- APA format 7th edition (the most recent) requests that PDF citations follow the same rules as their source but include a URL at the end.
- You may cite a PDF in APA format when physical, printed materials are inaccessible and the source is only available online as a PDF or when using PDFs of articles, books, reports, or other media.
- Citing an online-only PDF is similar to citing a website.
- If a PDF has no author or is missing other information, omit that information.
Knowing how to cite a PDF in APA format is an important skill for academic and professional writing, but it can be confusing. Do you treat a PDF as an electronic source or a hard copy? What are the rules for how to cite a PDF with no author in APA format?
Here, we’ll provide the answers to these questions and more, illustrated with helpful examples.
Table of contents
When to reference a PDF in APA format
How to cite an online PDF of an in-print publication in APA format
How to cite an online-only PDF in APA format
How to cite a PDF with no author in APA format
Examples of APA format for PDFs
How to cite a PDF in APA format FAQs
What is APA format?
APA format, named for the American Psychological Association, is the format for academic works written in APA style. APA is a style guide frequently used in the fields of psychology, education, and social sciences. It’s among the many style guides used in academic writing, ranking alongside MLA and Chicago style as one of the most popular in the United States.
One of the main differences between these three style guides is the fields that use them most often. MLA is generally used in literature, philosophy, and the arts, while Chicago style is most often used in history, humanities, and social and natural sciences.
A key part of any style guide is the format for citing different sources. In general, to cite a PDF in APA format, apply the same formula as you would to cite a website in APA format:
Last name of author, First name initials. (Year of publication). Title of document. Website name or publisher. URL.
In APA reference citations, titles use sentence case except for periodicals (newspapers, magazines, scholarly journals, etc.), so capitalize only the first word of a title, the first word after a colon, or proper nouns. In-text, however, use the standard title case.
If you’re familiar with how to write a research paper, you know that you’ll also need in-text citations. In APA format, PDF in-text citations should follow this formula:
(Last name of author, Year of publication)
These formulas work for PDFs as primary and secondary sources. However, specific source types may require additional information, such as volume or issue numbers for scientific journals.
As mentioned earlier, citing a PDF in APA format requires a URL. If you can’t find a URL, try citing the source as its original version, such as a physical book or journal article. If you need extra time to track down the original, you may want to ask your professor for an extension.
If the PDF is not public or even published, such as lecture notes or course documents, it won’t have a URL. Instead, cite the PDF document as you would a personal communication.
Key components of APA citations
Every APA citation includes the following information:
- Author(s)
- Publication date
- Title of the work
- Source (e.g., URL or DOI for online materials)
When to reference a PDF in APA format
If you used a PDF as a source in your academic writing, you must reference it. Failure to do so can be considered plagiarism.
Here are a few circumstances in which you might cite a PDF in APA format:
- When printed materials are inaccessible and the source is only available as a PDF
- When citing a PDF of a journal article, book, report, or dissertation
- Standalone PDFs like white papers and corporate publications
In APA format 7th edition, the most recent edition, PDF citations follow the same rules as their sources, but with the addition of a URL at the end. In other words, if you’re citing a PDF of a book, follow the rules for citing a book in APA format plus the PDF’s URL.
As a general rule, citing a PDF in APA format is the same as citing a website.
Why is proper PDF citation important?
As we mentioned above, accurate citations are important in academic and professional writing because not citing sources properly may be considered plagiarism. But there’s more to it than that. Accurate citations give authors credit for their work. They also make it easy for anybody reading your work to seek out the sources you used. This is why the URL is such a critical part of a PDF citation—without it, your reader can’t access the source you used.
Sticking to a style guide ensures that your citations are consistent throughout your work, which makes it easy for readers to recognize your sources and know the type of media they are at a glance.
Evaluating the credibility of PDF sources
If you’re considering referencing a PDF source in your academic or professional work, be sure to verify that its author or organization is reputable. You can do this by searching for the author and/or organization. Generally, if your results yield websites that end in .org, .gov, or .edu, it’s a reputable source.
Sometimes, a source isn’t great because it’s simply outdated. Before you use a source, determine when it was written and cross-reference its facts to determine if updated information is available. If you’re unsure about a source or need an extension to ensure you have enough time to research your paper’s topic, ask your instructor for guidance.
How to cite an online PDF of an in-print publication in APA format
When citing online PDFs, use the same formula as the PDF’s source, with the addition of the URL. For example, if you wanted to cite an online PDF of Elliot Aronson’s book The Social Animal, you would use the same formula as a hard copy, with the URL added at the end.
