Bills that are first introduced in the Senate are prefixed with the letter "S". Bills originating in the House of Commons are prefixed with the letter "C".

When a bill is introduced in the House of Commons, it is assigned a number: government bills are numbered consecutively from C-1 to C-200, while private members' bills are numbered consecutively from C-201 to C-1000. Although private bills are rarely introduced in the House, they are numbered beginning at C-1001. All bills originating in the Senate are numbered consecutively beginning at S-1, regardless of bill type.

The published text of bills is available by selecting "Government Bills", "Other Bills" or "Private Members' Bills" under the Senate or House of Commons menu on the left navigation bar. To find a bill considered in the House of Commons, please use the Hansard Index; information on navigating the bills section is in the User's Guide.

For information about the legislative stages completed, as well as background, analysis and other general information on most bills, please consult LEGISinfo, prepared by the Library of Parliament.

The legislative process is explained in a fact sheet and also in the Précis of Procedure (last revised in November 2003).