UK Legal Research

Get Legislation Table of Contents

legislation_get_toc

Read-onlyIdempotent

USE THIS TOOL WHEN you have a known Act / SI and want the structural table of contents (parts, chapters, individual sections/regulations/articles).

Returns XML ids and titles in document order, including Parts, chapters, crossheadings, and provisions; a rare untitled provision is retained as its bare id. Results are paginated with offset/limit.

AFTER calling, pass a provision's bare number (for example 47, not section-47) to legislation_get_section. Check has_more and total_items for large statutes. Use read_resource with the legislation:// toc URI for the full raw listing.

Source: legislation.gov.uk CLML table of contents.

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
`limit`	No	Maximum items to return in this call (default 200, max 1000). Raise only when you need a larger slice in one response. Check has_more and total_items to know if further pages exist.
`number`	Yes	Chapter or SI number
`offset`	No	Number of items to skip from the flattened TOC. Use with limit to page through very large statutes like the Companies Act 2006 (1300+ items).

Output Schema

Name	Required	Description
`type`	Yes	Legislation type code echoed from the request
`year`	Yes	Year of enactment echoed from the request
`items`	No	TOC entries in XML document order, formatted as '<id>: <title>', e.g. 'section-47: Definitions'. When calling legislation_get_section pass only the numeric part ('47', not 'section-47').
`limit`	Yes	Page size applied after offset
`number`	Yes	Chapter or SI number echoed from the request
`offset`	Yes	Offset applied to the full TOC item list
`has_more`	Yes	True if more items remain beyond offset+returned
`returned`	Yes	Number of items in this response
`total_items`	Yes	Total structural items parsed from the XML, before offset/limit. Compare to `returned` and `has_more` to decide whether to paginate.

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed7 schema fields changedJun 14, 2026

addedInput schema / properties / limit

Added value: +{
+  "default": 200,
+  "description": "Maximum items to return in this call (default 200, max 1000). Raise only when you need a larger slice in one response. Check has_more and total_items to know if further pages exist.",
+  "maximum": 1000,
+  "minimum": 1,
+  "type": "integer"
+}

addedInput schema / properties / number

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

addedInput schema / properties / offset

Added value: +{
+  "default": 0,
+  "description": "Number of items to skip from the flattened TOC. Use with limit to page through very large statutes like the Companies Act 2006 (1300+ items).",
+  "minimum": 0,
+  "type": "integer"
+}

removedInput schema / properties / params

Removed value: -{
-  "additionalProperties": false,
-  "description": "LegislationGetTocInput.",
-  "properties": {
-    "limit": {
-      "default": 200,
-      "description": "Maximum items to return in this call (default 200, max 1000). Raise only when you need a larger slice in one response. Check has_more and total_items to know if further pages exist.",
-      "maximum": 1000,
-      "minimum": 1,
-      "type": "integer"
-    },
-    "number": {
-      "description": "Chapter or SI number",
-      "minimum": 1,
-      "type": "integer"
-    },
-    "offset": {
-      "default": 0,
-      "description": "Number of items to skip from the flattened TOC. Use with limit to page through very large statutes like the Companies Act 2006 (1300+ items).",
-      "minimum": 0,
-      "type": "integer"
-    },
-    "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"
-  ],
-  "type": "object"
-}

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"
+]

Changed1 schema field changedMay 30, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / params / description

Previous value: -"LegislationGetTocInput with type, year, number, offset, limit."New value: +"LegislationGetTocInput."

Changed1 schema field changedMay 29, 2026

changedOutput schema / properties / total_items / description

Previous value: -"Total number of structural items parsed from the XML, before offset/limit. Use this to know the full size of the TOC."New value: +"Total structural items parsed from the XML, before offset/limit. Compare to `returned` and `has_more` to decide whether to paginate."