Aronson, E. (1999). The social animal (8th ed.). Worth Publishers, Inc. https://example.com/PDF
In APA format, PDF in-text citations should look like this:
(Aronson, 1999)
Citing a book in PDF form with APA
When a book you want to reference is only available as a PDF, use the following format:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of book (Edition, if applicable). Publisher. URL
Example:
Smith, J. (2020). Introduction to psychology (3rd ed.). Pearson. https://example.com/PDF
Citing a journal article in PDF form with APA
You may find a PDF of an online-only journal or a PDF version of a printed article. When citing this type of PDF, use the following format:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume(issue), page range. URL
Example:
Doe, J. (2018). Effects of sleep on cognition. Sleep Research Quarterly, 24(2), 123–135. https://example.com/PDF
Citing a dissertation or thesis in PDF form with APA
If you reference a dissertation or thesis that’s only available as a PDF, format your citation as follows:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of dissertation [Doctoral dissertation, University Name]. Repository Name. URL
Example:
Johnson, R. (2015). Leadership strategies in education [Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University]. ProQuest. https://example.com/PDF
Citing a report in PDF format with APA
Often, reports are only available online as PDFs. When this is the case, cite a report using the following APA format:
Example:
World Health Organization. (2021). Global health statistics 2021. WHO. https://example.com/PDF
Citing a white paper in PDF form in APA
White papers follow the same APA formatting as reports. Take a look at the example below:
Example:
United Nations. (2020). Sustainable development goals: A global perspective. UNDP. https://example.com/PDF
Citing a brochure in PDF format with APA
Brochures are often primarily or even only available in PDF form. In APA format, brochure PDFs are cited as follows:
Authoring Organization. (Year). Title of brochure [Brochure]. URL
Example:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). Flu prevention tips [Brochure]. https://example.com/PDF
Citing a newspaper or magazine article in PDF form with APA
Newspaper and magazine archives often include articles as PDFs. When referencing this type of PDF, use the following format:
Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of article. Title of Newspaper/Magazine. URL
Example:
Brown, T. (2021, March 15). The rise of renewable energy. Time magazine. https://example.com/PDF
How to cite an online-only PDF in APA format
To cite a PDF in APA format for online-only sources, follow the same formula as you would for other online-only website sources. Follow this format:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of document. Website Name. URL
Example:
Diab-Bahman, R. (2022). Psychological diversity in the workplace: Personality types and gender differences within ethnicities. The Open Psychology Journal, 15. https://openpsychologyjournal.com/contents/volumes/V15.pdf
Note that the “15” after the journal name refers to the volume number, in accordance with APA’s guidelines for citing journal articles.
Example:
Green, P. (2023). Climate change in 2023. Environmental Studies Journal. https://example.com/PDF
PDF in-text citations in APA style follow the same guidelines regardless of whether the source is online-only or not.
Example:
(Diab-Bahman, 2022)
Author and organization information is key for online-only PDFs because sometimes individual PDFs are difficult to track down. When a reader searches online for a PDF you cited, this information can help them find it.
Considerations for missing elements in online-only PDFs
When you don’t have all the information you need for a citation, include all the information you do have, and where relevant, note that the information is missing. For example, if you’re missing page numbers, just omit them. If you’re missing a publication date, include “n.d.” (an abbreviation for no date, in place of the year).
How to cite a PDF with no author in APA format
If you reference a PDF that has no author, use the following format:
Title of document. (Year of publication). Website name or publisher. URL
Example:
Introduction to psychology. (2015). University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing. https://open.lib.umn.edu/intropsyc/open/download?type=pdf
Use the following format for in-text citations for authorless PDFs:
(Introduction to Psychology, 2015)
If the PDF explicitly lists the author as “Anonymous,” use Anonymous in place of the author’s name:
Anonymous. (Year). Title of document. Website name or publisher. URL
Example:
Anonymous. (2020). The impact of social media on mental health. World Health Organization. https://example.com/socialmedia.pdf
Examples of APA format for PDFs
Here are a few more examples of how to reference a PDF in APA format:
One author
Brown, L. (2022). The art of citation. Citation Press. https://example.com/PDF
Multiple authors
Smith, J., & Taylor, P. (2021). Research essentials. Academic Press. https://example.com/PDF
Corporate authors
World Health Organization. (2020). Global health report. WHO Press. https://example.com/PDF
No author or date
How to write in APA style. (n.d.). Writing Center. https://example.com/PDF
Citing your sources correctly is crucial in academic and professional writing. When you cite a PDF or any other source, pay close attention to the source type. Formatting for a book can be pretty different from formatting for a journal article, video, report, or website.
How to cite a PDF in APA format FAQs
What is the APA citation format for PDFs?
The APA citation format for PDFs is the same as those for non-PDF versions of their texts. Here are a few examples:
Book:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of book (Edition, if applicable). Publisher. URL
Journal article:
Author, A. A. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume(issue), page range. URL
For a PDF that does not have a print counterpart, format the citation like this:
Last name of author, First name initials. (Year of publication). Title of document. Website name or publisher. URL
How do you handle missing information when citing a PDF in APA?
When citing a PDF that’s missing key information, like its author, date, or publisher, you may omit that information. Substitute the organization that published it for a missing author and the abbreviation n.d., or “no date,” for a missing date. For a PDF without its publisher’s name, simply omit this information.
Are PDFs always cited differently than print sources in APA?
PDFs of print materials always follow the same citation format as their print counterparts but with the addition of their URL.
Can you cite a PDF without a URL in APA format?
Yes, if the PDF is an offline document or from a restricted source, cite it like a book or report, omitting the URL. If it’s from a database or company intranet, include the database or website name instead.
