How to Cite a YouTube Video in APA Format

Struggling with how to cite a YouTube video APA-style? This guide explains the current APA (7th edition) rules for citing online videos and gives clear, copy‑ready examples you can paste into your reference list and in-text citations.

Academic writers, students, and professionals who reference digital media will find these instructions useful. If you want an instant citation, try Rephrasely’s free citation generator to produce a correctly formatted entry in seconds.

General Rules

APA 7 treats online videos as audiovisual works. The citation should identify who uploaded or created the video, the date of publication, the title (in sentence case), a medium descriptor in brackets, the host/site name, and the URL.

Key formatting points: use sentence case for titles, include the medium tag [Video], and place the site name (e.g., YouTube) before the URL. Use the uploader’s real name if provided; otherwise use the username.

Author: real name (if available) followed by the username in square brackets if different.
Date: Year, Month Day.
Title: sentence case and italicized.
Medium: include [Video] after the title.
Source: Site name, then URL.

How to Cite by Source Type

Below are step-by-step templates and examples for common source types. Use the YouTube section for the keyword-specific format you need.

Books

Template:

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of book: Subtitle (edition if given). Publisher. DOI/URL (if available)

Example:

Smith, J. A. (2018). Research methods for social sciences. University Press.

Journal Articles

Template:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume(issue), page range. https://doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyy

Example:

Jones, M. L., & Perez, R. (2020). Media literacy in the classroom. Journal of Education, 48(2), 123–140. https://doi.org/10.1234/edu.2020.5678

Websites

Template:

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of page. Site Name. URL

Example:

Centers for Learning. (2021, June 10). Tips for online teaching. Centers for Learning. https://www.centersforlearning.org/tips

YouTube Video (the main focus)

Template (when the creator’s real name is available):

LastName, F. M. [Username]. (Year, Month Day). Title of video [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/xxxxx

Template (when only a username exists):

Username. (Year, Month Day). Title of video [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/xxxxx

Examples:

Doe, J. [JohnDoeOfficial]. (2020, March 15). How to structure a research paper [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/abcd1234

HistoryChannel. (2019, October 1). The rise of cities in ancient times [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/efgh5678

Notes:

If the uploader is also the speaker/creator, list their real name as the author and include the username in brackets.
If no date is provided, use (n.d.).
Do not include a retrieval date unless the content is likely to change over time.

Podcasts (Episode)

Template:

HostLast, F. M. (Host). (Year, Month Day). Title of episode (No. Episode) [Audio podcast episode]. In Podcast Name. Producer (if different). URL

Example:

Gomez, R. (Host). (2021, July 2). Research ethics in practice (No. 24) [Audio podcast episode]. In Research Matters. https://podcasts.example/episode24

In-Text Citations

APA uses author-date in-text citations. For a YouTube video, cite the author or username and the year.

Parenthetical example: (Doe, 2020). Narrative example: Doe (2020) explains...

Quoting or referencing a specific moment: include a time stamp to point readers to the exact point in the video.

(Doe, 2020, 3:15)

Examples:

Parenthetical: (HistoryChannel, 2019)
Narrative: According to HistoryChannel (2019)...
With timestamp for a direct reference: (Doe, 2020, 4:05)

Reference List — Formatting Rules and Example

Place your reference entries in a separate Reference list at the end of your paper. Use alphabetical order by author’s last name and a hanging indent for each entry.

General list rules:

Double-space the reference list (most word processors do this automatically).
Use a hanging indent of 0.5 inches for each entry.
Italicize titles of stand-alone works (books, films, videos).
Use sentence case for titles (capitalize only the first word and proper nouns).

Example Reference List entry for a YouTube video:

Doe, J. [JohnDoeOfficial]. (2020, March 15). How to structure a research paper [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/abcd1234

Full reference list sample (mixed sources):

Doe, J. [JohnDoeOfficial]. (2020, March 15). How to structure a research paper [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/abcd1234
Jones, M. L., & Perez, R. (2020). Media literacy in the classroom. Journal of Education, 48(2), 123–140. https://doi.org/10.1234/edu.2020.5678
Smith, J. A. (2018). Research methods for social sciences. University Press.

Common Mistakes

Avoid these common APA citation errors when citing YouTube videos and other online media.

Using YouTube as the author.
The author should be the person or group who created the content (uploader). Use the real name if it is available, otherwise use the username.
Omitting the medium descriptor.
For videos include [Video] after the title. This clarifies the type of source for readers and follows APA style.
Forgetting the date format or using incomplete dates.
Use Year, Month Day when provided. If no date is shown, use (n.d.).
Leaving out time stamps for direct quotations.
If you quote or refer to a specific part of a video, include the timestamp in the in-text citation to direct readers precisely to the content.

Quick Action Steps

Find the video author/uploader name and publication date on the YouTube page.
Use the Rephrasely citation generator to auto-create the correct APA entry.
Paste the generated reference into your Reference list and add an in-text citation like (Author, Year).
If quoting, add the timestamp: (Author, Year, mm:ss).

If you want to check for originality after inserting quotes or paraphrases, run your paper through Rephrasely’s plagiarism checker. To generate paragraphs or reword citations, try the AI writer. If you're unsure whether writing reads like AI, use the AI detector for a quick check.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I cite a YouTube video with no author listed?

Use the username as the author. If there is a real name and a username, place the username in square brackets after the real name. If no date is provided, use (n.d.). Example: HistoryChannel. (n.d.). Ancient cities [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/xxxxx

Do I need a retrieval date for a YouTube video?

No—APA 7 does not require a retrieval date for most online videos. Include a retrieval date only if the content is likely to change over time (e.g., live streams that are updated or edited).

How should I cite a specific moment in a video in my text?

Include a timestamp in the in-text citation immediately after the year. Example: (Doe, 2020, 2:34). This is especially important for direct quotes or when referencing a precise visual or spoken moment.

How to Cite a YouTube Video in APA Format