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How to Cite Government Website in APA Style 7th Edition

How To Cite Government Website in APA
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How to cite a government website? That is a question we hear all the time! You won't believe how many times we have answered it. So it is a perfect time to finally address it in our new guide.

To cite a government website in APA style, include the author, detailed publication date (including the month and day if available), title, website name, and URL. If there is no listed author or date, use the organization name and "n.d." for "no date." If the website name is identical to the organization name, list it only once.

Your in-text citation should include the author's last name or organization name and the publication date.

Reference entry format

Author's Last Name, Initials or Organization Name (Year, Month Day). Title of Web Page. Name of Website. URL

Reference entry example

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, March 3). COVID-19 Vaccines for Teachers, School Staff, and Child Care Workers. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/recommendations/essentialworker.html

In-text citation format

(Author's Last Name or Organization Name, Year)

In-text citation example

(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021)

A little spoiler alert: there is no unified format you can use in this case. You should rather identify the type of source you are working with (e.g. web page or official report) and cite it accordingly. This makes our case slightly tricky. But in this guide we will tell you everything you should know about citing a government website in APA style 7th edition. If you want to know the format for each instance — continue on this adventure with our APA writers!

How to Cite Government Website APA: One Author

How to cite the government website APA if there is an author given? This is our first question to address. But the answer to it is rather simple. Moreover, a major part of your required information can be retrieved from the publication. Not even a major part, but everything is right there. Besides, you don't have page numbers or anything like that. Thus, your format will be very simple. Here is how it should look:

Reference

Author last name, Initials. (Year, Month Day). Page title. Site Name. URL

In-text citation

(Author’s surname, year)

Example:

Online government website APA citation with one author example

Citing a Government Website APA: Government Agency as an Author

Our next question is as follows: How to cite a government website APA? The majority of such agencies publish current news from their department. Therefore, there is no single author to be found. The easier option here is to view an organization as your writer. Hence, we have a very similar format to what we have already discussed. And just like that time, we have no page number or true publisher. Just like so:

Reference

Organization Name. (Year, Month Day). Page title. Site Name. URL

In-text citation

(Organization’s name, year)

Example:

Online government website APA citation with agency as author example

How To Cite a Government Website APA With No Author

Now it is time to think about the APA citation government website if it has no author. We have already established that you can use the name of your organization. But it might happen that you have no organization or author in your document. So how can you complete your reference list? You can use your document’s title as an author:

Reference

Page title. (Year, Month Day). Site Name. URL

In-text citation

(Title, year)

Example:

Online government website APA citation without author example


P.S.
You can also shorten your title. 

Citing Government Website APA With One Author in Print

APA citations for government websites can also feature those that are found in print. Here we will obviously have a page number. Otherwise, the format will be quite similar to what we had before. If this document is a report, don't forget to include its number if present. Plus, you can cite one specific author or a group. General format is, just like always, here:

Reference

Author last name, Initials. (Year). Report title: Subtitle (Report No. Number). Publisher Name. URL

In-text citation

(Author’s surname, year, page number)

Example:

Printed government website APA citation with one author example

APA Citation for Government Website With a Government Agency as an Author in Print

We have two last steps through citing a government website APA. This style doesn't seem to end, does it? But still, you need to reference all information you find online or offline. In this case, you can use the name of your organization or committee instead of an author. 

Reference

Organization Name. (Year). Report title: Subtitle (Report No. Number). Publisher Name. URL

In-text citation

(Organization Name, year, page number)

Example:

Printed government website APA citation with agency as author exxample

APA Citation: Government Website, No Author, in Print

Hurray to us because it is our last point about the government website APA citation. What shall we do with no author? Well, our answer is rather simple because it does not differ much from our previous point. Here is information you should include:

Reference

Name of Government Department, Agency, or National Committee. (Year of Publication). Title of document: Subtitle if given (edition if given and is not their first edition). Publisher Name.

In-text citation

(Name of Government Department, Agency or Committee, Year)

Example:

Printed government website APA citation without author example


Keep in mind that we have guides for citing different sources. Even if you are looking for an APA dictionary citation, we have it. Go to our library. 

Final Thoughts on Citing a Government Website: APA

How to cite a government website APA? Wait, you know it already because we have covered it in our guide. So congratulations, as you now are prepared to cite practically anything there is.

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Article posted on:Nov 30, 2022
Article updated on:Apr 27, 2024

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