How to Cite a Government Document in APA

Government documents are authoritative sources in academic research, and APA 7th edition provides specific formatting guidelines for these materials. From federal reports to legislative documents, this guide covers all types of government publications.

Basic Government Document Citation Format

The standard APA 7th edition format for government documents includes:

Government Agency. (Year). Title of document. Publisher. URL or DOI

Example:

National Institute of Mental Health. (2023). Mental health resources and research initiatives.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/mental-health-resources

Step-by-Step Government Document Citation Instructions

Step 1: Identify the Government Agency/Author

Use the government agency responsible for the document as the author. Start with the highest-level agency.

Federal Agencies:

National Institute of Health
Environmental Protection Agency
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
U.S. Department of Education

State or Local Agencies:

California Department of Environmental Quality
New York State Education Department

Step 2: Include the Publication Year

Place the year in parentheses. If no publication year is available, use (n.d.).

Examples:

(2023)
(2022)
(n.d.)

Step 3: Write the Document Title

Use sentence case and italicize the title. Capitalize only the first word, proper nouns, and the first word after a colon.

Example: Mental health resources and research initiatives

Step 4: Identify the Publisher

The publisher is often the government body itself or a government printing office.

Examples:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Government Printing Office
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Step 5: Add URL or DOI (if applicable)

For online government documents, include the complete URL or DOI.

Examples:

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/mental-health-resources
https://www.epa.gov/regulations

Complete Citation Examples

Federal Agency Report with Author

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023). Vaccination schedules for children and
adolescents. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules

Government Agency Publication

National Institute of Health. (2023). *Biomedical research initiatives 2023*. U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services. https://www.nih.gov/research-initiatives

Government Report with Specific Author

Martinez, C. D., & Thompson, L. K. (2023). *Environmental impact assessment guidelines*.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. https://www.epa.gov/impact-guidelines

Department Report

U.S. Department of Education. (2023). *National education statistics annual report*.
Government Printing Office. https://www.ed.gov/statistics

State Government Document

California Department of Environmental Quality. (2023). *Climate action plan progress report*.
State of California. https://calgreenforcalifornia.ca.gov/action-plan

Federal Budget Document

U.S. Office of Management and Budget. (2023). *Fiscal year 2023 budget request*. Government
Printing Office. https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget

Government Legislative Document

U.S. Congress. (2023). *Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act*. Government Printing Office.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/117/hr/3684

International Government Organization

World Health Organization. (2023). *Global health monitoring and surveillance report*. WHO.
https://www.who.int/publications

In-Text Citation Examples

When citing government documents in your paper, use the agency name and year.

Paraphrase:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends updated vaccination schedules for optimal
immunity (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023).

Short Agency Name (after first citation):

The CDC (2023) found that vaccination coverage has increased significantly.

Direct Quote:

"Vaccination is one of the most effective public health interventions" (Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, 2023, p. 5).

Special Government Document Scenarios

Congressional Report

U.S. Congress House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. (2023). *Report on artificial
intelligence and national competitiveness*. Government Printing Office.
https://www.congress.gov/committees

Department Manual or Policy Document

U.S. Department of Defense. (2023). *Armed forces personnel regulations and policies*.
Government Printing Office.

Legal Statute or Regulation

U.S. Code. (2023). Title 42: Public health and welfare, Section 262 [Statute citation].
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode

Government Agency Fact Sheet

National Institute of Mental Health. (2023). *Depression facts and statistics*. U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/depression

Congressional Testimony

Anderson, R. J. (2023, March 15). Testimony before the Senate Committee on Education and Labor
[Congressional testimony]. U.S. Congress. https://www.congress.gov/testimony

Government White Paper

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2023). *Climate change impacts and mitigation strategies:
A comprehensive analysis*. Government Printing Office. https://www.epa.gov/climate

Foreign Government Document

Government of Canada, Department of Environment and Climate Change. (2023). *Canada's climate
action plan*. Government of Canada. https://www.canada.ca/climate-action

Different Types of Government Sources

Federal Research Laboratory Report

National Institute of Standards and Technology. (2023). *Advanced materials research findings*.
U.S. Department of Commerce. https://www.nist.gov/research-reports

State Education Department Publication

Texas Education Agency. (2023). *State assessment results and analysis*. State of Texas.
https://tea.texas.gov/assessment

Local Government Ordinance

City of Los Angeles. (2023). *Los Angeles Municipal Code updates and revisions*. City Publishing.
https://www.lacity.gov/municipal-code

Government Statistical Bulletin

U.S. Census Bureau. (2023). *Current population survey annual report*. U.S. Department of Commerce.
https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys

Government Health Advisory

U.S. Surgeon General. (2023). *Advisory on mental health and substance abuse*. U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services. https://www.surgeongeneral.gov/advisories

In-Text Citation Shortened Forms

For government agencies with long names, you can abbreviate on subsequent citations:

First citation in text:

(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2023)

Subsequent citations:

(CDC, 2023)

This makes your paper more readable while maintaining clarity.

Common Government Document Citation Errors

• Incorrect agency hierarchy - Use the correct parent agency structure
• Missing publication year - Always include the year
• Not italicizing the document title - Titles of government documents should be italicized
• Incomplete URL - Ensure the URL is complete and functional
• Using personal author name for agency publication - Use the agency name as the author
• Forgetting the publisher - Include the government entity responsible for publishing
• Improper alphabetization - Government documents are alphabetized by agency name
• Missing “Retrieved from” when appropriate - Include for online sources without a stable URL

Government Documents by Source Type

Federal Agency

Environmental Protection Agency. (2023). *Greenhouse gas emissions reporting requirements*.
Government Printing Office. https://www.epa.gov/emissions

Congressional Committee Report

U.S. Congress Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. (2023). *Report on
education equity and reform*. Government Printing Office.
https://www.help.senate.gov/committees

Executive Order

The White House. (2023). Executive Order: Presidential directive on environmental protection.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/executive-orders

Government Patent

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. (2023). *Patent number US1234567*. Government Printing Office.
https://www.uspto.gov/patents

State Legislative Bill

California State Legislature. (2023). Senate Bill 45: Environmental regulations [Bill text].
State of California. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov

Using GenText to Generate Government Document Citations

Creating properly formatted government document citations can be complex due to agency hierarchies and multiple publication sources. GenText’s citation generator handles these complexities automatically. Input the government agency, document title, year, and URL, and GenText generates a complete, accurately formatted citation.

Visit /tools/citation-generator/apa/ to generate government document citations in seconds.

Verification Checklist

Before including a government document citation in your reference list, verify:

• ✓ Government agency is correctly identified and hierarchically ordered
• ✓ Publication year is included (or n.d. if unavailable)
• ✓ Document title is italicized and uses sentence case
• ✓ Publisher is identified correctly
• ✓ URL or DOI is complete and functional (if online)
• ✓ Entry is alphabetically ordered in reference list by agency name
• ✓ Hanging indent is properly applied
• ✓ All agency abbreviations are clearly defined on first mention

Related Guides

• Complete APA 7th Edition Citation Guide
• How to Cite a Report in APA 7th Edition
• How to Cite a Source with No Author in APA
• APA Reference List Format

Government documents provide authoritative, reliable information for academic research. By following these APA 7th edition guidelines, you’ll ensure your government document citations are accurate and properly formatted.