APA 7th Edition - Reports & PDFs

How to Cite PDFs & Reports in APA

Learn how to cite government reports, white papers, technical documents, and PDF files in APA 7th edition format with our guide and examples.

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How to cite a pdf in APA

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APA Report Citation Format

Basic Report Format:

Author/Organization. (Year). Title of report (Report No. xxx). Publisher. URL

When Author = Publisher:

Organization. (Year). Title of report. URL

APA Report Citation Examples

Government Report

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024). Annual report on infectious diseases (CDC Publication No. 2024-01). https://www.cdc.gov/reports/annual2024

In-text: (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024)

Organizational Report (Same Author & Publisher)

World Health Organization. (2023). Global health statistics 2023. https://www.who.int/data/statistics

In-text: (World Health Organization, 2023)

Technical Report with Report Number

National Institute of Standards and Technology. (2024). Cybersecurity framework (NIST Special Publication 800-53). https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-53

In-text: (National Institute of Standards and Technology, 2024)

White Paper

McKinsey & Company. (2024). The future of work: Trends and implications. https://www.mckinsey.com/future-of-work

In-text: (McKinsey & Company, 2024)

Research Report with Individual Authors

Smith, J. D., & Johnson, M. R. (2024). Climate change impact assessment (Research Report No. 2024-15). Environmental Research Institute. https://www.eri.org/reports/2024-15

In-text: (Smith & Johnson, 2024)

Examples formatted in APA style

Types of Reports in APA

Government Reports Use agency as author. Include publication numbers if available:
Technical Reports Include report number and issuing organization: (Technical Report No. TR-2024-01)
White Papers Cite like reports. Use organization as author: Company Name. (Year). Title. URL
Annual Reports Include the year(s) covered in the title: Annual report 2023-2024

Use the generator for this source type

Report and PDF citations usually continue into the APA hub or a PDF-to-BibTeX workflow when you need to extract references from the document itself.

APA Citation Generator PDF to BibTeX

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I cite a PDF in APA format?

The format depends on what the PDF contains. Cite it as a report, article, or book chapter based on its content. Do not cite it as "PDF" - cite the document type. Include the URL where you found it.

How do I cite a government report in APA?

Use the agency as author, followed by year, title in italics, report number (if any), and URL. Example: National Institutes of Health. (2024). Annual report on research (NIH Publication No. 24-001). https://nih.gov/report

How do I cite a report with an institutional author?

Use the organization name as the author. If the publisher is the same as the author, omit the publisher. Example: World Bank. (2024). Global economic prospects. https://worldbank.org/report

Should I include the report number in the citation?

Yes, include report numbers when available. Place them in parentheses after the title, not italicized. Example: Title of report (Report No. 123). This helps readers locate the specific document.

How do I cite an unpublished or internal report?

Use [Unpublished report] after the title. Include the institution name. Example: Smith, J. (2024). Market analysis [Unpublished report]. Department of Marketing, University Name.