PERRLA/Guides/APA 7/Constitutional amendment

How to Cite a Constitutional Amendment in APA 7

In APA 7, an amendment to the U.S. Constitution is cited in legal form: U.S. Const., then amend. and the amendment's number in Roman numerals, then the section symbol and the section if you're pointing to one: (U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1). A repealed amendment adds the year it was repealed: (U.S. Const. amend. XVIII, repealed 1933). There's no year for an amendment still in force. Each amendment you cite also goes on your references page in the same legal form, ending with a period: U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1.

The format

(U.S. Const. amend. Amendment, § Section) · repealed: (U.S. Const. amend. Amendment, repealed Year)

PERRLA APA Experts · Updated October 22, 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

Have the citation already, like U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1? Paste it into PERRLA's reference search. PERRLA recognizes it as a constitutional amendment and fills in the amendment and the section.

Adding one by hand? Choose Constitutions & Charters (under Legal References), then The U.S. Constitution. For an amendment in force, pick Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and fill in Amendment Number(s), plus the section and the clause if you need them. Type a single number as 14 or XIV, and PERRLA prints XIV either way. For a run like the Bill of Rights, type the range in Roman numerals: I–X.

For an amendment that was later repealed, pick Repealed amendment to the U.S. Constitution and fill in Year of the Amendment's repeal. PERRLA adds the repeal to the end of the citation. Add repealed amendments by hand, because the reference search reads citations of amendments in force, not the repeal note. PERRLA also lists the amendment on your references page in the same form, the way APA 7 asks.

Look up
Paste a constitution citation, get the reference

U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1

U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1.

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

The parts of the reference

1. U.S. Const.

Start with U.S. Const., the legal abbreviation for the Constitution of the United States, with no italics.

U.S. Const.

It's the same start whether you cite an article or an amendment. In your own sentences, write it out: the U.S. Constitution.

2. amend. and the number

Write amend. (with a period), a space, and the amendment's number in Roman numerals. The Constitution has 27 amendments, numbered I through XXVII.

amend. XIV

Citing several in a row? Join the first and last with an en dash: amend. I–X.

3. Section

Many amendments are divided into sections. To point to one, add a comma, the section symbol (§), a space, and the section number.

amend. XIV, § 1

The first 10 amendments have no sections, so they stop at the number: amend. I.

4. Repeal year (repealed amendments only)

If the amendment was repealed, add the word repealed and the year. Only one U.S. amendment has been repealed: the 18th, which brought in Prohibition and was repealed by the 21st in 1933.

(U.S. Const. amend. XVIII, repealed 1933)

On your references page, the repeal goes in its own parentheses: U.S. Const. amend. XVIII (repealed 1933). Inside your parenthetical citation, PERRLA sets it off with a comma instead, so you never end up with parentheses inside parentheses. An amendment in force never gets a year, not even the year it was ratified.

Examples

An amendment with a section: the 14th Amendment

Section 1 of the 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, holds the Citizenship, Due Process, and Equal Protection Clauses. It's one of the most cited parts of the Constitution, from school desegregation cases to marriage equality.

  • Parenthetical citation(U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1)
  • Narrative citationSection 1 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

A whole amendment: the First Amendment

The First Amendment protects religion, speech, the press, assembly, and petition. Like the rest of the Bill of Rights, it has no sections, so the citation ends at the number.

  • Parenthetical citation(U.S. Const. amend. I)
  • Narrative citationthe First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

An amendment typed as a number: the 19th Amendment

The 19th Amendment, ratified August 18, 1920, bars denying the vote on account of sex. The number was typed into PERRLA as 19, and PERRLA printed it as XIX.

  • Parenthetical citation(U.S. Const. amend. XIX)
  • Narrative citationthe 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

A repealed amendment: Prohibition

The 18th Amendment, ratified January 16, 1919, banned making, selling, and transporting intoxicating liquors. The 21st Amendment repealed it on December 5, 1933. Public health writing on alcohol policy still cites it, and the citation shows the repeal year.

