How to Cite a Government Report in APA 7th Edition
APA 7th edition format for citing government reports. Includes examples for CDC, WHO, EPA, NIH reports, and how to handle report numbers, authors, and agency names in APA.
Government reports—from agencies like the CDC, WHO, NIH, EPA, or Congressional Research Service—are commonly cited in research papers. APA 7th edition treats the authoring government agency as the author, not the individual researchers who wrote the report. Here's the correct format with examples.
APA Format for a Government Report
Government Agency. (Year). Title of report (Report No. XXX). Parent Organization. URL Example: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023). Vital statistics rapid release: Births, marriages, divorces, and deaths (Report No. 28). National Center for Health Statistics. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/vsrr/report0028.htm If no report number: Government Agency. (Year). Title of report. Parent Department. URL
APA Format for Reports with Individual Authors
When a government report names individual authors: Author Last, First Initial. (Year). Report title (Report No. XXX). Government Agency, Parent Department. URL Example: Smith, J. A., & Lee, B. C. (2023). Economic impacts of climate policy (CRS Report R47123). Congressional Research Service. https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R47123 Always list the government agency after individual authors when both are present.
In-Text Citations for Government Reports
For in-text citations: Use the agency name as author. For a long agency name, spell it out in full on first mention with an abbreviation in brackets, then use the abbreviation thereafter. First mention: (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2023) Subsequent mentions: (CDC, 2023) For reports with no identified author or agency, use the document title in italics, shortened if long: (Vital Statistics Rapid Release, 2023)
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