Editing United States Code (section)

==Organization==
===Divisions===
The Code is divided into 53 titles (listed below), which deal with broad, logically organized areas of legislation. Titles may optionally be divided into subtitles, parts, subparts, chapters, and subchapters. All titles have sections (represented by a [[§]]) as their basic coherent units, and sections are numbered sequentially across the entire title without regard to the previously-mentioned divisions of titles. Sections are often divided into (from largest to smallest) subsections, paragraphs, subparagraphs, clauses, subclauses, items, and subitems.<ref>Bellis MD. (2008). [http://www.fjc.gov/public/pdf.nsf/lookup/draftcon.pdf/$file/draftcon.pdf Statutory Structure and Legislative Drafting Conventions: A Primer for Judges] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120064942/http://www.fjc.gov/public/pdf.nsf/lookup/draftcon.pdf/$file/draftcon.pdf |date=January 20, 2013 }}. Federal Judicial Center.</ref><ref name="house">{{Cite web |title=DETAILED GUIDE TO THE UNITED STATES CODE CONTENT AND FEATURES |url=https://uscode.house.gov/detailed_guide.xhtml |access-date=2021-02-02 |website=uscode.house.gov |archive-date=November 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221126181652/http://uscode.house.gov/detailed_guide.xhtml |url-status=live }}</ref> Congress, by convention, names a particular subdivision of a section according to its largest element. For example, "subsection (c)(3)(B)(iv)" is not a subsection but a clause, namely clause (iv) of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3) of subsection (c); if the identity of the subsection and paragraph were clear from the context, one would refer to the clause as "subparagraph (B)(iv)".<ref name="irs">Examples of naming "''section'' 148(b)(2)" and  "''subparagraphs'' (B)(ii) and (C)" in {{Cite web |title=26 U.S. Code § 141 |url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/141 |access-date=2021-02-02 |website=LII / Legal Information Institute |language=en |archive-date=February 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210212194304/https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/141 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Not all titles use the same series of subdivisions above the section level, and they may arrange them in different order. For example, in Title 26 (the tax code), the order of subdivision runs: Title – Subtitle – Chapter – Subchapter – Part – Subpart – Section – Subsection – Paragraph – Subparagraph – Clause – Subclause – Item – Subitem.

The "Section" division is the core organizational component of the Code, and the "Title" division is always the largest division of the Code. Which intermediate levels between Title and Section appear, if any, varies from Title to Title. For example, in Title 38 (Veteran's Benefits), the order runs Title – Part – Chapter – Subchapter – Section.

The word "title" in this context is roughly akin to a printed "volume", although many of the larger titles span multiple volumes. Similarly, no particular size or length is associated with other subdivisions; a section might run several pages in print, or just a sentence or two. Some subdivisions within particular titles acquire meaning of their own; for example, it is common for lawyers to refer to a "[[Chapter 11 bankruptcy]]" or a "Subchapter S [[corporation]]" (often shortened to "[[S corporation]]").

In the context of federal statutes, the word "title" has two slightly different meanings. It can refer to the highest subdivision of the Code itself, but it can also refer to the highest subdivision of an Act of Congress which subsequently becomes part of an existing title of the Code.<ref name="Olson 1999 146" /> For example, when Americans refer to Title VII, they are usually referring to the seventh title of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]].<ref name="Olson 1999 146" />  That Act is actually codified in [[Title 42 of the United States Code]], not [[Title 7 of the United States Code|Title 7]].<ref name="Olson 1999 146" />

The intermediate subdivisions between title and section are helpful for reading the Code (since Congress uses them to group together related sections), but they are not needed to cite a section in the Code. To cite any particular section, it is enough to know its title and section numbers.<ref name="Olson 1999 146" /> According to one legal style manual,<ref>The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation 102 (Columbia Law Review Ass'n et al. eds., 18th ed. 2005)</ref> a sample citation would be "[[Privacy Act of 1974]], {{UnitedStatesCode|5|552a}} (2006)", read aloud as "Title five, United States Code, section five fifty-two A" or simply "five USC five fifty-two A".

