laws")
Write the act's name in plain type, never in italics. Many states use the same name, so say whose act it is: Florida's Nurse Practice Act, Texas's Nursing Practice Act.
Common mistakes
- Nursing Practice Act, Tex. Occ. Code Ann. §§ 301.001–301.657 (2025).Texas State, Legislature. Occupations Code. Chapter 301,The first form is legal citation style, which APA uses. MLA follows its own template: the legislature as author, the code's name as the title, and the chapter or section spelled out.
- Texas Board of Nursing. Nursing Practice Act. 2025.Texas State, Legislature. Occupations Code. Chapter 301,The legislature passes the act, and the board enforces it. Save the board for the board's own pages, and cite the law by the code it's in.
- (Nursing Practice Act, 2025)(Texas State, sec. 301.002)That's APA. MLA in-text citations match the first words of the Works Cited entry, never take a year, and point to a section when there are no pages.
- (Texas State 301.002)(Texas State, sec. 301.002)A section number needs a comma and the label sec., so your reader doesn't take it for a page number.
- The Nursing Practice Act defines …The Nursing Practice Act defines …Names of laws and acts are capitalized like titles but set in plain type, with no italics and no quotation marks.
Quick checklist
- The legislature as author: Texas State, Legislature
- The code's name in plain type, then a period
- Chapter or section spelled out
- The year the code is current through
- The URL of the page you read
- In text: the state and sec. with the section number
Questions students ask
How do I find my state's nurse practice act?
Start at your state board of nursing's website. Most link straight to the act on the state legislature's site, which is the official copy to cite. The act is usually one chapter of the state code, and its first section gives its name.
Should I cite the law or the board of nursing's page?
Cite what you read. If you're quoting or relying on the law's own words, like your state's definition of professional nursing, cite the code. If you're using the board's explanation, FAQ, or summary, cite the board's page as a webpage.
Do I cite the whole act or just one section?
Either works in MLA. Citing the whole act (the chapter) is clearest when you use several sections: one Works Cited entry, with each section named in your in-text citations. If you read only one section's page, you can make that section the entry.
What about the board of nursing's rules?
Board rules aren't part of the act. They're regulations, published in the state's administrative code, such as Title 22 of the Texas Administrative Code for Texas nursing rules. Cite them the same way, with the administrative code's name in place of the statutes.
Which year do I use for a state statute?
The year of the version you read. Legislature sites say which version you're looking at, like "The 2026 Florida Statutes." Legislatures change these acts often, so the year tells your reader which version you mean.
Is the Nurse Licensure Compact part of the nurse practice act?
It depends on the state. In Texas, the board counts the compact (Chapter 304) as part of the Nursing Practice Act, but the statute's own name covers Chapter 301. If your paper is about the compact, cite the compact's chapter in its own entry.
Related guides
Rules checked against the MLA Handbook (9th ed.), chapter 5 (the core elements and government authors) and chapter 6 (in-text citations), and the MLA Style Center's posts How to Cite a State Law (2023) and Documenting Legal Works in MLA Style (names of laws and codes in plain type). Example sources verified on the Texas Legislature's statutes site (Occupations Code, Title 3, Subtitle E, Chapter 301, sections 301.001 through 301.657, current through 2025; maintained by the Texas Legislative Council), the Florida Legislature's Online Sunshine site (the 2026 Florida Statutes, section 464.003), and the Texas Board of Nursing's page itself.