PERRLA/Guides/APA 7/Press release

How to Cite a Press Release in APA 7

An APA 7 press release reference names the organization that issued it as the author, then gives the full date in parentheses (year, month, and day), the title in sentence case and italics, the label [Press release] in square brackets, and the URL. Name a publisher only when the release is posted somewhere other than the author's own site, such as PR Newswire. The in-text citation is the organization's name and the year: (U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2023).

The format

Organization Name. (Year, Month Day). Title of the press release [Press release]. Publisher Name (if different from the author). https://xxxx

PERRLA APA Experts ยท 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

Paste the press release's URL into PERRLA's reference search. PERRLA recognizes press release pages (links with press-announcements or news-releases in them, or pages marked "For Immediate Release") and picks the Press Release reference type for you. For organizations it knows, like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, it fills in the organization as the group author with its abbreviation, the title in sentence case, the date, and the URL, and it leaves the publisher out of the reference when it matches the author.

Then check the result against the release. If the author came in as a website address or an abbreviation (prnewswire.com or NCSBN), type the organization's full name in its place. If the date is blank, add the date printed on the release. And read the title once: a proper noun can come in lowercase (American nurses Association), so fix any capitals it missed. If you found it on a news distribution service, put the service's name (PR Newswire, Business Wire) in the publisher field.

Adding one by hand? Choose Press Release, add a Group Author (Organization), and type the organization's full name. Put its abbreviation in the Abbreviation field if you'll cite it often, and PERRLA spells the name out in your first citation and uses the abbreviation after that. Type the title in sentence case. PERRLA adds the italics and the [Press release] label.

Look up
Paste a URL, get the reference

https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-first-over-counter-naloxone-nasal-spray

U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2023, March 29). FDA approves first over-the-counter naloxone nasal spray [Press release]. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-first-over-counter-naloxone-nasal-spray

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

The parts of the reference

1. Author

The author is the organization that issued the release: the agency, association, company, or university. Write its full name, not its abbreviation, exactly as the organization writes it.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Most releases quote people, like a commissioner or a CEO. Those people aren't the authors. The organization is. A news distribution service like PR Newswire isn't the author either: look for the line that says who provided the news, or the name in the "About" paragraph at the end.

2. Date

Give the exact date the release went out: the year, a comma, the month spelled out, and the day, all in parentheses, then a period. Releases are dated to the day, so the reference is too.

(2023, March 29).

Use the release date, often printed after "For Immediate Release" or in the dateline. Don't use a "Content current as of" or a last-updated date unless it's the only date on the page. With no date at all, write (n.d.).

3. Title

Write the headline in sentence case and italics: capitalize the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns, like organization and drug names. Press releases print their headlines in title case, so you'll usually need to lowercase most of the words.

FDA approves first over-the-counter naloxone nasal spray

Use the main headline only. The smaller line under it (a subheadline, like "Agency Continues to Take Critical Steps...") stays out of the reference.

4. [Press release]

Right after the title, add the description [Press release] in square brackets, with a capital P and a lowercase r. It isn't italic. Put the period after the closing bracket.

Nurse practitioner profession grows to 385,000 strong [Press release].

5. Publisher

When the release is on the author's own website, leave the publisher out: the name would just repeat the author. When it's posted by a news distribution service or another site, name that site after the bracket.

[Press release]. PR Newswire.

6. URL

End with the release's URL, written out in full. Don't put a period after it, and don't write "Retrieved from" in front of it. A press release doesn't change after it goes out, so it needs no retrieval date.

https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-first-over-counter-naloxone-nasal-spray

Examples

A press release from a government agency

The FDA's March 2023 release announcing the first over-the-counter naloxone nasal spray. The agency is both the author and the website, so there's no publisher, and the in-text citation here points to the fourth paragraph, where the commissioner is quoted.

  • Parenthetical citation(U.S. Food and Drug Administration [FDA], 2023, para. 4)
  • Narrative citationU.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA, 2023, para. 4)
  • Later citations(FDA, 2023, para. 4)

A press release announcing new research

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing's April 2023 release on nurses leaving the workforce after the pandemic. The release reports findings from a larger study, so it's the right source only when you're citing the announcement itself (see the FAQ below).

  • Parenthetical citation(National Council of State Boards of Nursing [NCSBN], 2023)
  • Narrative citationNational Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN, 2023)
  • Later citations(NCSBN, 2023)

A press release on PR Newswire

The American Association of Nurse Practitioners' November 2023 release on the growth of the NP workforce, as posted on PR Newswire. AANP is the author. PR Newswire only distributed it, so it goes in the publisher spot after the bracket.

  • Parenthetical citation(American Association of Nurse Practitioners [AANP], 2023)
  • Narrative citationAmerican Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP, 2023)
  • Later citations(AANP, 2023)

A press release from a professional association, cited once

The American Nurses Association's November 2025 release declaring a National Nurses Day of Action. If you cite it only once or twice, skip the abbreviation and write the full name every time. The event's name keeps its capitals in the title because it's a proper noun.

