A statute is a written law officially passed by a government's legislative body, like Congress in the United States or Parliament in Britain. When lawmakers vote to create a new rule that everyone must follow, that rule becomes a statute.

Statutes are different from other kinds of rules. Your school's dress code is a rule, but it's not a statute because your principal made it, not the government. A statute has official legal power: breaking one can result in fines, court cases, or other serious consequences. For example, speed limits, requirements to attend school until a certain age, and rules about selling products safely are all statutes.

Once a statute is passed, it stays in effect until lawmakers vote to change or remove it. Some statutes are very old: England's Statute of Marlborough from 1267 is still partially in effect today.

You might also hear the phrase statute of limitations, which means the time limit for taking legal action about something. If the statute of limitations is three years, you can't sue someone for that particular issue after three years have passed. The time limit “runs out,” so to speak, though the statute creating that time limit remains in effect.