First, the easy way: PERRLA
In PERRLA, choose Journal, then Journal article, then the kind In-press article. PERRLA hides the year, volume, issue, and page fields, since an in-press article doesn't have them yet. Fill in the authors, the article title, and the journal that accepted it, then the DOI or URL of the posted manuscript if there is one. PERRLA prints (in press) in the reference and in every in-text citation.
Found the manuscript on arXiv or another preprint server? PERRLA's reference search will find it from the link, but it builds a preprint reference, because that's what the server's record describes. When the authors say it's been accepted, set it up by hand as an In-press article instead.
When the article comes out, open the reference and change the kind: Advance online publication if it's online without a volume yet, or A single published article once it's in an issue. Add the year and the journal's DOI, and PERRLA updates your in-text citations to match.
Not using PERRLA yet? Here is how to build the same reference by hand.
The parts of the reference
1. Authors
List every author as the manuscript names them, last name first, then initials, with an ampersand before the last one.
Pan, C., Li, Y., Harris, T., & Suk, Y.
2. (in press)
Where the year would go, write in press in parentheses, all lowercase, followed by a period. Don't add a year: the article doesn't have a publication date until it's published.
(in press).
3. Article title
The title in sentence case: capitalize the first word, the first word after a colon, proper nouns, and acronyms. Don't italicize it. If the posted copy's title differs from the accepted title, use the one the authors give for the journal version.
Noise emissions from hyperscale AI data centers: A poorly characterized exposure at the doorstep of community health research.
4. Journal name
The name of the journal that accepted the article, in italics and title case, then a period. Stop there: there's no volume, issue, page range, or article number yet.
Zeitschrift für Psychologie.
5. DOI or URL of the posted copy
If the authors posted the accepted manuscript to a preprint server like arXiv or PsyArXiv, or to their university's repository, end with its DOI, or its URL if it has no DOI. APA gives a DOI or URL for any work you read online, so the link takes your reader to the copy you used. No period after it.
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2610.03975
Got the manuscript from the author or your instructor, with nothing online? End the reference after the journal name.
Examples
An in-press article posted to arXiv
A narrative review of noise near AI data centers by Davide Bray and Francesca Dominici, accepted by Noise & Health and posted to arXiv on October 2, 2026. The arXiv DOI points readers to the manuscript.
References
Bray, D., & Dominici, F. (in press). Noise emissions from hyperscale AI data centers: A poorly characterized exposure at the doorstep of community health research. Noise & Health. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2610.03975
- Parenthetical citation(Bray & Dominici, in press)
- Narrative citationBray and Dominici (in press)
An in-press article with four authors
An education research tutorial accepted by Zeitschrift für Psychologie, posted to arXiv on October 7, 2026. With three or more authors, the in-text citation uses et al. and still says in press.
References
Pan, C., Li, Y., Harris, T., & Suk, Y. (in press). Estimating optimal dynamic treatment regimes for personalized education: A tutorial and applications with machine learning. Zeitschrift für Psychologie. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2610.10843
- Parenthetical citation(Pan et al., in press)
- Narrative citationPan et al. (in press)
When an in-press article goes online
This emergency triage study was posted to arXiv as in press at npj Digital Medicine. The journal then put it online on September 16, 2026, with a DOI but no volume or article number. From that point it's an advance online publication: use the year and the journal's DOI, not in press.
References
Guerra-Adames, A., Avalos-Fernandez, M., Dorémus, O., Celi, L. A., Gil-Jardiné, C., & Lagarde, E. (2026). Auditing sex/gender disparities in emergency triage with LLM-based paired comparisons. npj Digital Medicine. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-026-03090-7
- Parenthetical citation(Guerra-Adames et al., 2026)
- Narrative citationGuerra-Adames et al. (2026)
In-text citations
An in-press article's in-text citation uses in press where the year would go, in parentheses and in narrative citations alike.
- Two authors: both names every time: (Bray & Dominici, in press) or Bray and Dominici (in press)
- Three or more authors: the first author and et al., starting with the first citation: (Pan et al., in press) or Pan et al. (in press)
- A quote: the manuscript's pages may change before publication, so give the page or paragraph number of the copy you read, the same way you'd point to any spot in a source
Once the article is published, update the year everywhere: in the reference and in every in-text citation.
