Searching Aids

Documents Center

A central reference and referral point for government information at all levels, local, national and international.

USA.gov

The official web portal of the U.S.Government that provides federal, state, and local government information and services.

Vital Records - Where to write

How to obtain birth, death, marriage, and divorce certificates.

California

California Code

California codes by keyword and citation.

California Code of Regulations

California agencies regulations by title and keyword search.

California Courts

California's Judicial Branch includes Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Trial Court, Court Opinions, & Judicial Council. Can find court information and standard forms.

California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)

Drivers license information
DMV Publications includes Driver's handbook and test examples.
DMV Forms

California Legislative Information, Official

Every California Assembly and Senate bill and statutes (bills passed into law) of the California legislature since 1993 in full text. Includes the current California codes, Assembly and Senate Journals and the California Constitution.

California Legislative Information - Archives

California State Assembly’s Office of the Chief Clerk archive site with California statutes and resolutions passed from 1850 to 1992 in full text. Includes the history of bills from 1881 to 1992, and full text of the Journal of the Assembly from 1849 to 1992.

California Online Professional Licensing

 

California Secretary of State

Includes election, business, incorporation, campaign lobbying, archives and special programs.

California Senate

Senate leadership, member biographies, and legislative schedules and district maps.

California State

Member directory, committees and caucuses, and legislative calendar.

California State Controllers Office, Unclaimed Property Search

 

California State Home Page

The official web site for the state of California.

California State Parks

 

Counting California

Government information, facts and data about California. Provided by the University of California's California Digital Library to provide government-produced statistics. Quick Facts section has statistics on population, crime, income, poverty, and histories of communities.

DMV on YouTube

Click on Videos to see visual training on "Rules of the Road" and "Reasons for Failing the Driving Test" to help you pass the exam.

Cities / Counties

See “Local Resources”

States

Stately Knowledge

Basic information on all 50 states, including Washington, D.C.

State and Local Government on the Web

Contains links to networks of state and local government agencies, including multi-state organizations and national organizations which are affiliated with government (such as the Council of State Governments).

Federal

Searching Aids

Catalog of US Government Publications

Index to electronic and print publications from the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the U.S. government since 1976 providing title, year, author, SuDoc number, and Internet access. Full cataloging (MARC) record is viewable. Locate the closest depository library.

FedForms Home Page

"One-stop shopping" for the Federal forms most used by the public.

FedStats Home Page

Search for statistics provided by more than 100 federal agencies.

Find a Depository Library

Provides a list of depository libraries in your area, and links to descriptions of their collections.

GPO Access

A service of the US Government Printing Office that provides free electronic access to a large number of government databases and documents. Information provided on this site is the official, published version.

General

Foreign Entry Requirements

Visa requirements for U.S. travelers visiting other countries.

National Archives & Record Administration

A homepage linking of Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, Public and Private Laws, U.S. Government Manual, Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents and GPO Access Search Page.

Statistical Abstract of the U.S.

A simplified statistical abstract.

U. S. Government Code

Executive Branch

Executive Branch

Links to the page of each Department and the White House.

Social Security Administration

Retrieve a Personal Earnings and Benefits Estimate Statement.

U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services

Access immigration laws, regulations and guides. Click on 'Education & Resources' in the gray-colored banner at the top of the web page. To find Sample U.S. History & Government Questions (in English & Spanish) and a Naturalization self test, please clink on 'Civics and Citizenship Study Materials' in the left-side margin.

White House

Direct link to the White House.

Judicial Branch

Legal Information Institute

Current and historic Supreme Court cases. Includes major decisions and the Court Calendar.

Supreme Court of the United States

The Official US Supreme Court Web Site.

Supreme Court Cases

Full-text decisions by volume, year, citation, party name or keyword.

Legislative Branch

Congressional Directory

Browse Congressional leadership, state delegations, committees.

Thomas - U S Congress on the Internet

Bill texts, summaries, status. Roll call votes and major legislation of current Congress. Recent Public Laws by P.L. number.

U.S. Congress, Senate

Directory of members, their assignments, etc.

U.S. Congress, House of Representatives

Who's who and how to contact them.

Elections

California Secretary of State Home Page

Find the latest Ballot Pamphlet, the status of proposed propositions, and campaign financing reports.

California Voter Foundation

A non-profit, non-partisan organization provides an online California voter guide.

Easy Voter

Nonpartisan information for new voters in California on how to register, choose a political party and ways to vote.  Includes an Easy Reading Voter Guide and a Spanish version link.

infoplease.com--Elections

Historical election information.

Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder

Locates voting districts for a specific address.

Project Vote Smart

Locate all elected representatives, state and federal, by zip code. Tracks the performance of over 13,000 political leaders.  Voting records, biographies, committee assignments of elected officials.

Smart Voter

The League of Women Voters provides information about voter registration and candidates. The user can retrieve a sample ballot for a district by entering a zip code.

Taxes

See “Business - Taxes”

Territories and Outlying Regions of the United States

Federated States of Micronesia

 

Guam

 

Midway Islands

 

Northern Mariana Islands

 

Puerto Rico (Site is in Spanish)

 

International

Chief of State & Cabinet - Members of Foreign Government

Published and updated weekly by the Central Intelligence Agency. The directory is intended to be used primarily as a reference aid to as many world governments as considered practical, some not officially recognized by the U.S. Regimes with no diplomatic exchange are indicated by NDE.

Electronic Embassy

Embassy addresses, phone numbers in Washington D.C. Information on Diplomatic Internship Program in Washington.

Foreign Consular Offices in the United States

Contains complete and official listing of the foreign consular offices in the United States, and recognized consular officers. Compiled by the U.S. Department of State.

International Affairs Resources (WWW Virtual Library)

Over 2400 annotated links in a wide range of topics concerning international affairs, studies, and relations. Most are in English.

International Government (Librarians Index to the Internet)

Topical annotated index of Internet sites with useful links. Topics include: General Resources, Canada, Commonwealth Countries, Constitutions, Developing Countries, Diplomatic and Consular Service, European Union, Foreign Relations, Great Britain, Heads of State, International Law, Palestine, South Africa, Treaties, and United Nations.

Los Angeles Consular Corps

Alphabetical listing by country with updated contact information. Published by the County of Los Angeles Office of Protocol.

World Bank

Regional and country information on funding, political and economic status and speeches.

United Nations

United Nations Web Site

Follow UN activities, view resolutions and major documents.

Official Documents of the United Nations (ODS)

United Nations site providing full text and full image access to UN publications published since 1993. Resolutions are available back to 1946. Older documents are being added continuously, with many available to the early 1980s. UN sales publications and the treaty series are not included.

UNBISNET

Catalog of United Nations(UN) documents and publications indexed by the UN Dag Hammarskjöld Library and the Library of the UN Office at Geneva. Coverage begins with 1979, but is being extended backwards. More thorough indexing makes this source a useful aid to finding full text documents in the ODS site listed above. Once reference is found in UNBIS, simply clip the document number and drop it into the ODS search screen. Also includes voting records on adopted resolutions and indexing of speeches.

Dag Hammarskjold Library

Locate documents using the UN Info Quest System, view national, regional & peacekeeping maps.