The 7th edition of the APA Publication Manual arrived in October 2019, and it brought some welcome changes. If you learned APA formatting under the 6th edition — or if you're updating an older paper — this page covers every significant difference so you know exactly what to change.
The short version: the 7th edition is simpler and more flexible. Many of the fussier rules were relaxed, and new guidance was added for modern source types that didn't exist when the 6th edition was published in 2009.
Why a New Edition?
The 6th edition was published in 2009. Since then, the landscape of academic writing and publishing has changed dramatically:
- Digital sources became the norm rather than the exception
- Social media emerged as a citable source
- AI-generated content didn't exist yet
- Bias-free language guidelines needed significant expansion
- Student papers needed distinct formatting rules from professional manuscripts
The 7th edition addressed all of these gaps while also simplifying rules that had caused chronic confusion among writers.
Title Page Changes
This is one of the most visible changes. The 7th edition introduced two distinct title page formats — one for students, one for professionals.
| Element | 6th Edition | 7th Edition (Student) | 7th Edition (Professional) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Running head | Required, with "Running head:" label on title page | Not required | Required, no "Running head:" label |
| Course info | Not specified | Required (course name, instructor, due date) | Not included |
| Author note | Optional | Not included | Required |
| Bold title | Not specified | Yes | Yes |
The biggest change: Students no longer need a running head. The old format required every paper — even a 5-page essay — to include "Running head: SHORTENED TITLE" in the header. The 7th edition eliminated this for student papers entirely.
For full details, see APA Title Page Format.
Font Flexibility
The 6th edition essentially required Times New Roman 12 pt — it was the only font mentioned in the manual.
The 7th edition expanded this to several options:
| Font | Size |
|---|---|
| Times New Roman | 12 pt |
| Calibri | 11 pt |
| Arial | 11 pt |
| Lucida Sans Unicode | 10 pt |
| Georgia | 11 pt |
You can use any of these — just be consistent throughout your paper. This was a welcome change for anyone who found 12-point Times New Roman cramped or hard to read on screen.
Author Listing Changes
Reference List: Up to 20 Authors
| Rule | 6th Edition | 7th Edition |
|---|---|---|
| Max authors before ellipsis | 7 (list first 6 … last) | 20 (list first 19 … last) |
In the 6th edition, if a source had more than 7 authors, you listed the first six, added an ellipsis, and then the last author. The 7th edition expanded this to 20 — you now spell out up to 20 author names before using the ellipsis.
6th edition format (8+ authors):
Garcia, M. L., Lee, J., Park, S., Nakamura, K., Torres, R., Chen, W., … Zimmerman, T. (2022).
7th edition format (21+ authors):
Garcia, M. L., Lee, J., Park, S., Nakamura, K., Torres, R., Chen, W., Rivera, K., Osei, A., Kim, D., Thompson, L., Patel, R., Johnson, M., Davis, C., Brown, A., Wilson, E., Taylor, J., Anderson, S., Thomas, N., Jackson, P., … Zimmerman, T. (2022).
In-Text Citations: Simplified et al. Rule
| Rule | 6th Edition | 7th Edition |
|---|---|---|
| 3–5 authors, first citation | List all authors | et al. from the first citation |
| 3–5 authors, subsequent | et al. | et al. |
| 6+ authors | et al. from first | et al. from first |
The 6th edition made you list all authors (up to five) the first time you cited a work, then switch to et al. The 7th edition collapsed this into one simple rule: three or more authors = et al. every time, including the first citation.
This is one of the changes that saves the most time. For the full guide, see APA Citation With Multiple Authors.
DOI Format Change
The DOI format was standardized in the 7th edition. Instead of multiple acceptable formats, there's now one:
| Format | Edition |
|---|---|
| doi:10.1037/dev0001148 | 6th edition (acceptable) |
| DOI: 10.1037/dev0001148 | 6th edition (acceptable) |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/dev0001148 | 6th edition (acceptable) |
| https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001148 | 7th edition (required) |
The 7th edition requires DOIs to be formatted as full HTTPS URLs using the https://doi.org/ prefix. This makes them clickable links, which is better for digital reading.
6th edition:
Garcia, M. L. (2022). Title of article. Journal Name, 57(3), 412–425. doi:10.1037/dev0001148
7th edition:
Garcia, M. L. (2022). Title of article. Journal Name, 57(3), 412–425. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001148
"Retrieved from" Removal
The 6th edition required "Retrieved from" before URLs for most online sources:
6th edition:Retrieved from https://www.example.com/article
The 7th edition dropped this for most sources. Now, you simply place the URL at the end:
7th edition:https://www.example.com/article
When you still use a retrieval date: Only for sources whose content is designed to change over time and has no archived version — like Wikipedia articles, social media profiles, and live data dashboards. In those cases, format it as:
Retrieved February 15, 2026, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Example
For more details, see How to Cite a Website in APA Format.
