Frequently Asked Questions about Codified and Uncodified Statutes

What are codified statutes? Essentially, codified laws are those that are contained in the Codes for the State of California.

How many Codes are there in this state? There are 29 Codes in California, beginning with the Business and Professions Code and ending with the Welfare and Institutions Code, with 27 other Codes in between.

What are uncodified laws? As a general rule, uncodified laws are those that originate from court decisions (common law) and general customs and practices. They are not viewed as being permanent in nature and they are usually of a specific, rather than general, nature. 

What are uncodified statutes? There are laws that are enacted that are not placed in one of those 29 Codes and therefore not codified (i.e., they remain uncodified). The biggest example of an uncodified law is the annual state budget bill.

Where are uncodified statutes found? Uncodified laws are sometimes more difficult to locate. For example, a researcher may need to review the California Statutes and Amendments to the Codes in order to find uncodified laws from a particular legislative session.

How does this state compile all of its enacted statutes? The California Statutes and Amendments to the Codes is a permanent record of all the statutes enacted by the California Legislature. The first version was published in 1850 and the Legislative Counsel Bureau continues to compile and publish these volumes annually.

What is contained in the CSAC volumes? The laws are published in chronological order and the annual volumes include constitutional amendments, approved voter initiatives, and referenda, and the summary digest of all bills enacted. In addition, Statutes and Amendments to the Codes includes tables of Code sections affected, vetoed bills, and cross-reference tables from bill number to Chapter Number. There is also a subject index for each Legislative Session.