Some section numbers consist of awkward-sounding combinations of letters, hyphens, and numerals.<ref name="Olson 1999 147">{{cite book|last=Olson|first=Kent C.|title=Legal Information: How to Find It, How to Use It|year=1999|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|location=Phoenix|isbn=0897749634|page=[https://archive.org/details/legalinformation00kent/page/147 147]|url=https://archive.org/details/legalinformation00kent/page/147}}</ref> They are especially prevalent in Title 42.<ref name="Olson 1999 147" /> A typical example is the [[Religious Freedom Restoration Act]] of 1993 (RFRA), which is codified in Chapter 21B of Title 42 at {{USC|42|2000bb}} through {{USC|42|2000bb-4}}.<ref name="Olson 1999 147" /> In the case of RFRA, Congress was trying to squeeze a new act into Title 42 between Chapter 21A (ending at {{USC|42|2000aa-12}}) and Chapter 22 (beginning at {{USC|42|2001}}).<ref name="Olson 1999 147" /> The underlying problem is that the original drafters of the Code in 1926 failed to foresee the explosive growth of federal legislation directed to "The Public Health and Welfare" (as Title 42 is literally titled) and did not fashion statutory classifications and section numbering schemes that could readily accommodate such expansion.<ref name="Olson 1999 147" /> Title 42 grew in size from 6 chapters and 106 sections in 1926 to over 160 chapters and 7,000 sections as of 1999.<ref name="Olson 1999 147" />

===Titles===
[[File:Uscatitle11.jpg  | thumb |A few volumes of an annotated version of the United States Code]]
Titles that have been enacted into [[positive law]]<ref>[https://uscode.house.gov/codification/legislation.shtml Positive Law Codification] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421023928/https://uscode.house.gov/codification/legislation.shtml |date=April 21, 2021 }} Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives]</ref> are indicated by blue shading below with the year of last enactment. <!-- Titles whose laws have been repealed are indicated by red shading below. -->

