Content4 min read
How to Cite a YouTube Video (APA, MLA, Chicago)
How to cite a YouTube video in APA, MLA, Chicago and Harvard: which fields you need, where to find them, and how to handle a channel with no real name.
To cite a YouTube video you need five things: who uploaded it, the upload date, the video title, the site name, and the URL. Every citation style arranges those five differently. Here is each arrangement, plus what to do when the uploader is a channel rather than a person.
The five fields, and where to find them
| Field | Where |
|---|---|
| Uploader | The channel name under the video. Use the real name if it is known, otherwise the channel name |
| Upload date | Under the video, or in the page metadata for the exact date |
| Title | Exactly as written, including capitalisation |
| Site | "YouTube" |
| URL | The full watch URL. Add a timestamp if you are citing a moment |
FreeMentioned in this article
YouTube Citation GeneratorAPA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard and BibTeX, from the video’s own metadata.The generator reads these from the video page and formats them for each style, which removes the two most common errors: a paraphrased title and a guessed date.
How to cite a YouTube video in each style
APA
Uploader. (Year, Month Day). Title of video [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDAPA uses the uploader as the author — the channel name is acceptable when no personal name is given, and a real name is used with the channel name in square brackets when both are known.
MLA
"Title of Video." YouTube, uploaded by Uploader, Day Month Year, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ID.MLA leads with the title in quotation marks and credits the uploader after the site.
Chicago (notes-bibliography)
Uploader, "Title of Video," YouTube video, duration, Month Day, Year, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ID.Chicago wants the running time, which is one of the fields a citation generator saves you from counting by hand.
Harvard
Uploader (Year) Title of video. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ID (Accessed: Day Month Year).Harvard is the style that wants an access date, because it assumes web content moves.
Why the fields are harder than they look
Two of the five fields are where citations go wrong, and both are avoidable.
The date. The date shown under a video is relative once it is older than a few days - "3 years ago" is not a citation. The exact upload date is in the page metadata, and it is what every style expects. Guessing from a relative label produces a citation that cannot be verified, which defeats the purpose.
The title. Titles get edited. A video cited under an old title is hard for a reader to find, and titles are also frequently written in a capitalisation that your style guide would change - MLA and Chicago want title case, APA wants sentence case for the video title. Copy the title exactly, then apply the style's capitalisation rather than retyping from memory.
The third quiet trap is the URL. Share links carry tracking parameters (
?si= and similar) that are specific to the person who copied them. Strip everything after the video ID; a citation should not carry a referral tag.Citing a specific moment
If your point rests on something said at 4:12, cite that moment rather than the whole video. A timestamped URL is a legitimate citation target and it saves your reader scrubbing through forty minutes.
FreeMentioned in this article
YouTube Timestamp Link BuilderDeep links to exact moments, plus a chapter block that actually works.The format is covered in how to make a YouTube timestamp link — and note that citation styles differ on whether the timestamp goes in the URL, in the in-text citation, or both. Follow your institution's guide over any generator, including ours.
The awkward cases
A channel with no personal name. Use the channel name as the author. Do not invent a person.
A re-upload. Cite what you actually watched, and say so if the original is identifiable. Citing the original when you watched a copy is a small dishonesty that occasionally becomes a large one.
A video that has since been deleted. Keep your access date and, where the style allows, note that it is no longer available. Archived copies are worth linking if a reputable archive has one.
A private or unlisted video. Cite it as personal communication if it is not publicly retrievable — a citation that nobody else can follow is not a citation.
For the underlying data, everything a video declares about itself is public and readable:
FreeMentioned in this article
YouTube Metadata ViewerEvery field a YouTube video declares about itself, in one table.Style authorities: the APA Style guidance covers YouTube references directly, and your institution's guide overrides everything here.
Who is the author when citing a YouTube video?
The uploader. Use a real name if the channel gives one, otherwise the channel name itself. Do not attribute a video to someone who merely appears in it.
Do I need the upload date or the access date?
APA, MLA and Chicago use the upload date. Harvard also wants the access date, because web content changes.
How do I cite a specific time in a YouTube video?
Use a timestamped URL, and follow your style guide on whether the time also appears in the in-text citation.
Can I cite a deleted YouTube video?
You can cite what you watched, with the access date, and note that it is no longer available. An archived copy is worth linking where one exists.
Generate the citation in every style from the video URL with the citation generator.
Put it to work
Tools for the job you just read about
Free to run, most of them without an account.
FreeUtilities
YouTube Citation Generator
APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard and BibTeX, from the video’s own metadata.
Generate →
FreeUtilities
YouTube Timestamp Link Builder
Deep links to exact moments, plus a chapter block that actually works.
Build →
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YouTube Metadata Viewer
Every field a YouTube video declares about itself, in one table.
View metadata →30 runs
FreeContent
Jargon & Acronym Detector
The words that make sense to you and not to whoever just arrived.
Detect →
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Sentence Rhythm Analyzer
Why a draft with nothing wrong with it still reads flat.
Analyze →
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Crutch Phrase Finder
The phrases you use every time, which you are the last to notice.
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