Citing Government Documents in APA | Format & Examples
APA Style doesn’t provide a special format for citing government documents. Instead, you should determine what kind of source you’re dealing with—usually a report or a web page—and use the appropriate format.
To cite a government web page that doesn’t list an individual author, use the following format, listing the name of the government organization in the author position. If the name listed in the author position is the same as the website name (as in the example here), only list it once.
| Format | Organization Name. (Year, Month Day). Page title. Site Name. URL |
|---|---|
| Reference entry | Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (2021, January 29). Protecting workers: Guidance on mitigating and preventing the spread of COVID-19 in the workplace. https://www.osha.gov/coronavirus/safework |
| In-text citation | (Occupational Safety and Health Organization, 2021) |
Citing government websites with individual authors
When a government web page does list an individual author or authors, list them in the author position, and always include the site name.
| Format | Author last name, Initials. (Year, Month Day). Page title. Site Name. URL |
|---|---|
| Reference entry | Rutte, M. (2021, January 15). Statement by Prime Minister Mark Rutte on the government’s resignation. Government of the Netherlands. https://www.government.nl/documents/speeches/2021/01/15/statement-by-prime-minister-mark-rutte-on-the-government%E2%80%99s-resignation |
| In-text citation | (Rutte, 2021) |
Citing a government report in APA Style
If the document you are trying to cite is a report (usually labeled as such and often found in PDF form online), the format again differs slightly based on whether individual authors are listed.
Individual authors
To cite a report with one or more named authors, use the format below.
If there is no report number, leave that part out. The publisher should be identified clearly; list the specific organization and any department they are a part of if needed to identify them unambiguously.
| Format | Author last name, Initials. (Year). Report title: Subtitle (Report No. Number). Publisher Name. URL |
|---|---|
| Reference entry | Bedford, D. A. D. (2017). Enterprise information architecture: An overview (Report No. WA-RD 896.4). Washington State Department of Transportation. https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/896-4.pdf |
| In-text citation | (Bedford, 2017, p. 14) |
Group authors
When a report doesn’t list a specific author, list the organization in the author position.
Any parent agencies necessary to identify the organization clearly can be listed in the publisher position. Otherwise, just omit this part; don’t repeat the same name in the author and publisher positions.
| Format | Organization Name. (Year). Report title: Subtitle (Report No. Number). Publisher Name. URL |
|---|---|
| Reference entry | Department of the Interior Office of Inspector General. (2006). Minerals Management Service’s compliance review process (Report No. C-IN-MMS-0006-2006). United States Department of the Interior. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-DOI-IGREPORTS-2007-g-0001/pdf/GPO-DOI-IGREPORTS-2007-g-0001.pdf |
| In-text citation | (Department of the Interior Office of Inspector General, 2006, p. 17) |
Frequently asked questions about APA Style citations
- How do I cite a source with no page numbers in APA Style?
-
When you quote or paraphrase a specific passage from a source, you need to indicate the location of the passage in your in-text citation. If there are no page numbers (e.g. when citing a website) but the text is long, you can instead use section headings, paragraph numbers, or a combination of the two:
(Caulfield, 2019, Linking section, para. 1).
Section headings can be shortened if necessary. Kindle location numbers should not be used in ebook citations, as they are unreliable.
If you are referring to the source as a whole, it’s not necessary to include a page number or other marker.
2 comments
How to cite from a professional organizational
February 28, 2021 at 1:23 AMHere is how I am citing from Project Manager Institute:
Project Management Institute. (2017). A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK guide) (6th ed.). Newtown Square, PA: Project Management Institute.
With APA 7 is the correct?
Jack Caulfield (Scribbr Team)
March 1, 2021 at 2:42 PMThe form you have used is mostly correct but with a couple of inaccuracies:
First, you should use italics for the title. (It's possible you did this already and it just didn't show up in your comment.)
Second, in APA 7 it's no longer necessary to include the publisher location.
So your citation should look like this:
Project Management Institute. (2017). A guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK guide) (6th ed.). Project Management Institute.