{| class=wikitable
|- style="background:#addfff;"
| [[Title 1 of the United States Code|Title 1]]
| General Provisions
|1947
|-
| [[Title 2 of the United States Code|Title 2]]
| The [[United States Congress|Congress]]
|
|- style="background:#addfff;"
| [[Title 3 of the United States Code|Title 3]]
| The [[President of the United States|President]]
|1948
|- style="background:#addfff;"
| [[Title 4 of the United States Code|Title 4]]
| [[Flag of the United States|Flag]] and [[Great Seal of the United States|Seal]], [[Washington, D.C.|Seat of Government]], and the States
|1947
|- style="background:#addfff;"
| [[Title 5 of the United States Code|Title 5]]
| [[Federal government of the United States|Government]] Organization and [[Employee]]s<ref name="star"> Includes Appendix of provisions not yet enacted into positive law.</ref>
|1966
|-
| [[Title 6 of the United States Code|Title 6]]
| [[Department of Homeland Security|Domestic Security]]<ref>Originally [[Surety Bonds]] (''repealed''). Enacted into positive law by the 80th Congress in 1947; combined into Title 31 when it was enacted into positive law.</ref>
|
|-
| [[Title 7 of the United States Code|Title 7]]
| [[Agriculture]]
|
|-
| [[Title 8 of the United States Code|Title 8]]
| Aliens and Nationality
|
|- style="background:#addfff;"
| [[Title 9 of the United States Code|Title 9]]
| [[Arbitration]]
|1947
|- style="background:#addfff;"
| [[Title 10 of the United States Code|Title 10]]
| [[United States Armed Forces|Armed Forces]]<ref>Includes the [[Uniform Code of Military Justice]].</ref>
|1956
|- style="background:#addfff;"
| [[Title 11 of the United States Code|Title 11]]
| [[Bankruptcy in the United States|Bankruptcy]]
|1978
|-
| [[Title 12 of the United States Code|Title 12]]
| Banks and Banking
|
|- style="background:#addfff;"
| [[Title 13 of the United States Code|Title 13]]
| [[Census]]
|1954
|- style="background:#addfff;"
| [[Title 14 of the United States Code|Title 14]]
| [[United States Coast Guard|Coast Guard]]
|1949
|-
| [[Title 15 of the United States Code|Title 15]]
| Commerce and Trade
|
|-
| [[Title 16 of the United States Code|Title 16]]
| Conservation
|
|- style="background:#addfff;"
| [[Title 17 of the United States Code|Title 17]]
| [[Copyright]]s
|1947
|- style="background:#addfff;"
| [[Title 18 of the United States Code|Title 18]]
| Crimes and [[Criminal Procedure]]<ref name="star" />
|1948
|-
| [[Title 19 of the United States Code|Title 19]]
| [[Customs]] Duties
|
|-
| [[Title 20 of the United States Code|Title 20]]
| Education
|
|-
| [[Title 21 of the United States Code|Title 21]]
| [[Food and Drug Administration|Food and Drugs]]
|
|-
| [[Title 22 of the United States Code|Title 22]]
| [[Foreign relations of the United States|Foreign Relations]] and Intercourse
|
|- style="background:#addfff;"
| [[Title 23 of the United States Code|Title 23]]
| Highways
|1958
|-
| [[Title 24 of the United States Code|Title 24]]
| [[Hospital]]s and [[Psychiatric hospitals|Asylums]]
|
|-
| [[Title 25 of the United States Code|Title 25]]
| [[Native Americans in the United States|Indians]]
|
|-
| [[Internal Revenue Code|Title 26]]
| [[Internal Revenue Code]]
|
|-
| [[Title 27 of the United States Code|Title 27]]
| [[Alcoholic beverage|Intoxicating Liquors]]
|
|- style="background:#addfff;"
| [[Title 28 of the United States Code|Title 28]]
| [[Judiciary]] and [[Judicial Procedure]]
|1948
|-
| [[Title 29 of the United States Code|Title 29]]
| Labor
|
|-
| [[Title 30 of the United States Code|Title 30]]
| Mineral Lands and [[Mining]]
|
|- style="background:#addfff;"
| [[Title 31 of the United States Code|Title 31]]
| Money and Finance
|1982
|- style="background:#addfff;"
| [[Title 32 of the United States Code|Title 32]]
| [[National Guard of the United States|National Guard]]
|1956
|-
| [[Title 33 of the United States Code|Title 33]]
| Navigation and Navigable Waters
|
|-
| [[Title 34 of the United States Code|Title 34]]
| [[Title 34 of the United States Code|Crime Control and Law Enforcement]]<ref> Originally [[United States Navy|Navy]] (''repealed''). In 1956 Title 34 was moved into [[Title 10 of the United States Code|Title 10]] subtitle C).</ref>
|
|- style="background:#addfff;"
| [[Title 35 of the United States Code|Title 35]]
| [[Patent]]s
| 1952
|- style="background:#addfff;"
| [[Title 36 of the United States Code|Title 36]]
| [[Patriotism|Patriotic and National Observances, Ceremonies, and Organizations]]
|1998
|- style="background:#addfff;"
| [[Title 37 of the United States Code|Title 37]]
| Pay and Allowances of the Uniformed Services
|1962
|- style="background:#addfff;"
| [[Title 38 of the United States Code|Title 38]]
| [[Veteran|Veterans' Benefits]]
|1958
|- style="background:#addfff;"
| [[Title 39 of the United States Code|Title 39]]
| [[United States Postal Service|Postal Service]]
|1970
|- style="background:#addfff;"
| [[Title 40 of the United States Code|Title 40]]
| Public Buildings, Properties, and [[Public works|Works]]
|2002
|- style="background:#addfff;"
| [[Title 41 of the United States Code|Title 41]]
| Public Contracts
|2011
|-
| [[Title 42 of the United States Code|Title 42]]
| The Public Health and [[Welfare spending|Welfare]]
|
|-
| [[Title 43 of the United States Code|Title 43]]
| Public Lands
|
|- style="background:#addfff;"
| [[Title 44 of the United States Code|Title 44]]
| Public [[Printing]] and Documents
|1968
|-
| [[Title 45 of the United States Code|Title 45]]
| [[Rail transport|Railroads]]
|
|- style="background:#addfff;"
| [[Title 46 of the United States Code|Title 46]]
| Shipping
|2006
|-
| [[Title 47 of the United States Code|Title 47]]
| Telecommunications
|
|-
| [[Title 48 of the United States Code|Title 48]]
| [[Insular area|Territories and Insular Possessions]]
|
|- style="background:#addfff;"
| [[Title 49 of the United States Code|Title 49]]
| Transportation<ref>Enacted into positive law in stages; Title IV in 1978, Title I in 1983, and Titles II, III, and V-X in 1994.</ref>
|1994
|-
| [[Title 50 of the United States Code|Title 50]]
| War and National Defense
|
|- style="background:#addfff;"
| [[Title 51 of the United States Code|Title 51]]
| National and Commercial Space Programs
|2010
|-
| [[Title 52 of the United States Code|Title 52]]
| Voting and Elections
|
|-
| [[Title 53 of the United States Code|Title 53]]
| [Reserved]
|
|- style="background:#addfff;"
| [[Title 54 of the United States Code|Title 54]]
| National Park Service and Related Programs
|2014
|- style="background:#addfff;"<br />
|}

