# OpenLaws MCP > OpenLaws gives you centralized access to all US federal and state law—statutes, regulations, case law, and constitutions. Stop jumping between government websites; use your AI agent to search across 50 states simultaneously, validate citations, and track legislative changes in one chat window. ## Overview - **Category:** brain-trust - **Price:** Free - **Tags:** legal-research, statute-search, case-law, citation-validation, legislative-tracking ## Description Researching law shouldn't feel like an archaeological dig through fragmented government websites. This MCP connects your natural conversation directly to a massive database of validated legal texts. Need to know what changed regarding data privacy across twelve different state codes? Just ask. Your agent searches federal statutes, state regulations, and case opinions instantly. It’s more than just search; you can validate citations against official sources or track how a piece of legislation has evolved over decades by generating redline comparisons. If your workflow already uses Vinkius for other services, adding OpenLaws means keeping all your legal data operations in one place. You get to treat your AI client like a dedicated research partner—a compliance analyst that never sleeps. ## Tools ### get_caselaw_opinion Retrieves the full text, court details, and parties for a specific case law opinion ID. ### get_constitution Pulls the rich text content and amendment history for a specific constitutional provision by its unique ID. ### get_jurisdiction Provides detailed information about any specific legal jurisdiction available in the system. ### get_recent_updates Lists new or changed laws across jurisdictions, useful for immediate compliance monitoring checks. ### get_redline_comparison Generates a comparison showing exactly what text changed between two versions of a federal statute. ### get_regulation Retrieves the complete content, citations, and context for a specific state or federal regulation ID. ### get_statute_history Shows how a federal statute has changed over time by retrieving its legislative history and amendments. ### get_statute Pulls the complete, detailed text of a specific statute ID, including effective dates and annotations. ### list_jurisdictions Returns a list of every available legal jurisdiction (states, federal areas) so you can scope your searches. ### search_caselaw Searches for case law opinions using keywords across millions of records, filtered by court or jurisdiction. ### search_constitutions Searches the US Constitution and all 50 state constitutions simultaneously using a keyword search. ### search_regulations Queries federal or state codes for regulations based on keywords, allowing you to scope by jurisdiction. ### search_statutes Searches all 50 states and the federal code for statutes using a keyword, with optional jurisdictional filtering. ### validate_citation Checks if a given legal citation is correctly formatted and finds its authoritative original source document. ## Prompt Examples **Prompt:** ``` Search for data privacy statutes across all US states and summarize the key findings. ``` **Response:** ``` I've searched statutes for 'data privacy' across all 53 jurisdictions. Found relevant statutes in 12 states including California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act, Colorado Privacy Act, and Connecticut Data Privacy Act. Federal: no comprehensive federal data privacy statute currently exists. Top results include: CA Civ. Code § 1798.100, Va. Code § 59.1-575, Colo. Rev. Stat. § 6-1-1303. Would you like the full text of any specific statute? ``` **Prompt:** ``` Validate these citations: '42 U.S.C. § 1983' and 'Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113' and tell me if they're correct. ``` **Response:** ``` I've validated both citations: 1. **42 U.S.C. § 1983** — ✅ VALID. Civil Rights Act, Section 1983 (Deprivation of rights under color of law). Federal statute. Source: USC Title 42, Chapter 21, Subchapter 1. 2. **Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973)** — ✅ VALID. Supreme Court opinion. Citation confirmed: 410 United States Reports 113. Note: Overturned by Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022). Original source: Supreme Court of the United States. Both citations are correctly formatted and verified against government sources. ``` **Prompt:** ``` Show me recent legislative updates in California employment law and any changes this month. ``` **Response:** ``` I've retrieved recent updates for California jurisdiction. Found 8 recent updates in the past 30 days: 1. **CA Labor Code § 2810.5** — Updated notice requirements for new hires (effective 2024-01-01) 2. **CA Labor Code § 432.7** — Amendments to salary history ban provisions 3. **CA Gov. Code § 12950.1** — Expanded SB-551 training requirements for employers with 50+ employees 4. **CA Code of Regs. tit. 