  • Parenthetical citation(American Nurses Association, 2025)
  • Narrative citationAmerican Nurses Association (2025)

In-text citations

An APA 7 in-text citation for a press release gives the organization's name and the year. The month and day stay in the reference only.

  • Parenthetical: (American Nurses Association, 2025)
  • Narrative: American Nurses Association (2025) called on Congress to act.
  • With an abbreviation, first citation: spell out the name and put the abbreviation in square brackets: (U.S. Food and Drug Administration [FDA], 2023). In a narrative citation, the abbreviation goes in the parentheses with the year: U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA, 2023).
  • With an abbreviation, every citation after that: (FDA, 2023) or FDA (2023)
  • A quote: press releases have no page numbers, so count the paragraphs and give the number: (FDA, 2023, para. 4). Skip the headline and subheadline when you count.
  • No date: the organization's name and n.d.: (Organization Name, n.d.)

Quoting someone the release quotes, like the FDA commissioner? Cite the press release, not the person. The release is where you read the words.

Common mistakes

  • U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2023). FDA approves first over-the-counter naloxone nasal spray [Press release].U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2023, March 29). FDA approves first over-the-counter naloxone nasal spray [Press release].Press releases are dated to the day, so the reference gives the year, month, and day. Only the in-text citation shortens it to the year.
  • FDA Approves First Over-the-Counter Naloxone Nasal Spray [Press release].FDA approves first over-the-counter naloxone nasal spray [Press release].The release prints its headline in title case, but APA 7 puts every title in a reference in sentence case. Proper nouns like FDA keep their capitals.
  • PR Newswire. (2023, November 13). Nurse practitioner profession grows to 385,000 strong [Press release].American Association of Nurse Practitioners. (2023, November 13). Nurse practitioner profession grows to 385,000 strong [Press release]. PR Newswire.A distribution service posts other organizations' releases. The organization that issued it is the author, and the service goes after the bracket as the publisher.
  • U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2023, March 29). FDA approves first over-the-counter naloxone nasal spray [Press release]. U.S. Food and Drug Administration.U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2023, March 29). FDA approves first over-the-counter naloxone nasal spray [Press release].When the author and the publisher are the same organization, APA 7 leaves the publisher out so the name doesn't appear twice.
  • NCSBN. (2023, April 13).National Council of State Boards of Nursing. (2023, April 13).Write the group author's full name in the reference. The abbreviation belongs in your in-text citations, after you've spelled it out once.
  • NCSBN research projects significant nursing workforce shortages and crisis. Retrieved from https://www.ncsbn.org/news/...NCSBN research projects significant nursing workforce shortages and crisis [Press release]. https://www.ncsbn.org/news/...The [Press release] label tells your reader what kind of source this is, and APA 7 dropped "Retrieved from" before URLs.

Quick checklist

  • The organization that issued it as the author, full name spelled out
  • The full date: year, month, and day
  • Title in sentence case and italics, main headline only
  • [Press release] in square brackets right after the title
  • Publisher only when it's different from the author, like PR Newswire
  • The URL, with no period after it

Questions students ask

Should I cite the press release or the study it's about?

Cite the study whenever you can. A press release summarizes research for reporters, and your instructor will want the evidence itself, usually the journal article or the full report. Cite the press release when the announcement is your point (what an agency approved, or what an association called for) or when the release is the only public version of the information.

Who is the author of a press release?

The organization that issued it. People quoted in the release, like a commissioner or a CEO, aren't authors, and neither is the media contact. On a news distribution site, look for "News provided by" or "Source" to find the organization.

Is a press release title italicized in APA 7?

Yes. A press release stands on its own, like a report, so its title is italic and in sentence case. The [Press release] label after it isn't italic.

What if I found the press release on PR Newswire or Business Wire?

The organization that issued it is still the author. Add the distribution service's name after [Press release] as the publisher, then give the URL where you read it. If the same release is on the organization's own website, you can cite that version instead and leave the publisher out.

How do I quote a press release with no page numbers?

Count the paragraphs from the top of the release's body and give the number: (FDA, 2023, para. 4). If the release has section headings, you can name the heading and count from there instead.

Is a press release a scholarly source?

No. A press release is written by the organization to announce its own news, so it isn't peer reviewed and it presents the organization's view. It's fine for facts about the announcement itself, like a date, an approval, or a position, but pair it with peer-reviewed research for clinical claims.

Rules checked against the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.), Sections 6.17, 8.21, 8.28, 9.11, 9.14, 9.16, 9.18, 9.19, 9.29, 9.34, and 10.4, and the APA Style website's press release reference example. Each example release was opened on October 21, 2026, to confirm the issuing organization, the headline, the release date, and the URL.

PERRLA builds the press release reference from its link, with the date, the italics, and the [Press release] label in place.

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