The pattern at a glance
- Reference listChannel Name. (Year, Month Day). Title of video [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxxxIf the channel belongs to a person and their real name is known, APA writes Surname, A. A. [Channel Name].
- Parenthetical(Channel Name, Year) or (Channel Name, Year, 2:15) for a specific moment
- NarrativeChannel Name (Year) explains...
Who counts as the author of a video
APA treats the person or group that posted the video as its author. For organization channels such as TED-Ed, CrashCourse or NASA, the channel name goes first exactly as YouTube shows it, including capital letters and symbols. That is why one example below starts with "Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell", dash and all.
For an individual's channel, APA puts the real name first and the channel name in square brackets after it, so readers can match both. Use this only when the person's name is clear from the channel itself; do not guess a real name for a pseudonymous creator.
The speaker in a talk is not automatically the author. A lecture posted by a university channel is credited to the channel, and you can name the speaker in your sentence.
What APA 7 requires for a YouTube reference
- Full upload date in the form (2026, October 13), taken from the description box under the video.
- Title in italics and sentence case, followed by the description [Video] in square brackets, not italic.
- YouTube as the publisher, in plain text.
- The watch URL. Remove playlist and timestamp parameters such as &list= or &t= so the link opens the video itself.
- No retrieval date and no running time; APA does not ask for either.
Field by field: the video form
The generator's video form uses these fields for APA.
| Field | What to enter | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Author or channel | Channel name as displayed, or Surname, Initials plus the channel name in brackets for a person. | Name under the video player. |
| Title | Video title in sentence case. Keep series numbers such as #21. | Above the channel name. |
| Date | Upload or premiere date (year, month, day). | Description box; hover over "x days ago" to see the full date. |
| Platform | YouTube (or Vimeo, TikTok). | The site you watched on. |
| URL | The watch link without timestamps or playlist codes. | Share button or address bar. |
APA YouTube citation examples
Three educational videos uploaded in October 2026, checked on their watch pages and formatted by the engine behind the generator.
Organization channel (TED-Ed)
APA 7th: Reference entry
TED-Ed. (2026, October 13). How to present your ideas effectively [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uTRlM6MbMo
In-text citation: (TED-Ed, 2026)
TED-Ed is the uploader and the creator, so it is the author. The title stays in sentence case even though YouTube shows it in capitals at the start of each word in some layouts.
Checked against the page itself (checked on 25 October 2026). Watch page and oEmbed: channel TED-Ed, uploaded 13 October 2026.
Episode in a numbered series (CrashCourse)
APA 7th: Reference entry
CrashCourse. (2026, October 15). What is geothermal energy?: Crash Course Geology #21 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-JFgpMIb_I
In-text citation: (CrashCourse, 2026)
The series name and episode number are part of the title, so they stay. The question mark and colon in the title are kept as printed.
Checked against the page itself (checked on 25 October 2026). Watch page and oEmbed: channel CrashCourse, uploaded 15 October 2026.
Channel name with punctuation
APA 7th: Reference entry
Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell. (2026, October 8). We finally know more about humanity’s first civilization [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_y9JuojAIg0
In-text citation: (Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell, 2026)
The channel name contains a dash, and APA keeps channel names exactly as displayed. The in-text citation repeats the whole name.
Checked against the page itself (checked on 25 October 2026). Watch page and oEmbed: channel Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell, uploaded 8 October 2026.
Formatted by the same citation engine that runs the generator above (citeproc-js with the official CSL style file). Italics follow the style.
In-text citations and timestamps
Cite the channel and the year. For a quotation or a specific scene, add a timestamp instead of a page number.
- Parenthetical: (TED-Ed, 2026)
- Narrative: CrashCourse (2026) describes how geothermal plants use heat from deep rock.
- Timestamp for a quotation: (Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell, 2026, 3:42)
- Speaker named in the sentence: In a TED-Ed lesson, the narrator explains the problem (TED-Ed, 2026).
Two videos from the same channel in the same year become 2026a and 2026b, ordered by title in the reference list.
Common mistakes when citing videos in APA
- Leaving out [Video]. The bracket tells readers the source is audiovisual. Place it straight after the title, before the full stop.
- Citing the speaker instead of the uploader. The reference credits the channel that posted the video unless the channel belongs to that person.
- Using the date you watched it. The reference needs the upload date shown on YouTube, not your viewing date.
- Keeping the timestamp in the URL. Links copied at a certain moment carry &t=120s. Put the time in the in-text citation instead.
APA video citation FAQ
How do I cite a YouTube video in APA 7?
Write the channel name, the upload date as (Year, Month Day), the italic title followed by [Video], then YouTube and the URL. In the text cite (Channel, Year).
How do I cite a specific moment in a video?
Add the timestamp to the in-text citation, such as (TED-Ed, 2026, 1:15). The reference list entry stays the same.
How do I cite a video that is not on YouTube?
Use the same pattern and replace YouTube with the platform or site name, such as Vimeo or a university website.
What if the video is private, deleted or age-restricted?
Cite only videos your reader can open. If a video was removed after you used it, say so in your text and, if your instructor allows, cite an archived copy instead of the dead link.
Style guides used on this page
Rules on this page were checked against these pages on 25 October 2026.