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.
| APA format | Organization Name. (Year, Month Day). Page title. Site Name. URL |
|---|---|
| APA 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 |
| APA in-text citation | (Occupational Safety and Health Organization, 2021) |
Citing government websites with individual authors
When a government webpage does list an individual author or authors, list them in the author position, and always include the site name.
| APA format | Author last name, Initials. (Year, Month Day). Page title. Site Name. URL |
|---|---|
| APA 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 |
| APA 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.
| APA format | Author last name, Initials. (Year). Report title: Subtitle (Report No. Number). Publisher Name. URL |
|---|---|
| APA 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 |
| APA 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.
| APA format | Organization Name. (Year). Report title: Subtitle (Report No. Number). Publisher Name. URL |
|---|---|
| APA 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 |
| APA 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 APA 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.
Sources in this article
We strongly encourage students to use sources in their work. You can cite our article (APA Style) or take a deep dive into the articles below.
This Scribbr articleCaulfield, J. (June 16, 2022). Citing Government Documents in APA | Format & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved October 17, 2022, from https://www.scribbr.com/apa-examples/goverment-document/
