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Pre-Filing Citation Verification Checklist

Pick your vertical and get a concrete checklist built directly on our published methodology -- the same three-layer checks and per-source coverage described there, nothing invented for this page. Printable and copyable as plain text. This is a process aid, not legal, tax, or medical advice.

Legal (case citations)

Vertical-specific checks

  • Case citations checked against CourtListener's database of published opinions, including a case-name cross-check (the name you cite must match the case actually at that reporter slot).
  • Flag statutes, regulations, and most trial-level state filings as outside this coverage map -- verify those manually against their own primary source.

General checks

  • Existence check (Layer 1): every citation exists in the authoritative source for its type -- not just that it reads as confident, well-formatted text.
  • Quote match (Layer 2): any language you put in quotation marks actually appears in the source, not just something close to it.
  • Proposition support (Layer 3, advisory): the citation actually supports the point it is attached to -- an LLM-assisted judgment call to double-check, not a substitute for your own read of the source.
  • Retraction / subsequent-history check: for any source type that can be retracted, overturned, or withdrawn, confirm current status rather than assuming a citation that once existed still stands.
  • Court or agency standing-order / AI-disclosure check: confirm whether the forum has a standing order or local rule on AI use or citation certification, and that this filing complies with it.
  • Final human review: a qualified person reviews the complete filing before submission. This checklist is a process aid, not legal, tax, or medical advice, and not a substitute for that review.

Want this checklist automated?

Citation Safe runs these legal checks automatically -- see /verify.

Also try

  • Tax Cite Safe — IRC sections, Treasury Regulations, and Tax Court citations
  • Med Cite Safe — Medical literature citations — PubMed, Crossref, ClinicalTrials.gov, with retraction flagging
  • FAR Check — FAR, DFARS, GAO bid-protest, and Federal Circuit/COFC citations

Need more than one? See the Argus Verification Suite (3-Pack $69/mo, All-Access $99/mo, Firm $299/mo).

This checklist reflects Citation Safe’s published methodology and is a process aid only -- it is not legal, tax, or medical advice, and does not replace a qualified human’s final review.