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Supra is Latin for “above.” In a footnote it points the reader back to a source you already cited in full, so you do not repeat the whole citation. It belongs to legal citation practice, and many other styles discourage or ban it. This guide shows the pattern, the difference between supra and id., and what to use instead when your style says no.
The format
A supra short form has three parts: the author’s surname (or, for a work without an author, a short title), the word supra, and an optional pinpoint introduced by “at.”
- Author: the surname used in the full citation, for example “Abraham.”
- Cross-reference word: supra, in italics.
- Pinpoint (optional): “at 390” for the page you are citing now.
Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute states the rule in two lines. Use id. if the authority is the same as the immediately preceding authority. Use supra if you are not referring to the immediately preceding authority.
Examples
These three patterns come from Cornell LII’s Introduction to Basic Legal Citation, which gives each full citation and its short forms.
Book
Full citation: Henry Julian Abraham, Justices, Presidents and Senators 390-95 (5th ed. 2008).
Short forms: “Id.” if it is the immediately preceding authority; otherwise “Abraham, supra.” or, with a page, “Abraham, supra at 390.”
Journal article
Full citation: Stephen J. Legatzke, Note, The Equitable Recoupment Doctrine in United States v. Dalm: Where’s the Equity, 10 Va. Tax Rev. 861 (1991).
Short forms: “Id.” or “Id. at 862.” for the immediately preceding authority; otherwise “Legatzke, supra.” or “Legatzke, supra at 862.”
Book with a section number
Full citation: E. Allen Farnsworth, Contracts § 9.3 (1982). Immediately following, “Id.” or “Id. § 9.4.”
Pointing to a footnote number
The same Cornell material includes a brief that cites “See Doughty, supra note 13, at 7.” Here supra is followed by the number of the footnote that holds the full citation, then the pinpoint. Use this form where your style or court expects the earlier note to be identified.
In-text citation version
A manuscript or thesis footnote does the job of an in-text citation. If your style uses author-date or numbered citations in the running text, you do not need supra at all: the author-date or number already points to the full entry in the reference list. Supra only matters where full citations sit in footnotes and later footnotes refer back to them.
Common errors
- Using supra when id. is correct. If the source is the immediately preceding authority, the rule calls for id.
- Leaving out “at” before the pinpoint. The patterns are “Abraham, supra at 390,” not “Abraham, supra 390.”
- Not italicizing. The cross-reference words id., supra and infra are italicized in the Cornell guide (if you underline instead, the underline runs under successive words of the same phrase).
- Using supra in a style that bans or discourages it. See the next section.
- Stale footnote numbers. A “supra note 13″ breaks when you insert a footnote earlier in the document, so recheck every note number after editing.
Style-guide edition
Practice differs by style, which matters if your thesis or manuscript must follow a house style.
| Style | Repeat citations |
|---|---|
| US legal citation (Cornell LII guide, checked 2026-10-29) | Id. for the immediately preceding authority; supra otherwise. |
| OSCOLA, 5th edition (Oxford Faculty of Law) | Says to avoid “Latin gadgets” such as ibid, supra, infra, id and op cit, and that ibid should not be used. Uses a brief identification plus a cross-citation in brackets, for example “Stevens (n 1) 110.” |
| Chicago, 18th edition (2024) | Shortened notes replace ibid.: author-title, author-only or title-only (section 13.37). |
| IEEE (Editorial Style Manual) | Removes ibid. and op. cit.; cite the earlier reference number again. |
The Cornell guide does not name a Bluebook edition, so this page does not attribute these patterns to one; confirm the edition your law journal or court requires. For OSCOLA, in longer works citations begin afresh for each chapter, and a cross-reference should be a specific one such as “See n 109” or “See text to n 20” rather than “See above.”
FAQ
What is the difference between supra and id.?
Id. refers to the immediately preceding authority. Supra refers to an authority cited earlier, when something else has come in between.
Do I italicize supra?
Yes, in the legal pattern: id., supra and infra are italicized. In OSCOLA the question does not arise because the word is avoided.
What should I use in a thesis with chapters?
In OSCOLA, for longer works, citations begin afresh for each chapter, so the first citation in a new chapter is given in full. Check your institution’s thesis requirements for the style it mandates.
Which style should I use instead of supra?
Follow your style: shortened notes in Chicago 18, “(n X)” cross-citations in OSCOLA, the earlier reference number in IEEE. For related footnote practice, see our guides to Chicago footnote format, MLA footnotes, APA footnotes and IEEE reference format, or the overview of citation styles and referencing formats.
Sources
- Peter W. Martin, Introduction to Basic Legal Citation, Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, sections 6-550 and 6-560, https://www.law.cornell.edu/citation/6-500 (checked 2026-10-29).
- OSCOLA: Oxford University Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities, 5th edition, Faculty of Law, University of Oxford, sections 1.2.1 to 1.2.3, https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/oscola (checked 2026-10-29).
- The Chicago Manual of Style, 18th edition (2024), “What’s new,” https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/help-tools/what-s-new.html (checked 2026-10-28).
- IEEE Editorial Style Manual for Authors, IEEE Author Center, https://journals.ieeeauthorcenter.ieee.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/IEEE-Editorial-Style-Manual-for-Authors.pdf (edition updated 29 July 2024; checked 2026-10-29).
