How to Cite a YouTube Video in APA, MLA and Chicago (With Examples)

To cite a YouTube video, you need four things from the video page: who uploaded it, the date it was uploaded, its title and its URL. APA, MLA and Chicago arrange those details differently, and this page shows each one with a real example, along with what to do when the channel is not the person who made the video.

TL;DR

• APA: Channel. (Year, Month Day). Title in sentence case [Video]. YouTube. URL

• MLA: Creator, if known. “Title in Title Case.” YouTube, uploaded by Channel, Day Month Year, URL.

• Chicago: Channel or creator, “Title,” posted Month Day, Year, YouTube video, running time, URL.

• Always use the upload date, never the date you watched the video.

How do you cite a YouTube video in APA?

APA 7 uses this format, according to APA Style's YouTube guidance:

Channel name. (Year, Month Day). Title of video [Video]. YouTube. URL

Here it is filled in for the first episode of Crash Course Psychology:

CrashCourse. (2014, February 3). Intro to psychology: Crash Course Psychology #1 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo4pMVb0R6M

The in-text citation is (CrashCourse, 2014), or CrashCourse (2014) if you name the channel in your sentence. Notice three details. The title is in italics and in sentence case, so only the first word, the first word after a colon and proper nouns such as the series name are capitalized. The description [Video] goes in square brackets after the title. And the date is the specific day the video was uploaded.

Who is the author when the channel is not the creator?

This is where APA and MLA part ways. APA tells you to use the name of the account that uploaded the video as the author, even when someone else made or presented it. If it matters who actually created the video or who is speaking, say so in your sentence. For example: Host Hank Green walks through the early schools of psychology, from structuralism to behaviorism (CrashCourse, 2014).

MLA starts with the creator when one is clearly identified, and otherwise starts with the title. In both cases the channel goes after the title as the uploader. The MLA Style Center explains that the uploader belongs in this “uploaded by” spot whether or not it appears to be the creator. Chicago generally credits whoever posted the video, or the creator when one is named, and gives the channel after the title.

How do you cite a specific moment?

When you quote or point to one part of a video, add a time stamp to the in-text citation. In the Crash Course episode, for example, the section on Sigmund Freud starts at 2:21. In APA, give the time where the moment begins: (CrashCourse, 2014, 2:21). In MLA, give the range in hours, minutes and seconds: (“Intro to Psychology” 00:02:21-00:03:02). The reference list entry stays the same, so readers can find the exact moment themselves.

How do you cite a YouTube video in MLA?

MLA 9 uses this format:

Creator's Last Name, First Name. “Title of Video.” YouTube, uploaded by Channel Name, Day Month Year, URL.

Crash Course does not name a single author for the episode, so the entry starts with the title:

“Intro to Psychology: Crash Course Psychology #1.” YouTube, uploaded by CrashCourse, 3 Feb. 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo4pMVb0R6M.

The in-text citation uses a shortened title: (“Intro to Psychology”). Unlike APA, MLA puts the title in quotation marks and title case, abbreviates the month, and usually leaves out https://. If you are building several entries, our MLA citation generator can format the rest of your works-cited list in MLA 9.

How do you cite a YouTube video in Chicago?

Chicago's notes and bibliography style puts the details in a numbered note and repeats them in the bibliography. Library guides to the 18th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style, such as this one from Red Deer Polytechnic, follow this pattern:

Note: 1. CrashCourse, “Intro to Psychology: Crash Course Psychology #1,” posted February 3, 2014, YouTube video, 10:54, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo4pMVb0R6M.

Short note: 2. CrashCourse, “Intro to Psychology,” 2:21.

Bibliography: CrashCourse. “Intro to Psychology: Crash Course Psychology #1.” Posted February 3, 2014. YouTube video, 10:54. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo4pMVb0R6M.

Chicago is the only one of the three styles that normally includes the running time. Its guides vary on small details, such as how to write the length, so follow your instructor's version if they give one. In Chicago's author-date system, the year moves after the name and the in-text citation becomes (CrashCourse 2014).

APA vs MLA vs Chicago at a glance

If you switch between styles, this table shows what changes for the same video.

How do you cite Shorts, livestreams and TED Talks?

A YouTube Short is cited like any other video. Use the title shown on the Short, the channel that posted it, the upload date and the youtube.com/shorts URL.

A livestream that was saved to the channel is also cited as a video, with the date it aired. If a livestream was not saved and cannot be found anywhere else, readers cannot retrieve it, so APA treats it as a personal communication, cited only in the text.

TED Talks need a little care, because the speaker and the uploader are different. For a talk watched on YouTube, APA lists the TED channel as the author and names the speaker in your sentence, while MLA can start with the speaker:

APA: TED. (2007, January 6). Do schools kill creativity? | Sir Ken Robinson | TED [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY

MLA: Robinson, Ken. “Do Schools Kill Creativity? | Sir Ken Robinson | TED.” YouTube, uploaded by TED, 6 Jan. 2007, www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY.

Copy the title as YouTube shows it, including any names after the vertical bars, and change only the capitalization to fit the style.

What are the most common mistakes?

• Leaving out the upload date, or using the date you watched the video. The upload date appears under the video, at the top of the description.

• Listing YouTube as the author. YouTube is the site, not the creator, so it goes after the title.

• Using the wrong capitals. APA titles take sentence case, while MLA and Chicago titles take title case.

• Forgetting the [Video] label in APA, or the “uploaded by” phrase in MLA.

Can a citation generator do this for you?

Yes, with one detail from you. The AnswerThis YouTube citation generator reads the video's title and channel from YouTube and starts in APA 7. You add the upload date from the video page. Then compare the title and the author with what YouTube shows before you paste the citation into your paper.

FAQs

Which citation style should I use for a YouTube video?

Use the style your course, school or journal requires, and keep it the same for every source in the paper. If no style has been set, our guide to choosing a citation style explains which fields use which.

Do I need a retrieval date?

Not in APA, because a video stays the same once it is posted. APA uses a retrieval date for a channel page, since its content changes. In MLA, an access date is optional.

How do I cite a whole YouTube channel?

In APA, use the channel name as the author, (n.d.) for the date, the tab name such as Home as the title with [YouTube channel] after it, then YouTube, a retrieval date and the channel URL.

Should I include the length of the video?

Usually only in Chicago, which includes the running time. APA and MLA leave it out, and use a time stamp in the in-text citation when you point to a specific moment.

What if I cannot find the upload date?

Click the description under the video to expand it, since the full date usually appears there. If a date truly is not available, APA uses (n.d.), but this is rare for YouTube videos.