PERRLA/Guides/MLA 9/State law

How to Cite a State Law in MLA 9

An MLA 9 Works Cited entry for a state law starts with the state's legislature as the author, then the name of the state's code in plain type, the section or chapter, the year of the version you read, and the URL of the page where you read it. The in-text citation is the first words of the entry plus the section you used: (Florida State, sec. 394.463(1)). Name the act itself, like the Florida Mental Health Act, in your sentence.

The format

State Name State, Legislature. Name of Code. Section # (or Chapter #), Year, URL.

PERRLA MLA Experts ยท Updated October 30, 2026
Checked against the MLA Handbook, 9th edition. Every example is formatted by PERRLA's reference engine.

First, the easy way: PERRLA

In PERRLA, choose Statutes (under Legal References), then A state statute. Type the state in State Name and the code's name as the legislature's site gives it in Statute Source Title, spelled out: Florida Statutes, Minnesota Statutes, or a subject code like Family Code. In Statute Source Location, write where the law sits, spelled out the MLA way: section 394.463, or chapter 260E for a whole chapter. Put the year of the version you read in Original Year, and paste the link in URL (Web address). PERRLA starts the entry with the legislature, and your in-text citations 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, use it for one section only: PERRLA turns § into the word section in MLA.

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 law, so it's the author. MLA's state examples name the state, then the legislature, and end with a period.

Florida State, Legislature.

MLA 9 also lets you give a government body's name the way the source does, like the Florida Legislature, and the MLA Style Center's state-law example does just that (New York State Legislature). Either form is accepted.

2. Title: the state code

The law lives inside the state's code, and MLA cites the code you read. Give the code's full 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.

Florida Statutes.

Some states have one code, like the Florida Statutes or the Minnesota Statutes. Others split their laws into subject codes, like the Texas Family Code or the California Penal Code. Spell the name out: legal abbreviations like Fla. Stat. belong to legal citation style, not MLA.

3. Section or chapter

Next, say where in the code the law is, spelled out, starting with a capital letter: the section for one rule, or the chapter for a whole act. Give the numbers exactly as the state writes them, with their periods or hyphens.

Section 394.463,

MLA gives you two choices. If you read one section's own page, make that section the entry. If you use several sections, cite the whole chapter (or the whole code) and name each section in your in-text citations.

4. Year

Then give the year of the version you read, followed by a comma. Legislature sites say which version you're reading: Florida's says "The 2026 Florida Statutes," and Minnesota's says "2026 Minnesota Statutes." Texas's says its statutes are current through the 2025 legislative sessions, so 2025 is the year.

2026,

5. URL

End with the URL of the page where you read the law, without https://, followed by a period.

www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0300-0399/0394/Sections/0394.463.html.

That's the Florida Legislature's own site, Online Sunshine. Use the legislature's site, the official copy, rather than a site that republishes the law.

Examples

One section of a named act: Florida's Baker Act

Section 394.463 sets the criteria for an involuntary mental health examination in Florida, and psychiatric nursing students there study it closely. It's part of the Florida Mental Health Act, also called the Baker Act, read on the Florida Legislature's site in the 2026 Florida Statutes. The in-text citation points to subsection 1, the criteria.

  • In-text citation(Florida State, sec. 394.463(1))
  • Narrative citationUnder the Florida Mental Health Act, as the Florida Legislature sets it out, a person may be taken for an involuntary examination only if … (sec. 394.463(1)).

A whole chapter with no act name: Minnesota

Chapter 260E of the 2026 Minnesota Statutes, Minnesota's law on reporting maltreatment of minors, has no short title of its own. The entry covers the whole chapter, and the in-text citation points to section 260E.06, which lists who must report, including professionals in the practice of the healing arts, hospital administration, and education.

  • In-text citation(Minnesota State, sec. 260E.06)
  • Narrative citationThe Minnesota Legislature requires professionals in the healing arts to report suspected maltreatment of a child immediately (sec. 260E.06).