Bias-Free Language Expansion
The 7th edition significantly expanded its guidance on inclusive, bias-free language. Key additions include:
| Topic | 6th Edition | 7th Edition |
|---|---|---|
| Singular "they" | Not addressed | Endorsed for referring to people whose gender is unknown or who use "they/them" pronouns |
| Racial/ethnic terms | Brief guidance | Expanded — capitalize racial and ethnic group names (Black, White, Indigenous) |
| Age terms | Brief guidance | Expanded — use specific terms like "older adults" rather than "elderly" |
| Disability language | Mentioned | Expanded — preference for person-first ("person with a disability") with acknowledgment that some communities prefer identity-first ("autistic person") |
| Gender language | Binary framing | Expanded to include nonbinary and gender-diverse identities |
This isn't a formatting rule per se, but it affects how you write. The 7th edition makes clear that bias-free language isn't just a style preference — it's a requirement for APA-compliant writing.
In-Text Citation Changes
Beyond the et al. simplification, a few other in-text citation rules changed:
Shortened Quotations From Sources Without Page Numbers
Both editions require locators for direct quotes. The 7th edition provides clearer guidance on what to use when there are no page numbers:
(Martinez, 2024, para. 4)
(Khan Academy, 2022, 4:32)
(Chen, 2021, "Results" section, para. 2)
Same Author, Same Year
The rule for disambiguating works by the same author published in the same year didn't change — you still use lowercase letters (2022a, 2022b) — but the 7th edition clarified that the letters are assigned based on the alphabetical order of the titles.
New Source Types
The 6th edition was published before many modern content types became common in academic work. The 7th edition added specific guidance for:
- Social media posts (Twitter/X, Instagram, Facebook, Reddit)
- YouTube videos and other streaming content
- Podcast episodes
- Apps and software
- TED Talks
- AI-generated content (added via a 2023 update to the 7th edition's website)
For each of these, APA now specifies author format, date format, title conventions, and description brackets (like [Video], [Tweet], [Audio podcast episode]).
Side-by-Side Reference Examples
Here's how the same sources look under each edition:
Journal Article
6th edition:
Garcia, M. L., & Lee, J. (2022). Decision-making under uncertainty. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 57(3), 412–425. doi:10.1037/dev0001148
7th edition:
Garcia, M. L., & Lee, J. (2022). Decision-making under uncertainty. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 57(3), 412–425. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001148
Change: DOI format updated to HTTPS URL.
Book
6th edition:
Walker, M. P. (2017). Why we sleep: Unlocking the power of sleep and dreams. New York, NY: Scribner.
7th edition:
Walker, M. P. (2017). Why we sleep: Unlocking the power of sleep and dreams. Scribner.
Change: Publisher location (city, state) is no longer included. Just the publisher name.
Website
6th edition:
Martinez, L. (2024, June 15). How early attachment shapes adult relationships. Retrieved from https://www.example.com/article
7th edition:
Martinez, L. (2024, June 15). How early attachment shapes adult relationships. Site Name. https://www.example.com/article
Changes: "Retrieved from" removed. Web page title is now italicized. Site name added as a separate element.
Multiple Authors (8+ authors)
6th edition (list first 6 … last):
Garcia, M. L., Lee, J., Park, S., Nakamura, K., Torres, R., Chen, W., … Zimmerman, T. (2022). Title. Journal, 1(1), 1–10.
7th edition (list all up to 20):
Garcia, M. L., Lee, J., Park, S., Nakamura, K., Torres, R., Chen, W., Rivera, K., & Zimmerman, T. (2022). Title. Journal, 1(1), 1–10.
Change: All 8 authors are now listed (since it's under 21).
Other Notable Changes
A few more differences worth knowing:
| Change | 6th Edition | 7th Edition |
|---|---|---|
| Publisher location | Required (City, State: Publisher) | Removed — just the publisher name |
| "Running head:" label | Required on title page | Removed |
| Heading Level 3 format | Indented, bold, ending with a period | Flush left, bold, not ending with a period |
| Tables and figures | Different formats for table notes and figure captions | Unified format — both now use number, title, body, and notes |
| Appendix labels | Appendix A, B, C | Same, but each appendix starts on a new page (clarified) |
Quick Summary of What Changed
If you just need the highlights:
- Two title page formats — student (no running head) and professional
- More fonts allowed — not just Times New Roman anymore
- et al. from the first citation for 3+ authors (no more listing all authors first)
- Up to 20 authors in the reference list (was 7)
- DOIs as HTTPS links — https://doi.org/…
- No more "Retrieved from" for most sources
- No more publisher location — drop the city and state
- Bias-free language guidelines significantly expanded
- New source types — social media, videos, podcasts, AI
- Singular "they" endorsed
What's Next
Now that you understand the differences, explore these guides for specific 7th-edition formatting topics:
- APA General Format — the complete guide to page layout and paper structure
- APA Citation With Multiple Authors — the simplified et al. rule in detail
- APA Reference List — how to format your reference entries under the 7th edition
If you're updating a paper from the 6th to the 7th edition, Archivero formats everything according to the latest APA 7th edition rules automatically — DOI format, author listings, title case, and all.
