> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://vaquill.ai/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Corpus Types

> The 11 corpusType tokens that scope a Vaquill statutes search, what each holds, and how to pair them with a state

The Vaquill statutes corpus is one index of US primary law, split into 11 named
slices. The `corpusType` filter on `POST /statutes/search` tells the API which
slice to search. Omit it and you search everything; set it and you narrow to one
body of law (federal statutes, state regulations, a constitution, and so on).

Corpus types come in two scopes. **Federal** corpora live under the single
`federal` jurisdiction. **State** corpora are keyed by jurisdiction, so you pair
them with a `state` filter (a 2-letter lowercase code like `ca` or `tx`) to
search one jurisdiction's data.

## The 11 tokens

### Federal-scoped

| Token              | Contains                                                                   | Scope   | \~Size  |
| ------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- | ------- |
| `USC`              | United States Code (federal statutes)                                      | federal | 54,855  |
| `CFR`              | Code of Federal Regulations                                                | federal | 219,745 |
| `CONSTITUTION`     | U.S. Constitution (Articles + Amendments)                                  | federal | 74      |
| `FEDERAL_RULES`    | Federal Rules of Procedure (FRCP, FRCrP, FRE, FRAP, FRBP)                  | federal | 526     |
| `EXECUTIVE_ACTION` | Presidential documents (executive orders, proclamations, memos)            | federal | 3,593   |
| `FEDERAL_REGISTER` | Federal Register agency rules, final and proposed                          | federal | 121,214 |
| `AGENCY_GUIDANCE`  | Agency guidance (SSA rulings, IRS notices, revenue rulings and procedures) | federal | 2,509   |

### State-scoped

| Token                | Contains                                              | Scope | \~Size                        |
| -------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------- | ----- | ----------------------------- |
| `STATE`              | State statutory codes                                 | state | 1.62M across 51 jurisdictions |
| `REGULATION`         | State administrative regulations                      | state | 176K across 12 states         |
| `STATE_CONSTITUTION` | State constitutions                                   | state | 7.6K across 50 jurisdictions  |
| `STATE_RULES`        | State court rules (civil, criminal, appellate, local) | state | 8K across 7 states            |

<Info>
  These are approximate totals and expand weekly. The exact per-jurisdiction
  counts are always live via `GET /statutes/coverage`.
</Info>

## Scoping a search

<Steps>
  <Step title="corpusType alone">
    A federal corpus needs only `corpusType`. This searches the whole US Code:

    ```json theme={"theme":"github-dark"}
    {"query": "civil rights under color of law", "corpusType": "USC"}
    ```
  </Step>

  <Step title="corpusType plus state">
    A state corpus needs both `corpusType` and `state`. This searches only
    California's statutory code:

    ```json theme={"theme":"github-dark"}
    {"query": "security deposit return", "corpusType": "STATE", "state": "ca"}
    ```

    Omit `state` on a state-scoped corpus and the search spans every
    jurisdiction that has that corpus ingested.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  `titleNumber` is only valid alongside `corpusType` `USC` or `CFR`. Sending it
  with any other corpus returns a `422`.
</Note>

## Example: state regulations

A `REGULATION` search paired with a state returns that state's administrative
rules. Here is Washington's environmental regulations:

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash cURL theme={"theme":"github-dark"}
  curl -X POST https://api.vaquill.ai/api/v1/statutes/search \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer vq_key_..." \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{"query": "stormwater discharge permit", "corpusType": "REGULATION", "state": "wa", "limit": 5}'
  ```

  ```python Python theme={"theme":"github-dark"}
  import requests

  resp = requests.post(
      "https://api.vaquill.ai/api/v1/statutes/search",
      headers={"Authorization": "Bearer vq_key_..."},
      json={
          "query": "stormwater discharge permit",
          "corpusType": "REGULATION",
          "state": "wa",
          "limit": 5,
      },
  )
  data = resp.json()
  for r in data["results"]:
      print(r["citation"], "-", r["title"])
  ```

  ```javascript JavaScript theme={"theme":"github-dark"}
  const resp = await fetch("https://api.vaquill.ai/api/v1/statutes/search", {
    method: "POST",
    headers: {
      Authorization: "Bearer vq_key_...",
      "Content-Type": "application/json",
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      query: "stormwater discharge permit",
      corpusType: "REGULATION",
      state: "wa",
      limit: 5,
    }),
  });
  const data = await resp.json();
  for (const r of data.results) {
    console.log(r.citation, "-", r.title);
  }
  ```
</CodeGroup>

<Tip>
  Not every corpus type exists for every state. Before you scope a state
  search, call `GET /statutes/coverage` and read that jurisdiction's `corpora`
  keys to see which tokens actually have data. This avoids empty results from
  guessing.
</Tip>

## Related

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Jurisdictions & State Codes" icon="map-location-dot" href="/docs/api-guide/concepts/jurisdictions">
    The 51 jurisdictions, state codes, and how to discover live coverage.
  </Card>

  <Card title="API Coverage" icon="layer-group" href="/docs/api-guide/coverage">
    The full per-jurisdiction matrix with current section counts.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>