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To cite a YouTube video in APA format, list the channel (or the person who made the video) as the author, then the upload date, the video title, the label [Video], the site name YouTube, and the URL. This page gives the template, worked examples, the in-text version and the mistakes that most often break a reference list in a manuscript or thesis. It follows APA Style, 7th edition (2020).
The format: how to cite a YouTube video in APA
The official APA Style handout of common reference examples gives YouTube videos their own entry (Section 10.12 of the Publication Manual). The pattern reads:
Channel or Author. (Year, Month Day). Title of video [Video]. YouTube. URL
- Channel or Author – the name of the channel or creator that appears as the source of the video, followed by a period.
- (Year, Month Day) – the date the video was posted, in parentheses, with a period after the closing parenthesis.
- Title of video – set in italics and written in sentence case: capitalise only the first word, the first word of a subtitle after a colon, and proper nouns, as APA’s reference guide specifies for titles.
- [Video] – a bracketed description of the format, placed straight after the title.
- YouTube – the platform name, followed by a period.
- URL – the address of the video. APA’s reference guide states that no period follows a DOI or URL; it says so for articles, books and chapters, and the same convention is the consistent choice for video entries.
The same template covers every phrasing people search for, such as how to cite a YouTube video in APA style, how to cite a video on YouTube in APA, or how to cite APA style YouTube video: there is one pattern, and only the channel, date, title and URL change.
Examples
The first example is the one printed in APA’s own handout. The others are fictional and labelled as examples: the channels, titles and video IDs do not exist.
Example 1 (from the APA handout)
Above The Noise. (2017, October 18). Can procrastination be a good thing? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQMwmBNNOnQ
Example 2 (fictional example)
Example Channel. (2024, October 18). How examples work [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXXXXXXXXXX
Example 3 (fictional example, a lecture series)
Sample University Lectures. (2025, March 4). Writing a literature review: A first look [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYYYYYYYYYY
Notice what repeats in every entry: the date carries the month and day, the format label is [Video], and the platform is named as YouTube before the URL.
In-text citation version
APA is an author-date style, so each reference-list entry is matched by a short citation in the sentence. The In-Text Citation Checklist (7th edition) gives two forms, both built on the same two elements, the author and the year:
- Parenthetical: a comma separates author and year, for example (Above The Noise, 2017).
- Narrative: the year follows the author in parentheses, for example Above The Noise (2017) asked whether procrastination can be a good thing.
When you quote the spoken words of a video directly, the checklist asks for the author, year and a page number “or alternative” to locate the passage. Quotations under 40 words go in double quotation marks; a quotation of 40 or more words becomes a block quotation, double-spaced and indented 0.5 inch from the left margin, with no quotation marks.
Two matching rules from the same checklist matter for a thesis: the spelling of the author and the year in the text must match the reference list, and every in-text citation must correspond to one reference entry, while every entry in the list must be cited in the text.
Common errors
- Leaving out the month and day. The APA example for a YouTube video gives the full upload date, not just the year.
- Dropping the [Video] label or the site name. Both belong in the entry: the label after the title, and YouTube after it.
- Title not italicized. In APA’s handout example the video title is set in italics; the [Video] label that follows is not.
- Title Case in the title. APA sets titles in sentence case, so only the first word, the first word of a subtitle and proper nouns are capitalised.
- Adding a full stop after the URL. APA’s reference guide gives no period after a DOI or URL.
- Mismatch between text and list. A citation that reads (Above The Noise, 2018) when the list entry is dated 2017 breaks the one-to-one match the checklist requires.
- Listing sources you never cite. An APA reference list holds the works cited in the text, so a video watched but not cited does not belong in it.
Style-guide edition
This page follows the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition (2020), together with the Concise Guide to APA Style, 7th edition. APA’s reference-examples handout was last updated in March 2026 and its reference guide in March 2026; the in-text citation checklist dates from 2020. All three describe the 7th edition.
Different disciplines and publishers use different styles. For the MLA treatment of moving-image sources, see how to MLA cite a film or movie; for the principles behind attribution in any style, see quoting and citing sources correctly.
Frequently asked questions
How do I cite a YouTube video in APA 7?
Use Channel or Author. (Year, Month Day). Title of video [Video]. YouTube. URL. The in-text citation is (Channel or Author, Year).
Do I need to say it is a YouTube video?
Yes. In the APA pattern the bracketed [Video] label follows the title and the site name YouTube follows the label, before the URL.
What goes in the author position?
The APA example uses the channel name (Above The Noise) as the author. Write it exactly as it appears in the entry, with a period after it.
Does the reference go in the reference list or only in the text?
Both. The video is cited briefly in the text and given a full entry in the reference list, and the two must match on author spelling and year.
Can I use a reference manager?
You can, but check each generated entry against the pattern above before you submit a manuscript or thesis. If your tool uses the wrong style, see changing the citation style in Zotero, and if you also cite code, see how to cite software, code and R packages.
Will the link keep working?
Videos can be removed or made private, so save the date you last confirmed the link when you draft. For the wider problem, see link rot in citations.
Sources
- American Psychological Association, APA Style Common Reference Examples (7th edition handout, last updated March 3, 2026), https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/reference-examples.pdf, date checked 28 October 2026.
- American Psychological Association, In-Text Citation Checklist, 7th Edition (2020), https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/in-text-citation-checklist.pdf, date checked 28 October 2026.
- American Psychological Association, APA Style Reference Guide (last updated March 23, 2026), https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/reference-guide.pdf, date checked 28 October 2026.
