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Minnesota Statutes, Laws and Rules Search - Examples and Explanations

Keyword Search Options/Tips

All of the Words

Search for words within the same section. Example: open meeting pandemic - The results will contain all of these words.

Any of the Words

This search will find documents that contain at least one of the terms. Example: cold weather - The results will contain cold or weather or both.

Exact Phrase

Search for a phrase. No quotes needed. Example: property tax - The results will contain the phrase property tax.

Advanced Search

Search for phrases and keywords. Use quotes around phrases. Example: "open meeting" and body - The results will contain the phrase and the keyword.

When searching for an exact phrase containing the word and put brackets around the and. Example: "House {and} Senate" and taxes - The results will contain the phrase "House and Senate" and the keyword taxes.

Search for multiple phrases, using quotations around each. Example: "Fergus Falls" and "junior college" - The results will contain both phrases.

Other Tips

Use * to truncate words. For example, financ* would find finance, finances, financing.

Searching is not case sensitive.

Search for a Specific Statutory Citation

To search for references to a statute or subdivision within a statute, search as a phrase. Example: 144A.46 or 43A.17 subdivision 9.

Limit Your Search to Specific Chapters of Statutes or Laws

Enter your search terms in the Keywords box and the chapter number(s) in the Chapter Number box. Example: signs (in the Keyword box) and 169 (in the Chapter Number box) will retrieve documents from chapter 169 that contain the word signs.

Use the Index to Browse Current Statute or Session Law Topics

The Statutes Index and the Session Law Index are an arrangement of current Statutes and Session Laws as they apply to various topics.


Viewing keyword search results in Acrobat Reader

This section is relevant when: a) your Internet browser uses Adobe Acrobat Reader to display PDF documents and; b) you are searching documents that exist only as PDFs (e.g. State Registers) and; c) you are searching for a phrase.

Single Word

After searching for a single word, e.g. "fee", the result page contains links to PDF file(s). These links contain the search="fee" argument in the URL. When the link is clicked Acrobat Reader is started; the PDF document is displayed in Acrobat Reader; and every occurrence of the single word is highlighted.

Problem with a Phrase

A keyword search phrase is simply 2 or more words e.g. "repeal of rules".

After searching for a phrase, e.g. "repeal of rules", the result page contains links to PDF file(s). These links contain the search="repeal of rules" argument in the URL. When a phrase is used in the URL, Acrobat Reader does not highlight the phrase. Instead, Acrobat Reader highlights each individual word in the phrase.

A workaround can be used to highlight every occurrence of the phrase. In Acrobat Reader:

  1. In the left-side Search panel, click the New Search button.
  2. In the Search panel: Retype the phrase; select Match Exact word or phrase; check Whole words only; click the Search button.