8, § 11040** — Updated wage order exemptions for professional workers 5. **AB 1234 (2024)** — New remote work expense reimbursement requirements Would you like the full text of any of these updates, or shall I search for specific topics like 'remote work' or 'overtime'? ``` ## Capabilities ### Search across US law You can query statutes, regulations, and constitutional provisions for keywords across all 50 states or limit the search to specific jurisdictions. ### Validate legal citations The tool confirms if a citation is correctly formatted and finds its original government source document. ### Track legislative changes You retrieve historical versions of laws or compare the differences between two specific legislative sessions using redline comparisons. ### Retrieve full legal texts Once a search finds a relevant law, you pull the complete text—be it a statute, case opinion, or regulation—for review. ### Identify available jurisdictions You list all 50 states and federal areas so you can scope your research to exactly where you need it. ## Use Cases ### A compliance team needs to know if a state is changing its wage rules. Instead of monitoring dozens of individual state legislative websites, the agent runs `get_recent_updates` for California. It immediately lists five key changes in labor codes and provides links to the full text. ### A policy researcher needs to compare constitutional rights across different states. The researcher uses `search_constitutions` to search for 'freedom of speech' across all 50 jurisdictions. The agent compiles a summary comparing key articles from various state constitutions in one response. ### A lawyer needs to prove a legal citation is valid and current. The lawyer uses `validate_citation` on a client's document. The tool confirms the validity of the case law reference, identifying the original source in seconds instead of hours. ### A developer needs to build an application that reads historical legal data. The developer uses `get_statute_history` combined with `search_statutes`. This allows them to programmatically pull the legislative timeline for a federal law, ensuring their RAG pipeline is built on accurate historical context. ## Benefits - Validate citations instantly. Instead of guessing if a citation is correct, use the `validate_citation` tool to confirm it and find its authoritative government source. - Understand legal evolution with redlines. The `get_redline_comparison` tool shows exactly what changed between two versions of a federal statute, eliminating guesswork about legislative impacts. - Search everything at once. You can search statutes across all 50 states simultaneously using the `search_statutes` tool, saving you from running fifty separate searches. - Get full context immediately. After finding a law via `search_regulations`, use `get_regulation` to pull the complete text and regulatory background without leaving the chat. - Avoid jurisdictional confusion. Start by calling `list_jurisdictions` so you know exactly which states or federal areas are available before running any searches. ## How It Works The bottom line is that your AI acts as a central portal, letting you perform complex legal research without opening dozens of individual government websites. 1. Subscribe to this MCP in Vinkius and enter your OpenLaws API Bearer token. 2. Your AI client accesses the legal databases, allowing you to specify search terms and jurisdictional filters through natural language prompts. 3. The agent returns structured results, providing links or full text for statutes, regulations, case law, or constitutional provisions. ## Frequently Asked Questions **How does OpenLaws MCP handle state-specific regulations?** The `search_regulations` tool allows you to filter queries by specific jurisdictions. You can target the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) or narrow your search to a single state's entire body of law. **Can I use OpenLaws MCP to find historical changes in federal laws?** Yes, you use `get_statute_history` and `get_redline_comparison`. These tools show exactly how a statute has changed over time, allowing you to see the legislative impact between specific years. **What if I have multiple jurisdictions? Can OpenLaws MCP search them all?** The `search_statutes` and `search_regulations` tools support searching across all 50 states simultaneously, which is ideal for multi-state compliance checks. **Is the data in OpenLaws MCP up to date?** Yes. The platform includes a function, `get_recent_updates`, specifically designed to monitor and retrieve the latest legislative changes across various jurisdictions for compliance tracking. **Does OpenLaws MCP work with my custom legal documents?** The MCP provides validated external data. You can use this structured output—like a list of statutes from `search_statutes`—to feed into your own RAG pipelines or internal knowledge bases.