UK Legal Research

Get Legislation Section

legislation_get_section

Read-onlyIdempotent

USE THIS TOOL WHEN you have a known Act / SI and want the parsed text of a specific section, regulation, or article, with extent and in-force metadata.

Returns the provision's own text and heading, never a neighbouring Part/Chapter. Also returns extent, in-force/prospective data, and truncation metadata. Pass the bare number: the tool handles Act sections and SI regulations/articles. A missing provision raises not_found rather than returning a plausible neighbouring node.

AFTER calling, check extent before relying on the provision and inspect content_truncated for long text. Call legislation_get_toc to discover valid numbers, or read_resource with a legislation:// URI when raw CLML XML is required.

Source: legislation.gov.uk CLML, with an explicitly marked public-HTML fallback only when CLML is unavailable.

Input Schema

Name	Required	Description
`type`	Yes	Legislation type code: 'ukpga' (Acts), 'uksi' (SIs), 'asp' (Scottish Acts), 'nia' (NI Acts). Use the value from legislation_search results.
`year`	Yes	Year of enactment
`number`	Yes	Chapter or SI number
`section`	Yes	Provision number, e.g. '47' or '12A' — works for Act sections, SI regulations, and SI articles alike. Use the numeric part only — not 'section-47'/'regulation-47'/'article-47'. Schedules are not currently supported.
`max_chars`	No	Maximum characters of section content to return. Default 10,000 (~2,500 tokens) covers almost every section. Raise to 50,000+ only for unusually long Finance Act definition sections. Check content_truncated in the response to see if it was cut.

Output Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`title`	Yes	Section title or heading
`extent`	No	Territorial extent: list of 'England', 'Wales', 'Scotland', 'Northern Ireland'. Empty list means unknown — do not assume full UK extent.
`content`	Yes	Plain text content of the section, possibly truncated per max_chars. Check content_truncated and original_length for full-text information.
`in_force`	No	False if the section is explicitly marked repealed in CLML. True only when an InForce element is present in the section body (rare). Null for most sections — the data.xml endpoint does not carry a per-section current in-force boolean; null does not mean repealed.
`warnings`	No	Non-fatal retrieval or parsing warnings the caller should disclose where relevant.
`prospective`	No	True if this section has not yet come into force; None if unknown
`version_date`	No	Date of the version retrieved
`source_format`	No	Source parsed for this response. html_fallback means CLML XML was unavailable and text was parsed from the public HTML page.	xml
`section_number`	Yes	Section number, e.g. '47', '12A', 'Schedule 2'
`original_length`	No	Original plain-text length in characters before any truncation
`content_truncated`	No	True if content was cut to fit max_chars

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed1 schema field changedSep 13, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / section / description

Previous value: -"Section number, e.g. '47' or '12A'. Use the numeric part only — not 'section-47'. Schedules are not currently supported."New value: +"Provision number, e.g. '47' or '12A' — works for Act sections, SI regulations, and SI articles alike. Use the numeric part only — not 'section-47'/'regulation-47'/'article-47'. Schedules are not currently supported."

Changed7 schema fields changedJun 14, 2026

addedInput schema / properties / max_chars

Added value: +{
+  "default": 10000,
+  "description": "Maximum characters of section content to return. Default 10,000 (~2,500 tokens) covers almost every section. Raise to 50,000+ only for unusually long Finance Act definition sections. Check content_truncated in the response to see if it was cut.",
+  "maximum": 200000,
+  "minimum": 500,
+  "type": "integer"
+}

addedInput schema / properties / number

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Chapter or SI number",
+  "minimum": 1,
+  "type": "integer"
+}

removedInput schema / properties / params

Removed value: -{
-  "additionalProperties": false,
-  "description": "LegislationGetSectionInput.",
-  "properties": {
-    "max_chars": {
-      "default": 10000,
-      "description": "Maximum characters of section content to return. Default 10,000 (~2,500 tokens) covers almost every section. Raise to 50,000+ only for unusually long Finance Act definition sections. Check content_truncated in the response to see if it was cut.",
-      "maximum": 200000,
-      "minimum": 500,
-      "type": "integer"
-    },
-    "number": {
-      "description": "Chapter or SI number",
-      "minimum": 1,
-      "type": "integer"
-    },
-    "section": {
-      "description": "Section number, e.g. '47' or '12A'. Use the numeric part only — not 'section-47'. Schedules are not currently supported.",
-      "maxLength": 50,
-      "minLength": 1,
-      "type": "string"
-    },
-    "type": {
-      "description": "Legislation type code: 'ukpga' (Acts), 'uksi' (SIs), 'asp' (Scottish Acts), 'nia' (NI Acts). Use the value from legislation_search results.",
-      "maxLength": 10,
-      "minLength": 2,
-      "type": "string"
-    },
-    "year": {
-      "description": "Year of enactment",
-      "maximum": 2100,
-      "minimum": 1800,
-      "type": "integer"
-    }
-  },
-  "required": [
-    "type",
-    "year",
-    "number",
-    "section"
-  ],
-  "type": "object"
-}

addedInput schema / properties / section

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Section number, e.g. '47' or '12A'. Use the numeric part only — not 'section-47'. Schedules are not currently supported.",
+  "maxLength": 50,
+  "minLength": 1,
+  "type": "string"
+}

addedInput schema / properties / type

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Legislation type code: 'ukpga' (Acts), 'uksi' (SIs), 'asp' (Scottish Acts), 'nia' (NI Acts). Use the value from legislation_search results.",
+  "maxLength": 10,
+  "minLength": 2,
+  "type": "string"
+}

addedInput schema / properties / year

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Year of enactment",
+  "maximum": 2100,
+  "minimum": 1800,
+  "type": "integer"
+}

changedInput schema / required

Previous value: -[
-  "params"
-]New value: +[
+  "type",
+  "year",
+  "number",
+  "section"
+]

Changed1 schema field changedJun 13, 2026

changedOutput schema / properties / in_force / description

Previous value: -"Whether this section is currently in force; None if unknown"New value: +"False if the section is explicitly marked repealed in CLML. True only when an InForce element is present in the section body (rare). Null for most sections — the data.xml endpoint does not carry a per-section current in-force boolean; null does not mean repealed."

Changed1 schema field changedMay 30, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / params / description

Previous value: -"type, year, number, section identifier, optional max_chars."New value: +"LegislationGetSectionInput."

Changed7 schema fields changedMay 16, 2026

changedOutput schema / properties / extent / description

Previous value: -"Territorial extent: list of 'England', 'Wales', 'Scotland', 'Northern Ireland'"New value: +"Territorial extent: list of 'England', 'Wales', 'Scotland', 'Northern Ireland'. Empty list means unknown — do not assume full UK extent."

addedOutput schema / properties / prospective / anyOf

Added value: +[
+  {
+    "type": "boolean"
+  },
+  {
+    "type": "null"
+  }
+]

changedOutput schema / properties / prospective / default
```
Previous value: -falseNew value: +null
```

changedOutput schema / properties / prospective / description

Previous value: -"True if this section has not yet come into force"New value: +"True if this section has not yet come into force; None if unknown"

removedOutput schema / properties / prospective / type
```
Removed value: -"boolean"
```

addedOutput schema / properties / source_format

Added value: +{
+  "default": "xml",
+  "description": "Source parsed for this response. html_fallback means CLML XML was unavailable and text was parsed from the public HTML page.",
+  "enum": [
+    "xml",
+    "html_fallback"
+  ],
+  "type": "string"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / warnings

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Non-fatal retrieval or parsing warnings the caller should disclose where relevant.",
+  "items": {
+    "type": "string"
+  },
+  "type": "array"
+}

Changed11 schema fields changedApr 29, 2026

removedInput schema / properties / date

Removed value: -{
-  "anyOf": [
-    {
-      "type": "string"
-    },
-    {
-      "type": "null"
-    }
-  ],
-  "default": null,
-  "description": "Optional point-in-time date YYYY-MM-DD for historical version"
-}

removedInput schema / properties / number

Removed value: -{
-  "description": "Number, e.g. '46'",
-  "maxLength": 10,
-  "minLength": 1,
-  "type": "string"
-}

addedInput schema / properties / params

Added value: +{
+  "additionalProperties": false,
+  "description": "type, year, number, section identifier, optional max_chars.",
+  "properties": {
+    "max_chars": {
+      "default": 10000,
+      "description": "Maximum characters of section content to return. Default 10,000 (~2,500 tokens) covers almost every section. Raise to 50,000+ only for unusually long Finance Act definition sections. Check content_truncated in the response to see if it was cut.",
+      "maximum": 200000,
+      "minimum": 500,
+      "type": "integer"
+    },
+    "number": {
+      "description": "Chapter or SI number",
+      "minimum": 1,
+      "type": "integer"
+    },
+    "section": {
+      "description": "Section number, e.g. '47' or '12A'. Use the numeric part only — not 'section-47'. Schedules are not currently supported.",
+      "maxLength": 50,
+      "minLength": 1,
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "type": {
+      "description": "Legislation type code: 'ukpga' (Acts), 'uksi' (SIs), 'asp' (Scottish Acts), 'nia' (NI Acts). Use the value from legislation_search results.",
+      "maxLength": 10,
+      "minLength": 2,
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "year": {
+      "description": "Year of enactment",
+      "maximum": 2100,
+      "minimum": 1800,
+      "type": "integer"
+    }
+  },
+  "required": [
+    "type",
+    "year",
+    "number",
+    "section"
+  ],
+  "type": "object"
+}

removedInput schema / properties / section

Removed value: -{
-  "description": "Section number or ID, e.g. '172' or 'section-172'",
-  "maxLength": 50,
-  "minLength": 1,
-  "type": "string"
-}

removedInput schema / properties / type

Removed value: -{
-  "description": "Legislation type, e.g. 'ukpga', 'uksi'",
-  "maxLength": 20,
-  "minLength": 3,
-  "type": "string"
-}

removedInput schema / properties / year

Removed value: -{
-  "description": "Year, e.g. '2006'",
-  "maxLength": 4,
-  "minLength": 4,
-  "type": "string"
-}

changedInput schema / required

Previous value: -[
-  "type",
-  "year",
-  "number",
-  "section"
-]New value: +[
+  "params"
+]

removedOutput schema / additionalProperties
```
Removed value: -true
```

addedOutput schema / description

Added value: +"A single section of an Act or SI, with full metadata."

addedOutput schema / properties

Added value: +{
+  "content": {
+    "description": "Plain text content of the section, possibly truncated per max_chars. Check content_truncated and original_length for full-text information.",
+    "type": "string"
+  },
+  "content_truncated": {
+    "default": false,
+    "description": "True if content was cut to fit max_chars",
+    "type": "boolean"
+  },
+  "extent": {
+    "description": "Territorial extent: list of 'England', 'Wales', 'Scotland', 'Northern Ireland'",
+    "items": {
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "type": "array"
+  },
+  "in_force": {
+    "anyOf": [
+      {
+        "type": "boolean"
+      },
+      {
+        "type": "null"
+      }
+    ],
+    "default": null,
+    "description": "Whether this section is currently in force; None if unknown"
+  },
+  "original_length": {
+    "default": 0,
+    "description": "Original plain-text length in characters before any truncation",
+    "type": "integer"
+  },
+  "prospective": {
+    "default": false,
+    "description": "True if this section has not yet come into force",
+    "type": "boolean"
+  },
+  "section_number": {
+    "description": "Section number, e.g. '47', '12A', 'Schedule 2'",
+    "type": "string"
+  },
+  "title": {
+    "description": "Section title or heading",
+    "type": "string"
+  },
+  "version_date": {
+    "anyOf": [
+      {
+        "format": "date",
+        "type": "string"
+      },
+      {
+        "type": "null"
+      }
+    ],
+    "default": null,
+    "description": "Date of the version retrieved"
+  }
+}

addedOutput schema / required

Added value: +[
+  "title",
+  "section_number",
+  "content"
+]

