Plain-language law reference
State law, sourced and plainly explained.
One page per state, one topic at a time: the exact number you came for, cited and linked to its primary source.
Plain-language answers for 56 everyday-law topics. 18 of them cover all 50 states, and the rest are expanding. Every fact is cited and linked to its primary source.
Browse by category
Six areas of everyday law. Each opens a hub with every topic covered for all 50 states.
Tools & calculators
Free, interactive, and state-aware — each runs on the same sourced data as the topic pages. See all tools and calculators →
Original research
Ranking datasets we compute from our own 50-state corpus — original numbers you can cite, not summaries anyone can copy. See all research →
Why PlainStatute
The official statutes are accurate but hard to read, and the sites that rank are often selling something. PlainStatute sits in between: every fact is cited and linked to its primary source, and pages that haven't finished verification say so plainly instead of pretending.
Each page starts from the official statute for one state, pulls out the exact answer you searched for, and rewrites it in plain English while keeping the real number and the exact citation. The source is linked, the review date is shown, and anything not yet confirmed word-for-word carries a visible label. That is the whole method, and you can read it in full on our methodology and editorial standards pages.
We also publish original research computed from our own corpus: 50-state ranking datasets like the Renter and Debtor Protection Indexes, and the Statute Plain-Language Complexity Index. They are original numbers you can cite, not summaries anyone can copy.