Changed10 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": "LegislationGetTocInput with type, year, number, offset, limit.",
+  "properties": {
+    "limit": {
+      "default": 200,
+      "description": "Maximum items to return in this call (default 200, max 1000). Raise only when you need a larger slice in one response. Check has_more and total_items to know if further pages exist.",
+      "maximum": 1000,
+      "minimum": 1,
+      "type": "integer"
+    },
+    "number": {
+      "description": "Chapter or SI number",
+      "minimum": 1,
+      "type": "integer"
+    },
+    "offset": {
+      "default": 0,
+      "description": "Number of items to skip from the flattened TOC. Use with limit to page through very large statutes like the Companies Act 2006 (1300+ items).",
+      "minimum": 0,
+      "type": "integer"
+    },
+    "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"
+  ],
+  "type": "object"
+}

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"
-]New value: +[
+  "params"
+]

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

addedOutput schema / description

Added value: +"Paginated table of contents for an Act or Statutory Instrument.\n\nThe upstream XML is fetched in one shot (legislation.gov.uk has no\nserver-side pagination), then sliced client-side via offset/limit.\nFor very large statutes like the Companies Act 2006 (1300+ items)\nuse offset to page through. Check has_more and total_items to\nknow the full size."

addedOutput schema / properties

Added value: +{
+  "has_more": {
+    "description": "True if more items remain beyond offset+returned",
+    "type": "boolean"
+  },
+  "items": {
+    "description": "TOC entries in XML document order, formatted as '<id>: <title>', e.g. 'section-47: Definitions'. When calling legislation_get_section pass only the numeric part ('47', not 'section-47').",
+    "items": {
+      "type": "string"
+    },
+    "type": "array"
+  },
+  "limit": {
+    "description": "Page size applied after offset",
+    "type": "integer"
+  },
+  "number": {
+    "description": "Chapter or SI number echoed from the request",
+    "type": "integer"
+  },
+  "offset": {
+    "description": "Offset applied to the full TOC item list",
+    "type": "integer"
+  },
+  "returned": {
+    "description": "Number of items in this response",
+    "type": "integer"
+  },
+  "total_items": {
+    "description": "Total number of structural items parsed from the XML, before offset/limit. Use this to know the full size of the TOC.",
+    "type": "integer"
+  },
+  "type": {
+    "description": "Legislation type code echoed from the request",
+    "type": "string"
+  },
+  "year": {
+    "description": "Year of enactment echoed from the request",
+    "type": "integer"
+  }
+}

addedOutput schema / required

Added value: +[
+  "type",
+  "year",
+  "number",
+  "offset",
+  "limit",
+  "returned",
+  "total_items",
+  "has_more"
+]

Changed10 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": "LegislationGetTocInput with type, year, number, offset, limit.",
-  "properties": {
-    "limit": {
-      "default": 200,
-      "description": "Maximum items to return in this call (default 200, max 1000). Raise only when you need a larger slice in one response. Check has_more and total_items to know if further pages exist.",
-      "maximum": 1000,
-      "minimum": 1,
-      "type": "integer"
-    },
-    "number": {
-      "description": "Chapter or SI number",
-      "minimum": 1,
-      "type": "integer"
-    },
-    "offset": {
-      "default": 0,
-      "description": "Number of items to skip from the flattened TOC. Use with limit to page through very large statutes like the Companies Act 2006 (1300+ items).",
-      "minimum": 0,
-      "type": "integer"
-    },
-    "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"
-  ],
-  "type": "object"
-}

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"
+]

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

removedOutput schema / description

Removed value: -"Paginated table of contents for an Act or Statutory Instrument.\n\nThe upstream XML is fetched in one shot (legislation.gov.uk has no\nserver-side pagination), then sliced client-side via offset/limit.\nFor very large statutes like the Companies Act 2006 (1300+ items)\nuse offset to page through. Check has_more and total_items to\nknow the full size."

removedOutput schema / properties

Removed value: -{
-  "has_more": {
-    "description": "True if more items remain beyond offset+returned",
-    "type": "boolean"
-  },
-  "items": {
-    "description": "TOC entries in XML document order, formatted as '<id>: <title>', e.g. 'section-47: Definitions'. When calling legislation_get_section pass only the numeric part ('47', not 'section-47').",
-    "items": {
-      "type": "string"
-    },
-    "type": "array"
-  },
-  "limit": {
-    "description": "Page size applied after offset",
-    "type": "integer"
-  },
-  "number": {
-    "description": "Chapter or SI number echoed from the request",
-    "type": "integer"
-  },
-  "offset": {
-    "description": "Offset applied to the full TOC item list",
-    "type": "integer"
-  },
-  "returned": {
-    "description": "Number of items in this response",
-    "type": "integer"
-  },
-  "total_items": {
-    "description": "Total number of structural items parsed from the XML, before offset/limit. Use this to know the full size of the TOC.",
-    "type": "integer"
-  },
-  "type": {
-    "description": "Legislation type code echoed from the request",
-    "type": "string"
-  },
-  "year": {
-    "description": "Year of enactment echoed from the request",
-    "type": "integer"
-  }
-}

removedOutput schema / required

Removed value: -[
-  "type",
-  "year",
-  "number",
-  "offset",
-  "limit",
-  "returned",
-  "total_items",
-  "has_more"
-]

