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Bluebooking and Legal Citation

Warning!

 

Caution sign with hand on orange background.

Caution by kaneiderdaniel/ CC BY SA 3.0

Do not rely solely on this page to Bluebook.

Please keep in mind:

  1. Your professor or court system may have special rules.
  2. Rules or situations may have changed since this page was last updated.
  3. We may be wrong! 

Double check with your professor, outside guides, and the Bluebook rules themselves.

If you notice a mistake, please contact library.reference@lls.edu

Basic CSM Format for Regulations

Basic Format for California Regulations

Cal. Code Regs., tit. 1, § 1

Basic Format for Federal Regulations

1 C.F.R. § 1 (2016)

Formatting Tips

To make the § symbol in Word, select Insert > Symbol, then select §. Click Insert to add the symbol or Shortcut Key to create an easy to remember keyboard shortcut, like Alt S. (See Screencap tab.)

Finding Citation Information for Regulations

The title and section of regulations are shown at the top of the page on Lexis and Westlaw and at the top of the page and the beginning of the regulation in print and exact copies of the print, as found on HeinOnline and GovInfo.gov. (See Screencap tabs.)

For California regulations, both Lexis and Westlaw use an abbreviated format the mimics the format for the Code of Federal Regulations. Make sure to convert the citation into the CSM required format.

For example, 17 CCR § 16201 becomes Cal. Code Regs., tit. 17, § 16201.

For federal regulations, the CSM also requires a date- one of the rare times it does so. See below for instructions on locating the date.

Finding the Year for the C.F.R.

The C.F.R. is published yearly, with different titles published throughout the year. For example, Titles 1-17 are published in January, while Titles 42-50 are not published until October.

The year will always be the current year or the year before. To confirm the correct year, you will need to check your regulation in the print C.F.R. or an exact copy of the print C.F.R.

The U.S. Government Publishing Office (which publishes the C.F.R.) provides authenticated exact copies of the C.F.R. on its website, govinfo:

Additionally, HeinOnline provides scans of the print C.F.R. and the library maintains a copy of the print C.F.R.: