How to cite a report in APA 7

References and in-text citations for reports

This guide explains how to create the APA reference and in-text citations for government, institutional, technical, and research reports. It also covers annual reports, codes of ethics, policy briefs, and press releases.

The author may be an organization or the individuals named on the document. Use the information on the report itself rather than the organization that happens to host a copy.

Basic structure

Author or Organization. (Year). Title of report (Report number). Publisher or Parent Agency. URL

Italicize the title. If the report has a number, add it in parentheses after the title. When the author and publisher are the same organization, omit the publisher to avoid repetition.

Organization report example

The details and address are illustrative.

Reference

Center for Higher Education Studies. (2024). Student participation in online learning (Report No. 12). https://example.com/reports/participation

Parenthetical citationThe source is identified in parentheses, normally with the author and year: (Perez, 2024).

(Center for Higher Education Studies, 2024)

Narrative citationThe author is part of the sentence and the year appears in parentheses: Perez (2024).

Center for Higher Education Studies (2024)

Common variations

• When individuals sign a report, place them in the author position and include the organization in the source.
• When a government office is the author and a parent agency publishes the report, the parent agency may appear as publisher.
• A bracketed description can identify an uncommon item such as [Press release] or [Policy brief].
• An unrecoverable grant application may be described in the paper but does not appear as an ordinary reference.

More report and gray literature examples

All details and addresses in these examples are illustrative.

Government report

Reference

Ministry of Education. (2024). Higher education persistence indicators. https://example.com/government/persistence

Parenthetical citation:The source is identified in parentheses, normally with the author and year: (Perez, 2024). (Ministry of Education, 2024)

Narrative citation:The author is part of the sentence and the year appears in parentheses: Perez (2024). Ministry of Education (2024)

Task force report

Reference

University Reading Task Force. (2023). Recommendations for strengthening text comprehension. National Academic Council.

Parenthetical citation:The source is identified in parentheses, normally with the author and year: (Perez, 2024). (University Reading Task Force, 2023)

Narrative citation:The author is part of the sentence and the year appears in parentheses: Perez (2024). University Reading Task Force (2023)

Annual report

Reference

Learning Foundation. (2024). 2023 annual report. https://example.com/foundation/annual-report

Parenthetical citation:The source is identified in parentheses, normally with the author and year: (Perez, 2024). (Learning Foundation, 2024)

Narrative citation:The author is part of the sentence and the year appears in parentheses: Perez (2024). Learning Foundation (2024)

Code of ethics

Reference

Association for Educational Guidance. (2022). Code of professional ethics. https://example.com/association/code-ethics

Parenthetical citation:The source is identified in parentheses, normally with the author and year: (Perez, 2024). (Association for Educational Guidance, 2022)

Narrative citation:The author is part of the sentence and the year appears in parentheses: Perez (2024). Association for Educational Guidance (2022)

Grant

Reference

Herrera, C. M. (Principal Investigator). (2022–2025). Critical reading in digital environments (Grant No. 4182) [Grant]. National Fund for Educational Research.

Parenthetical citation:The source is identified in parentheses, normally with the author and year: (Perez, 2024). (Herrera, 2022–2025)

Narrative citation:The author is part of the sentence and the year appears in parentheses: Perez (2024). Herrera (2022–2025)

Issue brief

Reference

Center for University Policy. (2024). Access to digital resources in regional institutions (Issue Brief No. 8).

Parenthetical citation:The source is identified in parentheses, normally with the author and year: (Perez, 2024). (Center for University Policy, 2024)

Narrative citation:The author is part of the sentence and the year appears in parentheses: Perez (2024). Center for University Policy (2024)

Policy brief

Reference

Suarez, M. P. (2023). Options for reducing early student departure [Policy brief]. Institute for Open Education. https://example.com/policy/student-departure

Parenthetical citation:The source is identified in parentheses, normally with the author and year: (Perez, 2024). (Suarez, 2023)

Narrative citation:The author is part of the sentence and the year appears in parentheses: Perez (2024). Suarez (2023)

Press release

Reference

Central University. (2024, July 2). University opens a new writing center [Press release]. https://example.com/press/writing-center

Parenthetical citation:The source is identified in parentheses, normally with the author and year: (Perez, 2024). (Central University, 2024)

Narrative citation:The author is part of the sentence and the year appears in parentheses: Perez (2024). Central University (2024)

How to check the reference

• You identified who takes authorship of the report.
• You italicized the report title.
• You retained the report number when one exists.
• You did not repeat the same organization as author and publisher.
• The URL leads to the report rather than a general homepage.
• The citation uses the organization name or author surnames.

Explore all APA reference types.