Changed1 schema field changedApr 20, 2026
- addedInput schema / properties / params / description
```
Added value: +"LegislationGetTocInput with type, year, number, offset, limit."
```

Changed15 schema fields changedApr 15, 2026

addedInput schema / properties / params / properties / limit

Added value: +{
+  "default": 200,
+  "description": "Maximum items to return in this call (default 200, max 1000). Raise only when you need a larger slice in one response. Check has_more and total_items to know if further pages exist.",
+  "maximum": 1000,
+  "minimum": 1,
+  "type": "integer"
+}

addedInput schema / properties / params / properties / offset

Added value: +{
+  "default": 0,
+  "description": "Number of items to skip from the flattened TOC. Use with limit to page through very large statutes like the Companies Act 2006 (1300+ items).",
+  "minimum": 0,
+  "type": "integer"
+}

changedOutput schema / description

Previous value: -"Generic wrapper for non-object return types."New value: +"Paginated table of contents for an Act or Statutory Instrument.\n\nThe upstream XML is fetched in one shot (legislation.gov.uk has no\nserver-side pagination), then sliced client-side via offset/limit.\nFor very large statutes like the Companies Act 2006 (1300+ items)\nuse offset to page through. Check has_more and total_items to\nknow the full size."

addedOutput schema / properties / has_more

Added value: +{
+  "description": "True if more items remain beyond offset+returned",
+  "type": "boolean"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / items

Added value: +{
+  "description": "TOC entries in XML document order, formatted as '<id>: <title>', e.g. 'section-47: Definitions'. When calling legislation_get_section pass only the numeric part ('47', not 'section-47').",
+  "items": {
+    "type": "string"
+  },
+  "type": "array"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / limit

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Page size applied after offset",
+  "type": "integer"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / number

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Chapter or SI number echoed from the request",
+  "type": "integer"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / offset

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Offset applied to the full TOC item list",
+  "type": "integer"
+}

removedOutput schema / properties / result

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

addedOutput schema / properties / returned

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Number of items in this response",
+  "type": "integer"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / total_items

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Total number of structural items parsed from the XML, before offset/limit. Use this to know the full size of the TOC.",
+  "type": "integer"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / type

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Legislation type code echoed from the request",
+  "type": "string"
+}

addedOutput schema / properties / year

Added value: +{
+  "description": "Year of enactment echoed from the request",
+  "type": "integer"
+}

changedOutput schema / required

Previous value: -[
-  "result"
-]New value: +[
+  "type",
+  "year",
+  "number",
+  "offset",
+  "limit",
+  "returned",
+  "total_items",
+  "has_more"
+]

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?

Beyond the annotations, the description discloses that results are XML ids and titles in document order, includes structural elements and provisions, retains rare untitled provisions as bare ids, and is paginated with offset/limit. It also tells the agent to inspect has_more and total_items for large statutes, which is useful behavioral guidance for consuming the result.

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 description is front-loaded with the primary usage condition, then follows with return details, downstream guidance, and an alternative resource. Every sentence supports correct selection or invocation, and the source note adds useful provenance without bloat.

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 read-only, paginated TOC tool with full schema coverage, annotations, and an output schema, the description provides enough context to select it, understand the shape of results, handle pagination, and route to legislation_get_section or read_resource afterward.

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 documents type, year, number, limit, and offset, including examples and pagination behavior. The description reinforces pagination and downstream use of bare provision numbers, but adds little parameter-specific meaning beyond what the schema provides.

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?

The description states a specific verb and resource: getting the structural table of contents for a known Act/SI, including parts, chapters, sections, regulations, and articles. It clearly distinguishes this from legislation_get_section by explaining that the TOC is used first and its bare provision number is then passed to the section tool.

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?

It gives an explicit trigger: use this when you already have a known Act/SI and want the structural listing. It also routes follow-up work to legislation_get_section and points to read_resource for the full raw listing, covering both primary usage and alternatives.

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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Input Schema

Output Schema

Schema Changelog

TDQS

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