  • Parenthetical citation(U.S. Const. amend. XVIII, repealed 1933)
  • Narrative citationthe 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, repealed in 1933

The amendment that did the repealing: the 21st Amendment

Section 1 of the 21st Amendment is the repeal itself: it declares the 18th Amendment repealed. The 21st is still in force, so its citation takes no year.

  • Parenthetical citation(U.S. Const. amend. XXI, § 1)
  • Narrative citationSection 1 of the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

In-text citations

The in-text citation for an amendment is the legal citation itself, inside parentheses. There's no year (unless the amendment was repealed) and no page number, and it reads the same every time.

  • Parenthetical: (U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1)
  • Narrative: name the amendment in your sentence: Section 1 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees equal protection of the laws.
  • No sections: (U.S. Const. amend. I)
  • A repealed amendment: PERRLA puts the repeal after a comma inside the parentheses: (U.S. Const. amend. XVIII, repealed 1933)

Naming the amendment in your sentence? Follow APA's number style: words for one through nine (the First Amendment, the Fifth Amendment) and numerals from 10 up (the 14th Amendment, the 19th Amendment). Inside the parentheses, the number is always in Roman numerals.

Common mistakes

  • (U.S. Const. amend. 14, sec. 1)(U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1)Legal citation writes amendment numbers in Roman numerals and uses the section symbol. In PERRLA you can type 14 and it prints XIV.
  • (Fourteenth Amendment, 1868)(U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1)Amendments aren't cited by name and year. The ratification year stays out of the citation for any amendment still in force.
  • (U.S. Const. amend. XVIII)(U.S. Const. amend. XVIII, repealed 1933)A repealed amendment shows the year it was repealed, so your reader knows it's no longer in force.
  • (U.S. Const. amend. XXI, 1933)(U.S. Const. amend. XXI, § 1)The 21st Amendment is the one that did the repealing, and it's still in force. Only the repealed amendment carries a year.
  • (U.S. Const. amend. I-X)(U.S. Const. amend. I–X)A range of amendments takes an en dash, not a hyphen.

Quick checklist

  • A references page entry for each amendment you cite, in the same form as the in-text citation
  • U.S. Const. amend. and the number in Roman numerals
  • § and the section when the amendment has sections
  • An en dash for a range, like I–X
  • The repeal year only for a repealed amendment
  • Words for one through nine and numerals from 10 up in your sentences

Questions students ask

Does a constitutional amendment go on my references page?

Yes. APA 7 gives each amendment you cite a references page entry, in the same legal form as the in-text citation: U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1. A repealed amendment's entry puts the repeal in parentheses at the end: U.S. Const. amend. XVIII (repealed 1933). Only a mention of the Constitution as a whole, without pointing to an amendment or article, needs no citation.

Do I include the year the amendment was ratified?

No. An amendment in force is cited without a year. The only year that appears is the repeal year, for an amendment that was repealed. You can mention the ratification year in your sentence if it matters to your point.

Which amendments have been repealed?

Just one: the 18th Amendment (Prohibition), repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933. Its citation carries the repeal year: (U.S. Const. amend. XVIII, repealed 1933).

Do I write "14th Amendment" or "Fourteenth Amendment" in my paper?

APA's number style uses words for one through nine and numerals from 10 up, so it's the First Amendment and the 14th Amendment. Inside the parenthetical citation, the number is in Roman numerals: amend. XIV.

How do I cite the Bill of Rights?

Cite the first 10 amendments as a range: (U.S. Const. amend. I–X). If you mean one right, cite that amendment alone.

How do I cite an amendment to a state constitution?

Use the state's legal abbreviation in place of U.S., then Const. amend. and the number. Many states write changes into the articles themselves, so check whether your state's constitution has numbered amendments or just articles. See the guide to citing a state constitution.

Rules checked against the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.), Chapter 11 (legal references), including Section 11.9 (constitutions and charters) and its repealed amendment example, which follow the legal citation format of The Bluebook, and Sections 6.32–6.35 for numbers in your sentences. Amendment text, sections, and ratification and repeal dates verified against the National Archives transcriptions of the Bill of Rights and Amendments XI–XXVII.

PERRLA writes constitutional amendment citations in legal form, Roman numerals, sections, and repeal years included.

Try PERRLA free for 7 days