APA citations with no author, no date or a group author
Quick answer
In APA 7, cite a source with no author by the first words of its title; with no date, use "n.d."; and with a group author, use the organization's full name. Personal communications such as emails and interviews are cited in the text but not listed in the references.
How do special cases look?
| Case | In-text citation |
|---|---|
| No author | (Guide to Urban Gardening, 2022) |
| No date | (Rivera, n.d.) |
| Group author | (World Health Organization, 2021) |
| Abbreviated group | First: (World Health Organization [WHO], 2021). Then: (WHO, 2021) |
| Same author and year | (Rivera, 2022a) and (Rivera, 2022b) |
| Personal communication | (M. Rivera, personal communication, March 12, 2026) |
How do I handle group authors?
Write the full name with the abbreviation in brackets the first time. From the second mention, use the abbreviation. If the name is short, repeat it in full.
How do I tell two works by the same author and year apart?
Add a lowercase letter to the year, in the order the entries appear in the reference list (sorted by title): 2022a, 2022b. Repeat the letter in the citations.
What about videos and social media?
Apply the same principle: author, year and a locator when the source is time-based or long. For videos, use the timestamp: (Rivera, 2023, 3:15).
Checklist
- No author: shortened title in the text
- No date: n.d.
- Group author spelled out on first use
- Letters a, b, c for same author and year
- Personal communications in the text only
Frequently asked questions
How do you cite a source with no author in APA 7?
Use the first few words of the title, in italics or quotation marks depending on the work, plus the year: (Guide to Urban Gardening, 2022). In the reference list, the title moves to the author position.
What do I write if there is no date?
Write n.d., for no date, in place of the year: (Rivera, n.d.). In the reference list, put (n.d.) in parentheses where the year would normally go, and keep the rest of the entry the same as usual.
How do you cite an interview or email?
As a personal communication, in the text only: (M. Rivera, personal communication, March 12, 2026). It is not added to the references, because readers cannot retrieve that source to check what was said.