APA Appendix: Format, Labels, and Numbering (APA 7)

An APA appendix holds material that supports your paper but would interrupt it: a survey instrument, a long table, a protocol, a block of raw output. In APA 7th edition format, each appendix starts on its own page after the main text, carries a label (Appendix, or Appendix A, B, C when there are several) and a title, and is mentioned in the body by its label. This guide covers the label, the numbering of tables and figures inside an appendix, and the checks that keep the lettering consistent. It follows APA 7th edition as set out in two university library guides (sources below).

Purpose of an appendix

An appendix is for supplementary material. According to the Quinnipiac University library guide, an appendix may contain text, tables, figures, or a combination of them. For where an appendix sits among the other parts of a paper, see Parts of a Research Paper, and for dissertation-length work see Thesis and Dissertation Structure.

Structure of an APA appendix (APA 7)

Both library guides agree on the core rules. Follow them in this order:

1. Start a new page for each appendix. USC Libraries places appendices after the references and footnotes; Quinnipiac says each appendix begins on a separate page after all other materials, including tables and figures.
2. Label it. With one appendix, the label is simply “Appendix”. With more than one, use capital letters: Appendix A, Appendix B, and so on.
3. Give it a title. Each appendix has a label and a title. Quinnipiac states that the label and title appear on separate lines at the top of the first page, bold and centered, both in title case. USC does not address this formatting, so treat it as one library’s reading and follow your instructor or publisher if they specify something different.
4. Letter the appendices in order of first mention. Both guides say the appendices appear in the order they are first mentioned in the body of the paper.
5. Mention every appendix in the text by its label, at least once, for example “see Appendix C” (Quinnipiac).
6. Write the content. Text goes in regular indented paragraphs (USC). Tables, figures, footnotes and display equations inside the appendix take numbers that begin with the appendix letter (see the next section).

Numbering tables and figures inside an appendix

Quinnipiac and USC both say that a table or figure in an appendix is numbered with the appendix letter followed by a number. Quinnipiac’s example is Table A3; USC’s is Figure A2, the second figure in Appendix A. USC extends the same rule to footnotes and display equations. If you have only one appendix, Quinnipiac says to use the letter A, so the first table in a lone appendix is Table A1.

The single-table or single-figure exception

When an appendix consists of one table or one figure and nothing else, the appendix label and title do the work of the table or figure label. In USC’s wording, the appendix label takes the place of the table or figure number, and the appendix title takes the place of the table or figure title. Quinnipiac gives the pattern with the word “Table” or “Figure” dropped, using the example Appendix B: Births in Connecticut, 2021-2024. Quinnipiac points to pages 41 and 42 of the APA manual for fuller detail.

APA appendix format: variants of the same question

Appendix APA and appendix APA format

These searches ask the same thing as above: how to set up the page. The short version is a new page, a label (A, B, C, or none if there is only one), a title, content that follows the lettering rules, and a mention in the body.

Appendix APA format versus APA appendix format

The wording differs but the rules do not. There is one set of APA 7 appendix rules; the checklist below covers all of them.

A short annotated example

Illustrative layout, not a real paper. Suppose a paper refers to a questionnaire first and a data table second. Following the order-of-first-mention rule:

1. In the body: “The full questionnaire is reproduced in Appendix A.” Later: “Item-level results appear in Appendix B.” (Each appendix is mentioned by label, and A is mentioned before B.)
2. After the reference list, on a new page, the first appendix has its label on one line and its title on the next, both in bold, centered title case: Appendix A / Study Questionnaire. The questionnaire follows as regular indented paragraphs.
3. On a new page: Appendix B / Item-Level Results. If this appendix holds several tables, they are numbered Table B1, Table B2, and so on.
4. If Appendix B held only one table, the label and title would stand in for the table label and title, and the word “Table” would not be added, following the pattern in Quinnipiac’s Appendix B: Births in Connecticut, 2021-2024 example.

Common mistakes

• Lettering by importance instead of first mention. Both guides tie the letters to the order the appendices are first mentioned in the text. If you reorder body sections, re-letter the appendices and every table and figure number inside them (Table A1 becomes Table B1 if its appendix becomes B).
• Calling the only appendix “Appendix A”. With a single appendix the label is simply “Appendix”; the letter A is used only for numbering its tables and figures (Table A1).
• Numbering appendix tables as continuations of the body tables. Table 4 in an appendix should be Table A1 (or B1, and so on).
• Adding an appendix nobody refers to. Each appendix needs at least one in-text mention by label.
• Putting two appendices on one page. Each begins on its own page.
• Writing “Table” in front of a lone-table appendix label. The appendix label and title replace the table label and title in that case.

Appendix checklist

• Every appendix starts on a new page after the main text and references.
• One appendix is labelled “Appendix”; several are labelled Appendix A, Appendix B and so on.
• Every appendix has a title in title case on the line below its label.
• Letters follow the order of first mention in the body.
• Each appendix is mentioned in the text by label (for example “see Appendix C”).
• Tables, figures, footnotes and equations inside an appendix carry the appendix letter (Table A1, Figure A2).
• A lone-table or lone-figure appendix uses its label and title in place of the table or figure label and title.
• Your instructor’s or publisher’s instructions have been checked for anything they set differently, such as heading alignment.

Related guidance

If you place the full text of an AI tool’s response in an appendix, the APA pattern for citing it is covered in How to Cite ChatGPT and AI Tools in APA, MLA and Chicago. For the rest of the paper setup, see How to Write a Research Paper in APA Style and APA Format Tables.

FAQ

Where does the appendix go in an APA paper?

After the main text. USC Libraries places each appendix on a new page following the references and footnotes; Quinnipiac says after all other materials, including tables and figures.

What do you call a single appendix?

Just “Appendix”, with no letter. Letters (A, B, C) are used when there is more than one.

How do you number a table in an APA appendix?

Use the appendix letter plus a number: Table A1, Table A2 in Appendix A; Table B1 in Appendix B. With a single appendix, use the letter A.

In what order do the appendices go?

The order they are first mentioned in the body of the paper.

Does an appendix need a title?

Yes. Both the label and a title are used; Quinnipiac sets them on separate lines, bold and centered, in title case.

Sources

• Quinnipiac University, Arnold Bernhard Library. “APA 7th Edition: Paper Format” (Appendices section). https://libraryguides.quinnipiac.edu/APA7th/paper_format. Checked 2026-10-29. It refers to pages 41-42 of the APA manual.
• University of Southern California Libraries. “APA 7th Edition: Formatting” (Appendices section). https://libguides.usc.edu/APA7th/formatting. Checked 2026-10-29. Adapted from American Psychological Association (2020), Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.), https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000.