> PRODUCT UPDATE

GovLaws now supports MPP for pay-per-request legal data

GovLaws now supports the Machine Payments Protocol so agents can pay per request for current U.S. federal legal and regulatory data.

March 18, 20264 min read
launch://govlaws-mpp
$ curl "https://www.govlaws.ai/api/mpp/resolve?citation=12+CFR+1026.43"
< HTTP/2 402 Payment Required
< WWW-Authenticate: Payment method=tempo ...
$ agent pays and retries
< HTTP/2 200 OK
{ "citation": "12 CFR 1026.43", "provenance": { ... } }

Why this matters

GovLaws is built for machine callers first. That means the payment flow should match the way agents actually work: request a resource, receive a payment challenge, pay, and continue.

The old SaaS pattern forces agents through account creation, browser checkout, and API-key setup before first use. MPP removes that setup cost for the pay-per-request lane.

What is live today

GovLaws now supports three MPP endpoints for agent-native access to current U.S. federal regulation data.

`GET /api/mpp/resolve?citation=...` for current CFR text, provenance, freshness, and recent changes
`POST /api/mpp/search` for natural-language regulation search
`GET /api/mpp/changes` for recent Federal Register activity by agency or citation

Why MPP fits GovLaws

Legal and regulatory retrieval is a strong machine-payment use case. Agents often need a precise answer immediately, not a subscription workflow. Paying per request is a more natural contract for long-tail, bursty, or autonomous usage.

MPP also fits the trust model we care about. The value is not just text. The value is the current answer, the citation, the source URL, the freshness timestamp, and the provenance object delivered in one response.

The two access lanes

GovLaws now has two clear lanes. The API-key lane is still the right choice for recurring customers who want subscriptions, budgets, and persistent credentials.

The MPP lane is the right choice for agents that want to pay in the request and move on without account ceremony.

Try it

Agents can discover the service through the dedicated MPP page, `llms.txt`, and the live endpoints. Human operators can still use the API-key lane when they need account management and recurring usage controls.

curl "https://www.govlaws.ai/api/mpp/resolve?citation=12+CFR+1026.43"
curl -X POST https://www.govlaws.ai/api/mpp/search \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query":"mortgage underwriting","limit":3}'
curl "https://www.govlaws.ai/api/mpp/changes?agency=CFPB&days=30"