GovInfo MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides LLM-friendly access to the official GovInfo API v4. This server enables searching and retrieving U.S. government documents, including bills, laws, regulations, and other official publications, for precise legal research and citation verification.

🎯 Purpose

The GovInfo MCP Server provides comprehensive access to federal regulations, statutes, and government documents through the GovInfo API. It is designed for LLMs and legal research tools to programmatically access up-to-date U.S. government information.

📦 Key Features

• Access to bills, statutes, regulations (CFR), and more
• Real-time updates from the official GovInfo API
• Retrieve full document text and metadata in HTML, XML, PDF, or plain text
• Search by keyword, collection, date, and more
• Explore related documents and cross-references

🛠️ Available MCP Tools

Tool Name	Description	Example Call
get_collections	List all available GovInfo collections	get_collections(page_size=10)
get_collection_details	Get details for a specific collection	get_collection_details(collection_code="CFR")
search_packages	Search packages by query and filters	search_packages(query="discovery procedures", collection="CFR", page_size=5)
advanced_search	Advanced search with Lucene syntax and filters	advanced_search(query="title:discovery AND collection:CFR", sort_by="relevance")
get_packages_by_collection	List packages from a collection	get_packages_by_collection(collection="BILLS", congress=118, page_size=5)
get_package_summary	Get metadata for a specific package	get_package_summary(package_id="CFR-2023-title5-vol3")
get_package_content	Download package content in various formats	get_package_content(package_id="CFR-2023-title5-vol3", content_type="html")
get_published_packages	Get packages published on a specific date	get_published_packages(date_issued="2024-01-15", collection="CFR")
get_published_range	Get packages published within a date range	get_published_range(start_date="2024-01-01", end_date="2024-01-31", collection="PLAW")
get_related_packages	Find packages related to a specific package	get_related_packages(package_id="BILLS-118hr1234-ih")
get_granule_related	Find items related to a specific granule	get_granule_related(package_id="CFR-2023-title5-vol3", granule_id="CFR-2023-title5-vol3-sec1201-72")
search_statutes	Search US statutes across statute collections	search_statutes(query="civil rights", collection="USCODE", page_size=5)
get_public_laws_by_congress	List public laws from a specific Congress	get_public_laws_by_congress(congress=117, page_size=5)
get_statutes_at_large	Search Statutes at Large by volume	get_statutes_at_large(volume="137", page_size=5)
get_uscode_title	Search US Code sections within a title	get_uscode_title(title_number="42", page_size=5)
list_statute_collections	List all statute-related collections	list_statute_collections()

See app/README.md for full tool parameter documentation.

🚀 Setup

Prerequisites

• Python 3.12+
• uv for dependency management (Poetry is NOT used)
• Internet connection for GovInfo API access
• GovInfo API key (set GOVINFO_API_KEY in your environment)
• Ubuntu/Linux recommended (all commands below are for bash)

Installation

1. Clone the repository and navigate to the GovInfo project directory:

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd GovInfo
   

2. Install dependencies using uv:

   uv pip install -r requirements.txt
   # or, if using pyproject.toml:
   uv pip install -r <(uv pip compile pyproject.toml)
   

3. Set your GovInfo API key:

   export GOVINFO_API_KEY=your_api_key_here
   

4. (Optional) Copy .env.example to .env and edit as needed.

Running the Server

Start the MCP server:

uv run python -m app.server

Or use the VS Code task "Run MCP Server".

Running Tests

See tests/README.md for details. Typical usage:

uv run pytest

API Usage

See app/README.md for detailed tool documentation and usage examples.

🔗 Links

• GovInfo API Documentation
• FastMCP Framework
• Project Source
• Source Documentation
• Test Suite

📝 Notes

• All code examples are tested and working.
• File paths use relative references from the project root.
• All commands use uv run where needed.
• For Ubuntu/Linux. For Windows, adapt commands as needed.