Free tool - no signup
Free Citation Legitimacy Checker
Paste up to 5 case citations. We check that each one actually exists in CourtListener’s database of published opinions and, if you include quoted language, whether that quote genuinely appears in the case. No account required, 3 checks/day, separate from your free account allowance of 3 documents/mo on the full product.
What you’ll see
Each citation comes back with a verdict, VERIFIED, UNCONFIRMED, NOT FOUND, or SOURCE UNAVAILABLE, plus a one-line explanation and, where we found it, a link to the underlying opinion.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Free Citation Legitimacy Checker really free?
Yes, no signup and no card required. It has a small daily limit (see above), separate from your free account allowance of 3 documents/mo on the full product.
How many citations can I check at once?
Up to 5 case citations per check.
What does the free tool actually verify?
Existence and quote accuracy only (Layers 1-2): that each citation actually exists in CourtListener's database of published opinions, and, if you include quoted language, whether that quote genuinely appears in the case.
What does the free tool not check?
Layer 3 (whether the citation actually supports your legal proposition), unlimited uploads, dashboard history, and shareable verification reports, those are part of the full paid product.
Is this legal advice?
No. Citation Safe is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Existence checks run against CourtListener's database of published opinions; unpublished opinions and non-case citations (statutes, regulations) are outside this tool's coverage.
Also try
- Citation Safe for Tax — IRC sections, Treasury Regulations, and Tax Court citations
- Citation Safe for Medical — Medical literature citations — PubMed, Crossref, ClinicalTrials.gov, with retraction flagging
- Citation Safe for Government Contracts — FAR, DFARS, GAO bid-protest, and Federal Circuit/COFC citations
Need more than one? See the Argus Verification Suite All-Access ($99/mo, all four verticals bundled).
Citation Safe is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Existence checks are performed against CourtListener’s database of published opinions; unpublished opinions and non-case citations (statutes, regulations) are outside this tool’s coverage. See accuracy & coverage for details.
What the free checker does — and what it doesn’t
Does check
- • Existence in CourtListener’s published-opinions database
- • Existence in federal PACER indices
- • Existence in U.S. state supreme & appellate reporter databases
- • Quote-match if you paste a quoted passage with the citation
- • Return in under 30 seconds per citation
Does not check
- • Statutes (USC, CFR, state codes) — use the full tool at /verify
- • Unpublished opinions (existence only, no full-text)
- • Secondary sources (treatises, law reviews)
- • Propositional support (Layer 3) — paid plans only
- • More than 5 citations at once
When to use this vs the full tool
The free checker is a fast sanity check for a handful of citations you’re unsure about — say, an AI-drafted memo where you want to spot-verify three names before spending real time on the brief. The full tool at /verify takes a full brief (PDF or .docx), extracts every citation automatically, runs both Layer 1 and Layer 2, and returns a per-citation report you can export as JSON or share via a permanent link.
| Free tool | Full verify tool | |
|---|---|---|
| Input | Paste 1–5 citations | Upload full brief (PDF/.docx) or paste |
| Signup | None | Email to track free-tier quota |
| Rate limit | 3 checks / browser / day | 3 documents / month free, unlimited on paid |
| Layers checked | Layer 1 (existence), Layer 2 if quote provided | Layer 1 + 2 always; Layer 3 on paid |
| Report export | Screen output only | JSON export + shareable link |
| Fabrication warranty | No | $10,000 on paid plans |
Frequently asked questions
- Does “NOT FOUND” mean the citation is fake?
- Not automatically. NOT FOUND means the citation was not found in the sources we check. Real reasons a real citation can be flagged NOT FOUND: it’s an unpublished opinion, the citation format has an unusual variant we don’t normalize yet, or the case is less than 72 hours old (indexing lag). If you get a NOT FOUND and believe the case exists, use the dispute button in the full tool at /verify — coverage-team resolves within one business day.
- Why only 5 citations at a time?
- The free tool is intended as a quick sanity check, not a brief-level workflow. If you have more than 5 citations to check, the full tool at /verify handles a whole brief in one upload (free tier: 3 briefs/month). Paid plans start at $12/mo.
- How is this different from Googling the citation?
- Two ways. First, the free tool checks against a structured database of published opinions, not open-web results — so a fabricated citation that some AI has already scraped and reposted elsewhere on the open web will not fool this checker (as it can fool a Google search). Second, the check is deterministic: same input, same result, every time. No LLM in the loop that might hallucinate a “yes, this exists.”
- Do you keep the citations I paste?
- We keep an anonymous count for rate-limiting (browser fingerprint, no PII) and an aggregate count of check volume for internal metrics. Individual citation text is not retained past the request. Full policy at /privacy.
- Is there a Chrome extension?
- Yes — the Citation Safe extension checks citations you highlight on any page (Westlaw, Lexis, PACER, LinkedIn, generative-AI chat interfaces). Install at /chrome-extension.
- Is there a Word add-in?
- Yes — verify every citation without leaving Word. Install at /word-addin. Requires a paid plan.
- What’s the false-verify rate?
- 0.000% on our published eval set. “False verify” means the tool returned VERIFIED for a citation that does not exist — the failure mode that puts an attorney at risk. Full methodology at /quality.
1,897 attorneys have been sanctioned. Don’t be the next.
The full verification tool takes any brief (PDF or Word) and returns a per-citation report. 3 free documents per month — no card required.