How to cite a YouTube video in APA, MLA and Chicago

To cite a YouTube video, you need four details from the video page: the title, the channel name (or the uploader's real name, if you know it), the upload date and the URL. In APA 7 they go in this order: Nature Lab. (2024, March 5). How bees build honeycomb [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abc123

MLA 9 and Chicago use the same details in a different order and with different punctuation. Below are the patterns for all three styles, worked examples, in-text citations, and what to do when the author's name, the date or other details are missing. If you only need the result, the YouTube citation generator writes all three from the details you enter.

What you need from the video page

Detail	Where to find it
Title	Under the video, in bold
Channel name	Under the title, next to the channel picture
Uploader's real name	Sometimes in the channel's About section or the video description; often not given
Upload date	In the description box, next to the view count. On a phone, tap the description to open it. If it says "2 years ago", open the description to see the full date.
URL	The address bar, or Share, then Copy link
Length	On the progress bar of the player (Chicago only, optional)

YouTube is the publisher in every style. You don't name Google, and you don't name the uploader as the publisher.

APA 7

Pattern: Author. (Year, Month Day). Title of video [Video]. YouTube. URL

Rules that trip people up:

• The author is whoever uploaded the video. If you only know the channel, the channel name is the author. If you know the uploader's real name and it differs from the channel, write the name as Last, F. M., then the channel in square brackets.
• The title is in italics and in sentence case. Capitalize the first word, proper nouns and the first word after a colon; everything else is lower case, even if the title on YouTube is in title case.
• [Video] goes right after the title, in square brackets, not italicized.
• YouTube is the publisher, followed by a period. Then the full URL, with no period after it.

Channel as the author:

Nature Lab. (2024, March 5). How bees build honeycomb [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abc123

Real name and channel:

Smith, J. [Nature Lab]. (2024, March 5). How bees build honeycomb [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abc123

APA in-text citations

• Parenthetical: (Nature Lab, 2024) or (Smith, 2024)
• Narrative: Nature Lab (2024) shows that...
• Quoting a moment in the video: add a timestamp where a page number would go, for example (Nature Lab, 2024, 3:15).

MLA 9

Pattern: Author. "Title of Video." YouTube, uploaded by Channel, Day Mon. Year, URL. Accessed Day Mon. Year.

Rules that trip people up:

• Only list an author when you know who made the video. If you know the creator's real name, start with it, last name first. If you don't, start with the title. Don't put the channel name in the author position just because it uploaded the video.
• "Uploaded by" names the channel. If the author and the channel are the same, leave "uploaded by" out.
• The title goes in quotation marks, in title case. YouTube is the container, in italics.
• Dates are day, month, year, and months longer than four letters are shortened: Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec. May, June and July stay whole.
• Leave https:// out of the URL.
• The access date is optional. Add it when the video might change or be taken down, and always when there is no upload date.

No known real name:

"How Bees Build Honeycomb." YouTube, uploaded by Nature Lab, 5 Mar. 2024, www.youtube.com/watch?v=abc123.

Real name known, with an access date:

Smith, Jane. "How Bees Build Honeycomb." YouTube, uploaded by Nature Lab, 5 Mar. 2024, www.youtube.com/watch?v=abc123. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

MLA in-text citations

• With an author: (Smith)
• Without an author, a short form of the title: ("How Bees Build")
• Pointing at a moment: add the time range in hours, minutes and seconds, for example ("How Bees Build" 00:03:15-00:03:40).

Chicago author-date

Pattern: Author. Year. "Title of Video." YouTube video, length. Month Day, Year. URL.

Rules that trip people up:

• The year comes right after the author, because the in-text citation is (Author Year).
• The author is the uploader's real name, last name first, or the channel name when you don't know it.
• The title goes in quotation marks, in title case. "YouTube video" is not italicized.
• The length is optional but common; take it from the player's progress bar.
• The full date comes after the length, written out: March 5, 2024.

Channel as the author:

Nature Lab. 2024. "How Bees Build Honeycomb." YouTube video, 12:34. March 5, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abc123.

