PERRLA/Guides/APA 7/Book by an organization

How to Cite a Book by an Organization in APA 7

When an organization wrote a book, its full name goes first as the group author, followed by the year in parentheses, the book title in italics and sentence case, any edition, and the publisher. If the organization also published the book, leave the publisher out so the name doesn't appear twice. The in-text citation is the organization's name and the year: (American Nurses Association, 2021).

The format

Name of Organization. (Year). Title of the book (edition). Publisher, only if different from the author. https://doi.org/xxxx

PERRLA APA Experts · Updated October 21, 2026
Checked against the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition. Every example is formatted by PERRLA's reference engine.

First, the easy way: PERRLA

In PERRLA, choose Book, then Book, e-book, or audiobook and All or part of a book. Add the organization as a Group Author (Organization) contributor, not as a person, and type its full name the way the title page shows it. If the organization goes by a short form, like ANA, put it in the Abbrev. box.

Then fill in the title, year, edition, publisher, and DOI. When the publisher you enter matches the group author's name exactly, PERRLA leaves it off the reference for you. If the book comes from the group's own publishing arm, like American Psychiatric Association Publishing, type the group's name in the publisher box or leave the publisher blank. When you've given an abbreviation, PERRLA writes the full name with the abbreviation in brackets the first time you cite the book, and just the abbreviation after that.

Not using PERRLA yet? Here is how to build the same reference by hand.

The parts of the reference

1. Group author

Write the organization's full name exactly as the book shows it, followed by a period. Don't abbreviate it in the reference, even if you'll use an abbreviation in your paper, and don't add the abbreviation in parentheses after the name.

American Nurses Association.

Look at the cover or title page to decide who the author is. If only the organization is named there, the organization is the author, even when staff members or a workgroup are thanked inside. If people are named as authors or editors on the title page, cite them instead. For a government agency, use the most specific agency that produced the book, not the whole chain of parent departments.

2. Year

Put the year in parentheses, followed by a period. Use the copyright year from the book's copyright page, even if the book went on sale the year before.

(2020).

No year anywhere in the book? Write (n.d.) instead.

3. Title and edition

Write the title in italics and sentence case: capitalize the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns. An organization's name inside the title keeps its capitals. If the book has an edition number, add it in parentheses after the title, not in italics, then a period.

Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.).

4. Publisher

Name the publisher next, without a city or state. When the organization that wrote the book also published it, leave the publisher out entirely. The reference goes straight from the title to the DOI, or simply ends after the title.

Nursing: Scope and standards of practice (4th ed.).

That's where the American Nurses Association's book ends: no publisher, because ANA wrote it and published it.

When a different publisher released the book, keep it. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine wrote The Future of Nursing 2020–2030, but the National Academies Press published it, so both names appear.

An organization's own publishing arm counts as the same organization. APA Style's reference for the DSM-5-TR leaves the publisher off, even though the book comes from American Psychiatric Association Publishing.

5. DOI or URL

If the book has a DOI, end with it as a link. Don't put a period after it.

https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

No DOI? A print book, or an e-book from a library database, ends after the title or the publisher. If you read the book on the organization's website and the link will open for your reader, end with that URL.

Examples

An organization that wrote and published its own book

The Publication Manual itself. The American Psychological Association is both the author and the publisher, so its name appears once. It's long and well known, so it's a good name to abbreviate in your paper.

  • Parenthetical citation(American Psychological Association [APA], 2020, p. 35)
  • Narrative citationAmerican Psychological Association (APA, 2020, p. 35)
  • Later citations(APA, 2020, p. 35)

A nursing organization's book with an edition and no DOI

The American Nurses Association's Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice, 4th edition, published by ANA in 2021. There's no DOI, and the publisher matches the author, so the reference ends after the edition. ANA has since published a 5th edition. If that's the one you used, take the year from its copyright page.

  • Parenthetical citation(American Nurses Association [ANA], 2021)
  • Narrative citationAmerican Nurses Association (ANA, 2021)
  • Later citations(ANA, 2021)

An organization's book released by a different publisher

The landmark report on the future of the nursing workforce. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is the author, and the National Academies Press is the publisher, so the publisher stays in. APA Style's own nursing reference examples cite this book the same way.

