The Office of the Assistant Legal Adviser for Treaty Affairs is striving to provide an accessible and searchable link, or series of links, to the texts of U.S. treaties and international agreements. The office plans to make available on-line the Treaties and Other International Acts series (TIAS) starting in 1996, and we have begun to post some agreements on our webpage. In the interim, most texts of international agreements to which the United States is party can be found in one or more of the following sources:
U.S. Government publications and sources
The United Nations
Depositaries
Other sources
Available at any U.S. Federal Depository Library. Many municipal and academic libraries also shelve these materials. A reference librarian can assist you.
Many treaty-related U.S. Government publications may be purchased from the U.S. Government Printing Office (search on “treaties”).
Links to on-line U.S. Government sources are provided when available.
Treaties and Other International Acts Series (TIAS).
Since 1945, TIAS has been the official print publication format for treaties and agreements that have entered into force for U.S. Electronically starting from 1996. Titles can be verified here.
United States Treaties and Other International Agreements (UST).
1950-1982.
Executive Agreement Series (EAS).
1928-1945 as individual pamphlets containing agreements other than advice-and-consent treaties. Bound collections also exist.
Treaty Series (TS).
1795-1945 as individual pamphlets containing advice-and-consent treaties. Bound collections also exist.
U.S. Statutes at Large (Stat.)
Until 1948 as bound volumes containing advice-and-consent treaties.
Department of State Freedom of Information Act Electronic Reading Room.
1982 to April 2006. Includes some agreements awaiting publication in TIAS. This is a temporary collection. Documents posted here are subject to correction prior to official publication.
Case-Zablocki Act reporting.
On line from June 2006 onward. Agreements awaiting publication in TIAS. Documents posted here are subject to correction prior to official publication.
Senate Treaty Documents (formerly: Senate Executive documents)
In print since the 97th Congress; in print prior to the 97th Congress under the designation “Senate Executive” and other designations. On line from the 104th Congress to the present on the Library of Congress's THOMAS site and from the U.S. Government Printing Office.
Some State Department Bureaus and other U.S. Government departments and agencies may maintain texts or links to treaties and agreements of relevance to their mission.
For documents prepared, issued, or published by another department, agency, or branch of the U.S. Government, consult the originator. Some links can be found here.
Treaties and agreements concluded by member states of the United Nations are published in the United Nations Treaty Series (UNTS). Its predecessor, the League of Nations Treaty Series (LNTS), can be searched at the same location. Certified True Copies (CTC) of U.N. Conventions are available here.
Multilateral treaties and agreements (two or more parties) often designate one or more governments or international organizations to serve as “depositary” (custodian of the official text). There may be more than one depositary.
Many depositaries post on-line texts of the treaties and agreements for which they are responsible. Consult Treaties in Force (TIF), which since 2007 has indicated the depositary for multilateral treaties and agreements in force for the United States. The electronic version of TIF contains hyperlinks where available.
The United Nations is perhaps the best-known depositary. Certified True Copies of U.N. Conventions are available here.
Regional organizations often serve as the depositary for agreements among their members, for example:
the African Union;
the Council of Europe; and
the Organization of American States.
International organizations often serve as the depositary for agreements on a specific range of subjects, for example:
the Hague Convention on Private International Law (HCOPIL);
the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA);
the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO);
the International Committee of the Red Cross; (ICRC);
the International Labour Organization (ILO);
the International Maritime Organization (IMO);
the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD)
the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO);
the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO);
the World Customs Organization (WCO);
the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO); and
the World Trade Organization (WTO)
For additional sources, visit our links page.
There are many respected compilations of treaty texts in print. The list below is not exhaustive but represents some of the more commonly found. Your local reference librarian can direct you to these resources
There are many reasons why a text may not be available:
If you have exhausted the resources on this site, you may inquire with the Treaty Office for assistance in procuring a copy of a specific text, if one is available.
When contacting the Treaty Office, please supply as much of the following information as possible:
The Treaty Office cannot locate documents identified only by the names of officials who signed them, by reference to events with which they are associated, or from media reports.
Send your inquiry to treatyoffice@state.gov.