Real name known:

Smith, Jane. 2024. "How Bees Build Honeycomb." YouTube video, 12:34. March 5, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abc123.

Chicago in-text citations

• (Nature Lab 2024) or (Smith 2024), with no comma between author and year.
• Pointing at a moment: (Nature Lab 2024, 3:15).

Chicago also has a notes-and-bibliography system, which uses footnotes and puts the same details in a different order. The pattern above is author-date, following the 17th edition. If your course or publisher uses notes and bibliography or the newer 18th edition, match their examples.

Special cases

The uploader's real name is unknown

This is the usual case. In APA and Chicago, use the channel name as the author. In MLA, start with the title and name the channel after "uploaded by". Don't guess a real name from the channel name.

The video is from an organization

Treat the organization's channel name as the author in APA and Chicago, written as it appears (City Science Museum, not Museum, C. S.). In MLA, start with the title and name the organization after "uploaded by". When you use the generator, put the organization in the channel field and leave the real-name field empty, because that field is for a person's name and is turned into Last, First.

There is no date

YouTube shows an upload date for almost every video, so check the description box first. If there really is none:

• APA: write (n.d.) in place of the date, and (Nature Lab, n.d.) in the text.
• MLA: leave the date out and add an access date at the end.
• Chicago: write n.d. in place of the year, and (Nature Lab n.d.) in the text.

Nature Lab. (n.d.). How bees build honeycomb [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abc123

"How Bees Build Honeycomb." YouTube, uploaded by Nature Lab, www.youtube.com/watch?v=abc123. Accessed 15 Oct. 2026.

A YouTube Short

Cite a Short like any other video. Use the Shorts link as the URL; APA still uses the [Video] label. For the upload date, open the Short's description from the menu.

Nature Lab. (2025, June 12). Why honey never spoils [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/xyz789

Citing a specific moment

The reference list entry stays the same; the timestamp goes in the in-text citation only. Use the time on the player where the part you quote or describe begins: (Nature Lab, 2024, 3:15) in APA, (Nature Lab 2024, 3:15) in Chicago, and a range such as ("How Bees Build" 00:03:15-00:03:40) in MLA. You don't need a link with a timestamp in the URL.

Putting it in the reference list

The full citations go in the reference list (APA), works cited (MLA) or reference list (Chicago author-date), sorted alphabetically by their first word: the author, or in MLA the title when there is no author. Use a hanging indent, where every line after the first is indented.

Make the citation in one step

Typing these by hand is where the small mistakes get in: the wrong month abbreviation, a missing period, https:// left in an MLA link. The YouTube citation generator takes the title, channel, date and link and writes the APA, MLA and Chicago versions with the italics in place, so you can paste them into your document. Check the title's capitalization before you copy: the generator keeps the title as you type it, so type it in sentence case for APA and title case for MLA and Chicago.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I cite a YouTube video in APA?

Author. (Year, Month Day). Title in sentence case [Video]. YouTube. URL. Use the channel name as the author unless you know the uploader's real name; then write Smith, J. [Channel Name]. In the text, cite (Channel Name, 2024).

How do I cite a YouTube video in MLA?

Author. "Title." YouTube, uploaded by Channel, 5 Mar. 2024, URL without https://. If you don't know who made the video, start with the title. The access date at the end is optional.

Who is the publisher of a YouTube video?

YouTube. In APA it follows the [Video] label, in MLA it is the container in italics, and in Chicago it appears as "YouTube video". Don't list Google or the uploader as the publisher.

Do I need to include the URL?

Yes, in all three styles. APA and Chicago use the full link; MLA leaves out https://. Copy it from the address bar or with Share, then Copy link.

How do I cite a YouTube video with no author name?

Use the channel name as the author in APA and Chicago. In MLA, start the citation with the title of the video and name the channel after "uploaded by".

Is there a free YouTube citation generator?

Yes. The YouTube citation generator writes APA 7, MLA 9 and Chicago author-date citations from the title, channel, date and link, ready to copy with the italics kept.