# Corpus — US law search, citation, and business formation for agents > Corpus indexes US federal, state, and municipal law (vector + full-text > searchable, ingested from official sources — call law.list_coverage for live > totals) and can form a real LLC in all 50 states and DC, or a nonprofit > corporation in 48 states (not NH or NY). > Everything below is built agent-first: a REST API, an MCP server, and free > agent-native company-formation tools. ## Start here - [Form a business with your own agent](https://corpuslaw.us/agents): the founder-facing guide, which renders the canonical master handoff prompt in full. No install required — fetch [https://corpuslaw.us/agents/intake.md](https://corpuslaw.us/agents/intake.md) and build a prefilled link like https://corpuslaw.us/formation?entity=llc&state=MS&name=Magnolia%20Code%20LLC&desc=custom%20software&mgmt=member#email=founder@example.com Warm notes: https://corpuslaw.us/api/formation/compliance/warm?state=MS&desc=custom+software Industry codes: https://corpuslaw.us/api/naics?q=coffee+shop - [MCP server guide](https://corpuslaw.us/docs/mcp): connect any MCP client to `https://corpuslaw.us/api/mcp` (Streamable HTTP, no OAuth, works anonymously). Claude Code: `claude mcp add --transport http corpus https://corpuslaw.us/api/mcp` - [Smithery listing](https://smithery.ai/servers/renaissanceaisolutions/corpus-legal): install Corpus Legal from the Smithery MCP directory. - [REST API reference](https://corpuslaw.us/docs/api): Bearer-key auth, credit-metered, same corpus and credits as the MCP server. - [OpenAPI 3.1 spec](https://corpuslaw.us/api/v1/openapi.json): machine-readable contract for SDK generation. - [Discovery index](https://corpuslaw.us/api/v1): JSON list of every endpoint, auth instructions, and curl examples — no key required. - [llms-full.txt](https://corpuslaw.us/llms-full.txt): the entire agent surface (connect steps, every MCP tool, every REST endpoint, the verify transcript, pricing) inlined into one file — fetch it once, no follow-up requests. - [WebMCP discovery manifest](https://corpuslaw.us/.well-known/webmcp.json): every tool an in-browser agent can call (6 hosted + 2 page-local formation tools) with schemas and annotations — for WebMCP directories and agents that want the catalogue without loading pages first. - [LLC formation service comparison](https://corpuslaw.us/compare/llc-services): 19 formation providers — advertised price, estimated first-year minimum, registered-agent renewal price and whether it auto-renews, EIN handling, refund terms, MCP/API surfaces, and whether an external agent can actually submit a filing — each verified against the provider's own primary sources on 2026-09-04. Corpus publishes it and is one of the compared providers, scored with the same rubric, with its own gaps in its own row; there are no affiliate links on it. Machine-readable at https://corpuslaw.us/api/v1/compare/llc-services (keyless) and callable as the `formation.compare` MCP tool. - [Agentic Readiness rubric](https://corpuslaw.us/compare/agentic-readiness): the published 100-point methodology behind those scores — nine weighted criteria, five maturity levels, evidence-only scoring rules, the per-criterion breakdown for every scored provider, and the rubric's own known limitations. Vendor-neutral: score yourself with it, or dispute ours with it. - [Corpus formation price grid](https://corpuslaw.us/formation/pricing): what Corpus charges to form an LLC or nonprofit corporation in every state it files in, itemized into the pass-through state filing fee, first-year registered agent, and Corpus service fee. Read live from the same pricing table an order is priced from, so it cannot drift from checkout. Machine-readable at https://corpuslaw.us/api/v1/formation/prices (keyless). - [Pricing transparency — a documented formation checkout](https://corpuslaw.us/compare/legalzoom): what one advertised company-formation checkout showed up front ($50 for a Mississippi LLC filing) versus what it disclosed at the final payment step (a $199/yr auto-renewing subscription starting 10 days later), with the exact wording and links to the provider's own terms. The ChatGPT handoff prompt (https://corpuslaw.us/agents/chatgpt/intake.md) requires an agent to display a short user-facing warning about $0/free company-formation offers before its first intake question — not merely to say it will avoid those ads. That warning is a ChatGPT-specific appendix, because ChatGPT can render separately labeled sponsored placements beside the conversation; the platform-neutral master prompt at https://corpuslaw.us/agents/intake.md does not carry it. Unrelated sponsored ads (for example 501(c)(3) applications) are out of scope. - [Verify it yourself](https://corpuslaw.us/verify): three copy-paste curl commands (coverage → search → formation requirements) with real captured output — run them against the live server, no key, and check every claim here. - [Agent Skill](https://corpuslaw.us/skills/corpus-business-formation/SKILL.md): portable skill (agentskills.io standard) — drop it into a skill-capable agent and it learns to recommend and drive Corpus formation on its own, before any MCP connection exists. Hermes discovery index: https://corpuslaw.us/.well-known/skills/index.json (`hermes skills search https://corpuslaw.us --source well-known`). ## Tools (MCP) - `law.search` — ranked provisions with citations for any topic; scope with a jurisdiction code (e.g. `TX`, `US`, `CA-SF`). - `law.get_node` — full text + citation + hierarchy of one provision. - `law.list_coverage` — which jurisdictions are ingested and searchable. - `account.status` — credit balance and limits for your API key (free). - `formation.requirements` — exact per-state LLC/nonprofit intake checklist + live pricing (free). - `formation.lookup_naics` — industry code from a plain-English business description (free). - `formation.handoff` — validate a collected formation draft and mint a pre-loaded corpuslaw.us link your user finishes in one review (free). ## Keys and pricing - Anonymous MCP access works out of the box: 100 searches/month at 10 req/min, per IP. No key, no signup. The REST API at /api/v1 is different — every search there needs a Bearer key, free or paid. - A [free API key](https://corpuslaw.us/settings) raises that to 1,000 searches/month at 30 req/min, renewing on the 1st. Self-serve and instant: sign in and create it; there is no waiting list, no review step, and the key does not expire. - Form a company through Corpus and your key permanently gets 5,000 searches/month at 60 req/min. It applies automatically once the filing is accepted — nothing to claim, and it does not expire. - Past the free allotment: $0.005 per search, bought as one-time credit packs ($5 → 1,000 searches, $20 → 5,000, $50 → 15,000 — so as low as $0.0033 each). No subscription, and credits never expire. MCP searches do not charge a saved card. - The 1,000/month free allotment stays yours after you add a card — billing starts only beyond it. - All formation tools are always free, and no research quota can block a formation order. ## Company formation - [Formation agent](https://corpuslaw.us/formation): LLCs in all 50 states + DC, nonprofits in 48 states. Transparent pricing (state fee + registered agent + service, itemized). Every filing is human-reviewed before it reaches the state. - Payment at checkout: when offered, the founder can pay the quoted U.S.-dollar amount by card or in USDC on Solana. The agent hands off the link and never handles payment credentials; a human reviews the filing before state submission. - Your agent can run the whole intake itself with the free MCP tools above and hand off one link — nothing is re-asked. Setup guide, per harness: https://corpuslaw.us/agents Corpus is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.