Changed11 schema fields changedApr 29, 2026

addedInput schema / properties / date

Added value: +{
+  "anyOf": [
+    {
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "null"
+    }
+  ],
+  "default": null,
+  "description": "Optional point-in-time date YYYY-MM-DD for historical version"
+}

addedInput schema / properties / number

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Number, e.g. '46'",
+  "maxLength": 10,
+  "minLength": 1,
+  "type": "string"
+}

removedInput schema / properties / params

Removed value: -{
-  "additionalProperties": false,
-  "description": "type, year, number, section identifier, optional max_chars.",
-  "properties": {
-    "max_chars": {
-      "default": 10000,
-      "description": "Maximum characters of section content to return. Default 10,000 (~2,500 tokens) covers almost every section. Raise to 50,000+ only for unusually long Finance Act definition sections. Check content_truncated in the response to see if it was cut.",
-      "maximum": 200000,
-      "minimum": 500,
-      "type": "integer"
-    },
-    "number": {
-      "description": "Chapter or SI number",
-      "minimum": 1,
-      "type": "integer"
-    },
-    "section": {
-      "description": "Section number, e.g. '47' or '12A'. Use the numeric part only — not 'section-47'. Schedules are not currently supported.",
-      "maxLength": 50,
-      "minLength": 1,
-      "type": "string"
-    },
-    "type": {
-      "description": "Legislation type code: 'ukpga' (Acts), 'uksi' (SIs), 'asp' (Scottish Acts), 'nia' (NI Acts). Use the value from legislation_search results.",
-      "maxLength": 10,
-      "minLength": 2,
-      "type": "string"
-    },
-    "year": {
-      "description": "Year of enactment",
-      "maximum": 2100,
-      "minimum": 1800,
-      "type": "integer"
-    }
-  },
-  "required": [
-    "type",
-    "year",
-    "number",
-    "section"
-  ],
-  "type": "object"
-}

addedInput schema / properties / section

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Section number or ID, e.g. '172' or 'section-172'",
+  "maxLength": 50,
+  "minLength": 1,
+  "type": "string"
+}

addedInput schema / properties / type

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Legislation type, e.g. 'ukpga', 'uksi'",
+  "maxLength": 20,
+  "minLength": 3,
+  "type": "string"
+}

addedInput schema / properties / year

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Year, e.g. '2006'",
+  "maxLength": 4,
+  "minLength": 4,
+  "type": "string"
+}

changedInput schema / required

Previous value: -[
-  "params"
-]New value: +[
+  "type",
+  "year",
+  "number",
+  "section"
+]

addedOutput schema / additionalProperties
```
Added value: +true
```

removedOutput schema / description

Removed value: -"A single section of an Act or SI, with full metadata."

removedOutput schema / properties

Removed value: -{
-  "content": {
-    "description": "Plain text content of the section, possibly truncated per max_chars. Check content_truncated and original_length for full-text information.",
-    "type": "string"
-  },
-  "content_truncated": {
-    "default": false,
-    "description": "True if content was cut to fit max_chars",
-    "type": "boolean"
-  },
-  "extent": {
-    "description": "Territorial extent: list of 'England', 'Wales', 'Scotland', 'Northern Ireland'",
-    "items": {
-      "type": "string"
-    },
-    "type": "array"
-  },
-  "in_force": {
-    "anyOf": [
-      {
-        "type": "boolean"
-      },
-      {
-        "type": "null"
-      }
-    ],
-    "default": null,
-    "description": "Whether this section is currently in force; None if unknown"
-  },
-  "original_length": {
-    "default": 0,
-    "description": "Original plain-text length in characters before any truncation",
-    "type": "integer"
-  },
-  "prospective": {
-    "default": false,
-    "description": "True if this section has not yet come into force",
-    "type": "boolean"
-  },
-  "section_number": {
-    "description": "Section number, e.g. '47', '12A', 'Schedule 2'",
-    "type": "string"
-  },
-  "title": {
-    "description": "Section title or heading",
-    "type": "string"
-  },
-  "version_date": {
-    "anyOf": [
-      {
-        "format": "date",
-        "type": "string"
-      },
-      {
-        "type": "null"
-      }
-    ],
-    "default": null,
-    "description": "Date of the version retrieved"
-  }
-}

removedOutput schema / required

Removed value: -[
-  "title",
-  "section_number",
-  "content"
-]