Common mistakes
- Bray, D., & Dominici, F. (2026, in press).Bray, D., & Dominici, F. (in press).In press replaces the year. An accepted article doesn't have a publication year yet, so there's nothing to put beside it.
- Bray, D., & Dominici, F. (forthcoming).Bray, D., & Dominici, F. (in press).Forthcoming is the MLA and Turabian wording. APA uses in press, lowercase, inside the parentheses.
- Guerra-Adames, A., … (in press). Auditing sex/gender disparities in emergency triage with LLM-based paired comparisons. npj Digital Medicine.Guerra-Adames, A., … (2026). Auditing sex/gender disparities in emergency triage with LLM-based paired comparisons. npj Digital Medicine. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-026-03090-7A preprint server's "in press" note doesn't update itself. Check the journal before you submit: once the article is online with a DOI, it's an advance online publication.
- Pan, C., Li, Y., Harris, T., & Suk, Y. (in press). Estimating optimal dynamic treatment regimes for personalized education: A tutorial and applications with machine learning. arXiv.Pan, C., Li, Y., Harris, T., & Suk, Y. (in press). Estimating optimal dynamic treatment regimes for personalized education: A tutorial and applications with machine learning. Zeitschrift für Psychologie. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2610.10843The journal that accepted the article goes in the italic spot. The preprint server only shows up in the link.
- Calling an article in press because the journal's site says Articles in Press or Journal Pre-proofCiting it as an advance online publication, with the year and Advance online publication before the DOIPublisher labels don't follow APA's terms. Once the journal itself has posted the article with a DOI, APA treats it as published online, not in press.
Quick checklist
- Accepted by the journal, not just submitted
- Not yet posted on the journal's own site
- (in press) in place of the year, lowercase
- Journal name in italics, with no volume, issue, or pages
- The posted copy's DOI or URL, if there is one
- In-text citation with in press in place of the year
Questions students ask
What does in press mean?
The article has been peer reviewed and accepted by a journal, but the journal hasn't published it yet. You might see a copy because the authors posted their accepted manuscript online or shared it with you.
What's the difference between in press and an advance online publication?
Where the article lives. In press means the journal hasn't posted it yet. An advance online publication is on the journal's own site with a DOI, just not assigned to an issue. See our guide to advance online publications.
The manuscript was submitted but not accepted. Is it in press?
No. Until a journal accepts it, it's an unpublished manuscript, and APA describes it as Manuscript submitted for publication in square brackets, with the year of the draft, no journal name, and the authors' university if the manuscript lists one. See our guide to unpublished manuscripts.
Can I cite the arXiv copy as a preprint instead?
Yes. APA notes that a posted preprint may be the authors' accepted manuscript, and it says to cite the version you used. As a preprint, the reference gives the year it was posted, the title in italics, and the server's name before the DOI. In press tells your reader a journal has accepted the work, so use it when the manuscript says so. See our guide to preprints.
The journal's site says Articles in Press. Do I use in press?
No. Some publishers, Elsevier among them, use that label for articles they've already posted online with a DOI. In APA terms, that's an advance online publication, or an article with a volume and article number if those have been assigned.
How do I cite two in-press articles by the same author?
Add lowercase letters after in press, joined with a hyphen: in press-a and in press-b, in the reference and in the in-text citation, with the letters assigned in title order. In the reference list, an author's works in press come after that author's dated works.
Should I check an in-press article before I turn in my paper?
Yes. Look up the title on the journal's site or in PubMed. If it's been published, replace in press with the year and add the journal's DOI, plus the volume, issue, and pages if it's in an issue.
Related guides
Rules checked against the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.), Sections 8.17, 9.8, 9.34–9.36, 9.46–9.47, and 10.1 (Examples 7 and 8), and the APA Style website's journal article reference examples (which point to those two examples for articles whose volume, issue, and pages haven't been assigned), its reference elements and author–date citation pages (in press in place of the year, in the reference and in the text), and its preprint examples. Example sources verified on October 21, 2026, against each arXiv abstract page and its arXiv DOI, a Crossref search confirming neither in-press article has a journal DOI yet, and the npj Digital Medicine article page.