State laws are available on Lexis and Westlaw shortly after they are passed by the state legislature. In addition, most states have recent session laws and the state codes on the web. For example, you can locate them through the Legal Information Institute's listing of state laws by jurisdiction. However, this approach is best if you already have either a citation or some exact language from the statute. See our individual state research guides for more information on a particular state's statutes.
For a more in-depth guide on state statutes research see our Statutes Research Guide - State Statutes
Both Westlaw and Lexis provide access to state codes and regulations. Lexis provides more access to municipal codes than does Westlaw. To find individual state codes in either Westlaw and Lexis, navigate first to the State tab, select desired state link, then look for the States & Court Rules section.
For a listing of freely available state statute resources consult the Legal Information Institute's listing of state laws by jurisdiction.
State Code Indexes
The index of state codes is the most efficient method to find specific code sections. Westlaw has indexes for all states; Lexis does not have an index for every state code. To check for a state code index in Lexis use the search bar - if there is an index available it will be listed in the Sources category.
HeinOnline has a large collection of digitized historic state codes. Note that these are the original publications and are not annotated. You can locate statutes from multiple states by using the Subject tab. The nomenclature used in this index is Indian Land Transfers and Indians of North America.
Westlaw does provide access to some older codes. See the Historical Statutes page for a list by jurisdiction.