How to Cite Government Reports

Learn how to properly cite government reports and official publications in APA format.

Basic Format

Author. (Year). Title of report (Report No. xxx). Publisher.

Author. (Year). Title of report (Report No. xxx). URL

Examples

Print Government Report

National Cancer Institute. (2019). Annual report to the nation on the status of cancer (NIH Publication No. 19-2789). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Online Government Report

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). COVID-19 vaccination program interim operational guidance. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/covid19-vaccination-guidance.html

Government Agency Report with Department

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology. (2020). Reimagining the role of technology in education. https://tech.ed.gov/netp/

Key Elements

Author Information

  • Use the full name of the government agency
  • Include parent department if applicable
  • For multiple agencies, list them in hierarchical order
  • Use commas to separate different levels of government organizations

Report Numbers

  • Include report numbers in parentheses after the title
  • Use the exact format given in the document
  • Common formats include "Report No.", "Publication No.", or agency-specific numbering systems

Online Access

  • Include direct URLs for online reports
  • DOIs are preferred when available
  • No retrieval date needed unless content may change

Special Cases

Additional Considerations

  • For reports without individual authors, use the agency name as author
  • If a report is part of a series, include the series title in brackets after the report title
  • For translated reports, include the translator's name in parentheses after the title
  • When citing draft or preliminary reports, indicate this in brackets after the title

In-Text Citations

First Citation

Use the full name of the agency:

According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI, 2019)...

Subsequent Citations

Use the abbreviation:

The study showed significant progress (NCI, 2019)...