First, the easy way: PERRLA
Have the citation from your reading, like Fla. Const. art. I, § 23? Paste it into PERRLA's reference search. PERRLA recognizes it as a state constitution and fills in the state, the article, and the section.
Adding one by hand? Choose Constitutions & Charters (under Legal References), then A state Constitution, and pick Article of a state constitution (or the amendment choice, for a state that numbers its amendments). In State's Abbreviation, you can type the state's full name or its postal code: PERRLA changes Florida or FL to the legal abbreviation, Fla. Then fill in the article and the section. Type a single article number as 7 or VII, and PERRLA prints VII either way.
PERRLA writes the in-text citation in legal form. It also lists the provision on your references page in the same form, the way APA 7 asks.
Fla. Const. art. I, § 23
Fla. Const. art. I, § 23.
Not using PERRLA yet? Here is how to build the same reference by hand.
The parts of the reference
1. State abbreviation
Start with the state's abbreviation in legal citation form. It's not the two-letter postal code: Florida is Fla., New York is N.Y., and Texas is Tex. A few short names, like Ohio and Iowa, aren't abbreviated at all.
Fla.
2. Const.
Follow the state with Const., short for constitution, with a period and no italics.
Fla. Const.
In your own sentences, write it out: the Florida Constitution.
3. Article
Write art. and the article number in Roman numerals. Use Roman numerals even when the state's own website prints the article in Arabic numerals: Texas's site lists "Article 7," and the citation reads art. VII.
art. I
4. Section
Add a comma, the section symbol (§), a space, and the section number exactly as the constitution numbers it.
art. I, § 23
Citing a whole article? Stop after the article number: Fla. Const. art. IX.
5. Amendments (in some states)
Most states change their constitutions by rewriting the articles, so you cite the article and section as they read now. A few states keep numbered amendments at the end instead. For those, write amend. and the number in place of the article.
Const. amend.
Examples
An article and section: Florida's right of privacy
Article I, Section 23 of the Florida Constitution, added in 1980, gives every person "the right to be let alone" from government intrusion into their private life. It comes up in health privacy and patient rights papers. The state was typed into PERRLA as Florida, and PERRLA printed Fla.
References
Fla. Const. art. I, § 23.
- Parenthetical citation(Fla. Const. art. I, § 23)
- Narrative citationArticle I, Section 23, of the Florida Constitution
A public health provision: New York
Article XVII, Section 3 of the New York Constitution declares that protecting and promoting the health of the state's residents is a matter of public concern. It's a natural source for public health and community health nursing papers.
References
N.Y. Const. art. XVII, § 3.
- Parenthetical citation(N.Y. Const. art. XVII, § 3)
- Narrative citationArticle XVII, Section 3, of the New York Constitution
A state that numbers articles in Arabic: Texas
Article 7, Section 1 of the Texas Constitution makes it the Legislature's duty to support an efficient system of public free schools. The Texas Legislature's site prints "Article 7," so the article was typed into PERRLA as 7, and PERRLA printed VII.
References
Tex. Const. art. VII, § 1.
- Parenthetical citation(Tex. Const. art. VII, § 1)
- Narrative citationArticle VII, Section 1, of the Texas Constitution
A whole article: Florida's education article
Article IX of the Florida Constitution covers education. When your point is about the article as a whole, leave the section box empty.
References
Fla. Const. art. IX.
- Parenthetical citation(Fla. Const. art. IX)
- Narrative citationArticle IX of the Florida Constitution
In-text citations
A state constitution's in-text citation is the legal citation itself, inside parentheses. It has no year and no page, and it reads the same every time you cite it.
- Parenthetical: (Fla. Const. art. I, § 23)
- Narrative: write it out in your sentence: Article I, Section 23, of the Florida Constitution protects a person's right to be let alone.
- A whole article: (Fla. Const. art. IX)
- Comparing states: each state gets its own citation: (Fla. Const. art. I, § 23; N.Y. Const. art. XVII, § 3)
Writing about a state law instead of the constitution? Laws passed by a state legislature are cited from the state's code instead. See the guide to citing a state law.
Common mistakes
- (Florida Constitution, art. 1, sec. 23)(Fla. Const. art. I, § 23)State constitutions take legal citation form: the state's abbreviation, Const., a Roman numeral article, and the section symbol.
- (FL Const. art. I, § 23)(Fla. Const. art. I, § 23)Legal citation uses the state's citation abbreviation, not the postal code. In PERRLA, typing FL or Florida gives you Fla.
- (Tex. Const. art. 7, § 1)(Tex. Const. art. VII, § 1)Articles go in Roman numerals in the citation, even when the state's website numbers them in Arabic numerals.
- (N.Y. Const. art. XVII, § 3, 1938)(N.Y. Const. art. XVII, § 3)A provision in force is cited without a year, the same as the U.S. Constitution.
- New York State Constitution. (n.d.). New York State Senate. https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CNS/A17S3N.Y. Const. art. XVII, § 3.The references page entry is in legal form, pointing to the provision. It has no date, no website name, and no link, even when you read the text on a legislature's site.
Quick checklist
- A references page entry for each provision you cite, in the same form as the in-text citation
- The state's legal abbreviation, not its postal code
- Const. with a period, no italics
- art. and the article in Roman numerals
- § and a space before the section number
- No year and no link
Questions students ask
Does a state constitution go on my references page?
Yes, for each article or section you cite. The entry is in the same legal form as the in-text citation, with a period at the end: Fla. Const. art. I, § 23. Only a mention of a state's constitution as a whole, without pointing to an article or section, needs no citation.
How do I find my state's legal abbreviation?
Type the state's full name or postal code into PERRLA and it fills in the abbreviation for you. The abbreviations come from the legal citation tables in The Bluebook and the Indigo Book, which APA 7 follows for legal sources. Your library's legal citation guide lists them too.
My state's website numbers articles in Arabic numerals. Which do I use?
Use Roman numerals in the citation. Texas's legislature prints "Article 7," but the citation reads Tex. Const. art. VII. In PERRLA, type the number either way and it prints the Roman numeral.
What if my state's constitution has been amended?
In most states, an amendment rewrites the article itself, so cite the article and section as they read now. Only states that keep numbered amendments at the end are cited by amendment number.
Should I cite the state legislature's website where I read it?
No. The citation points to the constitution, so it's the same wherever you read the text. If you're citing a page that explains the provision, like a state agency's summary, cite that page as a webpage.
Related guides
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 state constitution example, which follow the legal citation format of The Bluebook; state abbreviations from the legal citation tables PERRLA's engine uses. Example provisions verified on the Florida Senate's constitution page, the New York State Senate's Open Legislation site, and the Texas Legislature's constitution and statutes site.