The pattern at a glance
- APA 7Channel. (Year, Month Day). Title of video [Video]. YouTube. URL
- MLA 9Creator. "Title of Video." YouTube, Day Mon. Year, URL.
- Chicago (notes-bibliography)Creator. "Title of Video." Video. YouTube, Month Day, Year. URL.
- Harvard (Cite Them Right)Channel (Year) Title of video. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).
Finding the five facts on a YouTube page
The channel name sits under the player, next to the subscribe button. The upload date is in the description box; YouTube shows relative dates such as "3 days ago", and hovering or expanding the description reveals the full date. The title is the bold line above the channel. The URL is the address after you remove extras like &t=45s or &list=.
Check whether the channel made the video. Official channels of organizations, universities and creators usually did. Reuploads of television clips or lectures by other accounts did not, and styles handle them differently (MLA adds "uploaded by"), so prefer the original source when it exists.
How the styles treat online videos
- APA italicises the title and adds [Video] after it; the channel is the author.
- MLA puts the title in quotation marks and YouTube in italics; "uploaded by" appears when the channel is not the creator.
- Chicago adds a description such as "video" and, in its quick-guide example, the running time.
- Harvard (Cite Them Right 12th ed. style file) prints the platform as publisher and adds an access date; the 13th-edition library guides show the upload day and month instead.
- IEEE labels the item [Online Video]; AMA writes the platform after the title and an access date.
Citing a specific moment
Videos have no pages, so point to a moment with a timestamp: APA writes (TED, 2026, 4:05), MLA writes a range in hours, minutes and seconds (00:04:05-00:04:20), and Chicago adds "at 4:05" in the note. Keep the reference list entry the same; the timestamp belongs to the in-text citation.
When a video is a good academic source
Videos are primary sources when you study them: a political speech, a public lecture, an advertisement or a scientific visualisation. They are secondary sources when they explain other work, and then the work they explain is often the better citation. An explainer video that cites a journal article in its description can lead you to that article.
Official channels of universities, museums, agencies and established educational studios are easier to defend than anonymous uploads. Note the speaker's credentials and the date, because the information in a video is frozen at upload while the topic may have moved on.
Field by field: the video form
The same five fields feed every style.
| Field | What to enter | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|
| Author or channel | Channel name, or the person if their channel. | Under the player. |
| Title | Video title exactly as shown. | Above the channel. |
| Platform | YouTube. | The site. |
| Date | Upload date. | Description box. |
| URL and accessed | Clean watch URL; access date for Harvard and AMA. | Share button; your viewing date. |
YouTube citation examples in four styles
Two videos uploaded in October 2026, each formatted by the engine in APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 18 and Harvard. Both were watched on 25 October 2026.
Educational series episode (CrashCourse)
APA 7th: Reference entry
CrashCourse. (2026, October 22). How do we mine minerals?: Crash Course Geology #22 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJA1qZirWVc
In-text citation: (CrashCourse, 2026)
MLA 9th: Reference entry
CrashCourse. “How Do We Mine Minerals?: Crash Course Geology #22.” YouTube, 22 Oct. 2026, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJA1qZirWVc.
In-text citation: (CrashCourse)
Chicago 18th (notes and bibliography): Reference entry
CrashCourse. “How Do We Mine Minerals?: Crash Course Geology #22.” Video. YouTube, October 22, 2026. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJA1qZirWVc.
First footnote: CrashCourse, “How Do We Mine Minerals?: Crash Course Geology #22,” Video, YouTube, October 22, 2026, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJA1qZirWVc.
Harvard (Cite Them Right 12th ed.): Reference entry
CrashCourse (2026) How do we mine minerals?: Crash Course Geology #22. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJA1qZirWVc (Accessed: 25 October 2026).
In-text citation: (CrashCourse, 2026)
The channel is the creator, so it leads every entry. The episode number belongs to the title. MLA and Chicago show "Video." as a description, which the generator's style files add for online videos.
Checked against the page itself (checked on 25 October 2026). Watch page and oEmbed: channel CrashCourse, uploaded 22 October 2026.
Talk on an organization's channel (TED)
APA 7th: Reference entry
TED. (2026, October 22). Inside the “Play Labs” helping refugee kids heal | Erum Mariam | TED [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j11fPNKe5mY
In-text citation: (TED, 2026)
MLA 9th: Reference entry
TED. “Inside the ‘Play Labs’ Helping Refugee Kids Heal | Erum Mariam | TED.” YouTube, 22 Oct. 2026, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j11fPNKe5mY.
In-text citation: (TED)
Chicago 18th (notes and bibliography): Reference entry
TED. “Inside the ‘Play Labs’ Helping Refugee Kids Heal | Erum Mariam | TED.” Video. YouTube, October 22, 2026. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j11fPNKe5mY.
First footnote: TED, “Inside the ‘Play Labs’ Helping Refugee Kids Heal | Erum Mariam | TED,” Video, YouTube, October 22, 2026, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j11fPNKe5mY.
Harvard (Cite Them Right 12th ed.): Reference entry
TED (2026) Inside the ‘Play Labs’ helping refugee kids heal | Erum Mariam | TED. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j11fPNKe5mY (Accessed: 25 October 2026).
In-text citation: (TED, 2026)
The speaker's name is part of TED's title format. The channel TED is credited as author; in Chicago you may name the speaker as author instead if your discussion is about the talk itself.
Checked against the page itself (checked on 25 October 2026). Watch page and oEmbed: channel TED, uploaded 22 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 for videos
Cite the channel or creator, plus the year in author-date styles and a timestamp for quotations.
- APA 7: (CrashCourse, 2026, 2:10)
- MLA 9: (CrashCourse 00:02:10-00:02:25)
- Chicago author-date: (TED 2026)
- Harvard: (TED, 2026)
YouTube citation mistakes
- Citing "YouTube" as the author. YouTube hosts the video; the channel or creator is the author.
- Timestamp in the URL. Remove &t= and put the time in the in-text citation.
- Relative date. "2 weeks ago" is not a date; open the description for the upload date.
- Citing a reupload. Find and cite the original channel when possible.
YouTube video citation FAQ
Who is the author of a YouTube video?
The channel or person who created and posted it. For reuploads, the original creator is preferred, and MLA names the uploader separately.
How do I cite a YouTube Short?
Like any YouTube video: channel, date, title (or the first words of the caption if there is no title), YouTube and the link.
Do I need the length of the video?
Only Chicago's examples show it, and it is optional elsewhere.
Can I cite a YouTube comment?
Yes, but treat it as a separate source with the commenter as author, the comment text as title and the video as the container.
Style guides used on this page
Rules on this page were checked against these pages on 25 October 2026.