===Proposed titles===
The [[Office of Law Revision Counsel]] (LRC) has produced draft text for three additional titles of federal law. The subject matter of these proposed titles exists today in one or several existing titles.

{| class=wikitable
|-
| Title 53{{efn|H.R.6389 in the 115th Congress<ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-07-16|title=H.R.6389 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): To enact certain laws relating to small business as title 57, United States Code, "Small Business".|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/6389|access-date=2021-04-29|website=Congress.gov |archive-date=April 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429150115/https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/6389|url-status=live}}</ref> proposed putting it in Title 57.}}
| Small Business<ref name="2009-CONG-US-HR-1983">[https://www.congress.gov/bill/111th-congress/house-bill/1983 House Bill: 2009 CONG US HR 1983] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612192725/https://www.congress.gov/bill/111th-congress/house-bill/1983 |date=June 12, 2018 }}. New Title 53 - Small Business</ref>
|-
| Title 55
| Environment
|-
| Title 56
| Wildlife
|}
The LRC announced an "editorial reclassification" of the federal laws governing voting and elections that went into effect on September 1, 2014. This reclassification involved moving various laws previously classified in Titles 2 and 42 into a new [[title 52 of the United States Code|Title 52]], which has not been enacted into positive law.<ref name="gpo.gov" />

{{notelist}}

===Treatment of repealed laws===
When sections are repealed, their text is deleted and replaced by a note summarizing what used to be there. This is so that lawyers reading old cases can understand what the cases are talking about. As a result, some portions of the Code consist entirely of empty chapters full of historical notes. For example, Title 8, Chapter 7 is labeled "Exclusion of Chinese".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://uscode.house.gov/browse/prelim%40title8/chapter7%26edition%3Dprelim |title=United States Code, Title 8, Chapter 7 |publisher=Office of the Law Revision Counsel |access-date=1 January 2021 |archive-date=December 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201212193233/https://uscode.house.gov/browse/prelim%40title8/chapter7%26edition%3Dprelim |url-status=live }}</ref>  This contains historical notes relating to the [[Chinese Exclusion Act (United States)|Chinese Exclusion Act]], which is no longer in effect.