Government reports are some of the most authoritative sources you can cite — especially in public policy, public health, education, and social science papers. The CDC, WHO, Census Bureau, and similar agencies publish data, guidelines, and analyses that carry significant weight in academic writing.
But citing government reports trips students up because the "author" is often an organization, not a person, and the publishing structure is more complex than a standard book or journal article. APA 7th edition has clear rules for all of this. Let's walk through them.
Government Report With Group Author
The most common scenario: a government agency publishes a report with no individual author named. The agency itself is the author.
Reference list:
National Institute of Mental Health. (2023). Mental illness (NIH Publication No. 23-MH-8088). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/mental-illness
In-text citations:
Parenthetical:(National Institute of Mental Health, 2023)
Narrative:The National Institute of Mental Health (2023) reports that…
Key details:
- The agency name goes in the author position. Spell it out fully — no abbreviations on first use.
- If the report has a publication or report number, include it in parentheses after the title.
- The parent agency goes in the source position if it's different from the author agency (more on this below).
- The URL goes at the end with no period after it.
Abbreviating the Agency Name
If you cite the same agency multiple times, you can introduce an abbreviation on first use and use it thereafter:
First citation:
(National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2023)
Subsequent citations:
(NIMH, 2023)
In narrative form:
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH, 2023) published updated statistics. NIMH (2023) also reported…
Only introduce an abbreviation if you use the source at least three times in your paper. Otherwise, spell it out each time.
Government Report With Individual Author
Sometimes a government report names specific individuals as authors. In this case, list the individuals in the author position and include the agency as the publisher:
Reference list:
Vespa, J., Medina, L., & Armstrong, D. M. (2020). Demographic turning points for the United States: Population projections for 2020 to 2060 (Report No. P25-1144). U.S. Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2020/demo/p25-1144.html
In-text citations:
Parenthetical:(Vespa et al., 2020)
Narrative:Vespa et al. (2020) projected that…
When individuals are listed as authors, cite them the same way you'd cite any other multi-author work — using standard APA author rules.
Report With a Report Number
Many government reports include an identifying number — a publication number, report number, or contract number. Include it in parentheses after the title, before the period:
World Health Organization. (2022). World mental health report: Transforming mental health for all (ISBN 978-92-4-004933-8). https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240049338
U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2024). Federal student loan programs: Opportunities exist to improve oversight of schools' default rates (GAO-24-105284). https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-24-105284
Format: The number goes in regular text (not italicized) in parentheses immediately after the italicized title. Include whatever identifier the agency uses — NIH Publication No., Report No., GAO number, ISBN, etc.
If the report doesn't have a number, simply omit this element.
Legislation and Statutes
APA formatting for legal references follows a different system than standard APA references. For most student papers, a simplified format based on APA guidelines is sufficient:
Federal Law (U.S.)
Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. (1990). https://www.ada.gov/
In-text: (Americans With Disabilities Act, 1990)
Executive Order
Exec. Order No. 13985, 86 Fed. Reg. 7009 (2021). https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/25/2021-01753
In-text: (Exec. Order No. 13985, 2021)
Important note:Legal citations have their own detailed formatting conventions (the Bluebook system in the U.S.). If you're writing a paper that relies heavily on legal sources, consult the APA manual's legal references section or the Bluebook directly. For most social science papers, the simplified format above is appropriate.
Press Release
Government press releases follow a similar format to web pages, with the agency as the author:
Reference list:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, January 15). CDC releases updated guidance on respiratory virus prevention [Press release]. https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2024/p0115-respiratory-virus.html
In-text citations:
Parenthetical:(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024)
Narrative:The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024) announced…
Key details:
- Include [Press release] in square brackets after the title.
- Include the full date (year, month, day) since press releases are tied to specific announcements.
- The URL points to the specific release.
Data Set / Public Data
Government agencies publish raw data sets that you can cite directly:
Reference list:
U.S. Census Bureau. (2023). American Community Survey 1-year estimates [Data set]. https://data.census.gov/
In-text citations:
Parenthetical:(U.S. Census Bureau, 2023)
Narrative:According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2023)…
Key details:
- Include [Data set] in square brackets after the title.
- If you used a specific table or variable from a large data set, mention it in the text: "Table B01001 from the American Community Survey…"
- The URL should point to the data set or the portal where it can be accessed.
Parent Agency vs. Sub-Agency as Author
Government agencies often have nested structures — a sub-agency within a department within a larger agency. APA's rule is straightforward:
The most specific agency responsible for the report is the author. The broader parent agency is the publisher (source).
| Report Published By | Author | Publisher (Source) |
|---|---|---|
| National Institute of Mental Health | National Institute of Mental Health | U.S. Department of Health and Human Services |
| Bureau of Labor Statistics | Bureau of Labor Statistics | U.S. Department of Labor |
| National Center for Education Statistics | National Center for Education Statistics | U.S. Department of Education |
| CDC, broadly | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | U.S. Department of Health and Human Services |
Example:
Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2024). Occupational outlook handbook (2024–25 ed.). U.S. Department of Labor. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
However: If the author and the publisher are the same entity — for example, the WHO publishes its own report without a parent agency distinction — don't repeat the name in the source position:
World Health Organization. (2022). World mental health report: Transforming mental health for all. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240049338
Here, the WHO is both the author and the publisher, so listing "World Health Organization" again as the source would be redundant. Just include the URL.
In-Text Citation Examples
Here's a quick reference for different government source types:
| Source | First In-Text Citation | Subsequent Citations (if abbreviated) |
|---|---|---|
| Full agency name | (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024) | (CDC, 2024) |
| Individual authors | (Vespa et al., 2020) | (Vespa et al., 2020) |
| Legislation | (Americans With Disabilities Act, 1990) | (ADA, 1990) |
| Data set | (U.S. Census Bureau, 2023) | (U.S. Census Bureau, 2023) |
Remember: only introduce an abbreviation if you'll use the source at least three times. Otherwise, spell out the full name each time.
Common Mistakes
These are the government report citation errors we see most often:
Treating a group author as "no author." When the CDC, WHO, or any agency publishes a report, the agency is the author — even though no individual person is named. Don't use the title in the author position when an organization is clearly responsible.
Abbreviating the agency name on first use. Spell out the full agency name the first time you cite it. Introduce the abbreviation in brackets only if you'll use it again: (National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 2023).
Omitting the report number. If the report has a publication number, report number, or similar identifier, include it. It helps readers locate the exact document.
Listing the parent agency as the author instead of the sub-agency. Use the most specific agency that produced the report. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is the author, not the U.S. Department of Labor (which goes in the publisher position).
Repeating the agency name as both author and publisher. If the same organization is both author and publisher, don't list it twice. Include the URL as the source instead.
Using outdated URLs. Government websites restructure frequently. Check that your URL still works before submitting your paper. If the link has changed, use the most current URL for the same document.
What's Next
Now that you know how to cite government reports, explore these related topics:
- APA Reference List — how to format and organize all your reference entries
- How to Cite a Source With No Author in APA — what to do when there really is no identifiable author
- How to Cite a Website in APA Format — many government reports are accessed as web pages
Archivero automatically identifies government agencies as group authors and formats the reference entry with the correct parent-agency structure — so you don't have to figure out the organizational hierarchy yourself.