  • Parenthetical citation(National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2021)
  • Narrative citationNational Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2021)

In-text citations

An in-text citation for a book by an organization uses the organization's name in place of a person's last name, plus the year. Add a page number when you quote.

  • Full name every time: (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2021) or National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (2021)
  • With an abbreviation, first citation: spell out the name and add the abbreviation in square brackets inside parentheses, (American Nurses Association [ANA], 2021), or in parentheses before the year in a narrative citation, American Nurses Association (ANA, 2021)
  • With an abbreviation, every citation after that: (ANA, 2021) or ANA (2021)
  • A quote: add the page: (American Psychological Association [APA], 2020, p. 35)

Abbreviating is optional. It helps when the abbreviation is well known, when it saves clunky repetition, or when you'll use it at least three times. Introduce it only once, even if you cite several books by the same organization. If two groups in your paper share an abbreviation, like the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association, spell both names out every time.

Common mistakes

  • American Nurses Association. (2021). Nursing: Scope and standards of practice (4th ed.). American Nurses Association.American Nurses Association. (2021). Nursing: Scope and standards of practice (4th ed.).When the author and the publisher are the same organization, APA 7 leaves the publisher out so the name isn't repeated.
  • ANA. (2021). Nursing: Scope and standards of practice (4th ed.).American Nurses Association. (2021). Nursing: Scope and standards of practice (4th ed.).The reference always spells out the full name. Abbreviations belong in the in-text citations only.
  • American Psychological Association (APA). (2020).American Psychological Association. (2020).Don't tack the abbreviation onto the name in the reference. It's introduced in your first in-text citation instead.
  • Washington, DC: National Academies Press.National Academies Press.APA 7 dropped publisher locations from book references.
  • (APA, 2020) the first time you cite the manual(American Psychological Association [APA], 2020), then (APA, 2020)Your reader needs the full name once before the abbreviation can stand on its own.

Quick checklist

  • The organization's full name as the author, never the abbreviation
  • The copyright year in parentheses
  • Title in italics and sentence case, with the edition in plain parentheses
  • Publisher left out when it's the same organization as the author
  • DOI as a https://doi.org/ link when the book has one
  • Abbreviation, if you use one, introduced in the first in-text citation

Questions students ask

Who is the author when a book is written by an organization?

The organization is. Write its full name in the author position, just as you'd write a person's name. Check the cover or title page: if only the organization appears there, it's a group author, even if staff are named in the acknowledgments.

Do I include the publisher if it's the same as the author?

No. When the organization that wrote the book also published it, APA 7 leaves the publisher out to avoid repeating the name. The reference ends after the title and edition, or with the DOI if there is one.

Can I abbreviate the organization's name?

Yes, in your paper, but not in the reference. Spell out the name in your first citation and give the abbreviation with it, (American Nurses Association [ANA], 2021), then use (ANA, 2021) after that. It's optional, and most useful when the name is long or you cite the group often.

What if the book is by a government agency?

Use the most specific agency responsible for the book as the author, like the National Institute of Nursing Research rather than the whole Department of Health and Human Services. Parent agencies that aren't part of the author's name go in the publisher spot. For agency reports, see our government report guide.

What if the organization's book has no date?

Write (n.d.) in place of the year, in both the reference and the in-text citation: (American Nurses Association, n.d.). Check the copyright page first, since most books have a year there.

Is a book by an organization the same as a report?

The format is almost the same: group author, year, italic title, publisher if different, and DOI or URL. Use the book format when the work was published as a book, and the report format for documents an organization issues as reports, guidelines, or fact sheets. A report can add a report number in parentheses after the title, and a fact sheet adds [Fact sheet] in brackets.

Rules checked against the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.), Sections 8.21, 9.7, 9.11, 9.29, and 10.2, and the APA Style website's pages on group author abbreviations, the elements of reference list entries, book references, and nursing student references. Example sources verified against each book's DOI record, APA PsycNet, and the American Nurses Association's own book pages.

PERRLA formats group authors for you, drops the publisher when it matches the author, and handles the abbreviation in every citation.

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