A section of a subject code: the Texas Family Code

Section 261.101 of the Texas Family Code says who must report suspected child abuse or neglect, and it names nurses, teachers, and doctors among the professionals who must report within 24 hours. Texas splits its laws into subject codes, so the code's name is Family Code. The site says its statutes are current through the 2025 legislative sessions, so 2025 is the year.

  • In-text citation(Texas State)
  • Narrative citationThe Texas Legislature's Family Code requires professionals, including nurses, to report suspected abuse …

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.

  • One section as the entry: (Texas State)
  • A subsection: keep the subsection's number in parentheses: (Florida State, sec. 394.463(1))
  • A whole chapter as the entry: add the section you used: (Minnesota State, sec. 260E.06)
  • Name in your sentence: give only the section at the end: The Minnesota Legislature requires professionals in the healing arts to report suspected maltreatment (sec. 260E.06).

Write the act's name in plain type, never in italics. If a law has two names, like Florida's Mental Health Act and Baker Act, give the official one first and mention the other after it. Comparing several states? Each law gets its own entry, and the state's name tells your reader which entry you mean.

Common mistakes

  • Florida Mental Health Act, Fla. Stat. § 394.463 (2026).Florida State, Legislature. Florida Statutes. Section 394.463, 2026, …The first form is legal citation style, which APA uses. MLA follows its own template: the legislature as author, the code's full name as the title, and the section spelled out.
  • (Florida Mental Health Act, 2026)(Florida State, sec. 394.463(1))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.
  • (Minnesota State 260E.06)(Minnesota State, sec. 260E.06)A section number needs a comma and the label sec., so your reader doesn't take it for a page number.
  • Minnesota State, Legislature. Minn. Stat.Minnesota State, Legislature. Minnesota Statutes.MLA gives the code's name as the source shows it, spelled out. Legal abbreviations like Minn. Stat. are for legal citation style.
  • The Florida Mental Health Act allows …The Florida Mental Health Act allows …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: Florida State, Legislature
  • The code's full name in plain type, then a period
  • Section or chapter spelled out, with the number as the state writes it
  • The year of the version you read
  • The URL of the page you read
  • In text: the state and sec. with the section number

Questions students ask

What year do I use for a state law?

The year of the version you read. Legislature sites say which version you're looking at, like "The 2026 Florida Statutes," or say what session they're current through. Legislatures change these laws often, so the year tells your reader which wording you mean.

Do I cite the whole act or just one section?

Either works in MLA. If you read one section's page, make that section the entry. If you use several sections, cite the chapter (or the code) once and name each section in your in-text citations, so one entry covers them all.

What if the state law doesn't have a name?

Nothing changes in the entry, because the MLA entry starts with the legislature and the code, not the act's name. In your sentence, describe the law instead, like Minnesota's law on reporting maltreatment of minors.

Can I cite a state law from Justia or another legal site?

MLA cites the version you consulted, so if you read it on Justia, the URL is Justia's, and the year is the edition Justia labels. The legislature's own site is the better source, because it's the official copy and it's usually more current.

Should I cite the state board of nursing's website or the law itself?

Cite what you used. If you read the statute, cite the statute as shown here. If you read the board's page that explains or reprints it, cite that page as a webpage by an organization.

How is citing a state law different from a federal law?

A federal law in the U.S. Code starts with United States Code, or with United States, Congress for a public law. A state law starts with the state's legislature and cites that state's own code by its full name.

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 Do I Cite a State Law? (2023) and Documenting Legal Works in MLA Style (names of laws and codes in plain type; citing the version you consulted). Example sources verified on the Florida Legislature's Online Sunshine site (the 2026 Florida Statutes, sections 394.451 and 394.463), the Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes (2026 Minnesota Statutes, chapter 260E), and the Texas Constitution and Statutes site (Family Code, chapter 261, section 261.101).

PERRLA builds your state law's MLA entry from the code and section you type, with the section ready for your in-text citations.

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