Changed1 schema field changedApr 20, 2026
- addedInput schema / properties / params / description
```
Added value: +"type, year, number, section identifier, optional max_chars."
```

Changed14 schema fields changedApr 15, 2026

addedInput schema / properties / params / properties / max_chars

Added value: +{
+  "default": 10000,
+  "description": "Maximum characters of section content to return. Default 10,000 (~2,500 tokens) covers almost every section. Raise to 50,000+ only for unusually long Finance Act definition sections. Check content_truncated in the response to see if it was cut.",
+  "maximum": 200000,
+  "minimum": 500,
+  "type": "integer"
+}

changedOutput schema / description

Previous value: -"Generic wrapper for non-object return types."New value: +"A single section of an Act or SI, with full metadata."

addedOutput schema / properties / content

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Plain text content of the section, possibly truncated per max_chars. Check content_truncated and original_length for full-text information.",
+  "type": "string"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / content_truncated

Added value: +{
+  "default": false,
+  "description": "True if content was cut to fit max_chars",
+  "type": "boolean"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / extent

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Territorial extent: list of 'England', 'Wales', 'Scotland', 'Northern Ireland'",
+  "items": {
+    "type": "string"
+  },
+  "type": "array"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / in_force

Added value: +{
+  "anyOf": [
+    {
+      "type": "boolean"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "null"
+    }
+  ],
+  "default": null,
+  "description": "Whether this section is currently in force; None if unknown"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / original_length

Added value: +{
+  "default": 0,
+  "description": "Original plain-text length in characters before any truncation",
+  "type": "integer"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / prospective

Added value: +{
+  "default": false,
+  "description": "True if this section has not yet come into force",
+  "type": "boolean"
+}

removedOutput schema / properties / result

Removed value: -{
-  "type": "string"
-}

addedOutput schema / properties / section_number

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Section number, e.g. '47', '12A', 'Schedule 2'",
+  "type": "string"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / title

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Section title or heading",
+  "type": "string"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / version_date

Added value: +{
+  "anyOf": [
+    {
+      "format": "date",
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    {
+      "type": "null"
+    }
+  ],
+  "default": null,
+  "description": "Date of the version retrieved"
+}

changedOutput schema / required

Previous value: -[
-  "result"
-]New value: +[
+  "title",
+  "section_number",
+  "content"
+]

removedOutput schema / x-fastmcp-wrap-result
```
Removed value: -true
```

First observedApr 14, 2026

TDQS

A4.7/5.0

Behavior5/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Goes well past the annotations (which only declare read-only/idempotent/open-world). It discloses that only the provision's own text is returned (never a neighbouring Part/Chapter), that a missing provision raises not_found instead of returning a plausible neighbour, the CLML source with an explicitly marked public-HTML fallback, and post-call checks on extent and content_truncated.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness5/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

The trigger condition is front-loaded in the first clause, followed by behavioural guarantees, then post-call guidance, then alternatives. Every sentence carries distinct information with no restatement of the name or title.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness5/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

For a 5-parameter read tool with an output schema and full annotation coverage, this covers the remaining gaps: numbering conventions, missing-provision behaviour, source provenance, and a truncation workflow. Nothing an agent needs to call it correctly or interpret the response is absent.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters3/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema description coverage is 100%, so the schema already explains 'type', 'year', 'number', and the bare-number rule for 'section'. The description reinforces the bare-number convention and points to content_truncated, but adds little parameter meaning the schema does not already carry.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

States a specific verb and resource ('want the parsed text of a specific section, regulation, or article') and scopes it to a known Act/SI. It explicitly contrasts with legislation_get_toc and read_resource, so an agent can pick it out of a crowded sibling list without opening a schema.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines5/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

Opens with an explicit trigger ('USE THIS TOOL WHEN you have a known Act / SI'), and gives alternatives with their selection conditions: legislation_get_toc to discover valid numbers, read_resource for raw CLML XML. Preconditions and fallbacks are all named.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

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Get Legislation Section

Input Schema

Output Schema

Schema Changelog

TDQS

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