PERRLA/Guides/APA 7/Webpage with no date

How to Cite a Webpage With No Date in APA 7

When a webpage shows no date for its content, APA 7 puts n.d. (for "no date") in parentheses where the year goes: the author, (n.d.), the page title in italics, the site name, and the URL. The in-text citation is the author and n.d.: (American Nurses Association, n.d.). Add "Retrieved Month Day, Year, from" before the URL only when the page is designed to change and isn't archived.

The format

Author. (n.d.). Title of the webpage. Site Name. https://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

Paste the page's URL into PERRLA's reference search. PERRLA reads the page and fills in the author, the title in sentence case, the website name, and the URL. With the Publication Date left blank, PERRLA writes n.d. in the reference and in every citation, and it drops the website name when it's the same as the author, the way APA 7 wants it.

Then check Publication Date against the page. If it holds a date you can't find on the page, or a "Last reviewed" date, clear it, and PERRLA prints n.d. If the author is an organization known by an abbreviation, like NIDDK, type it in the Abbrev. box so it shows up in your citations.

Adding one by hand? Choose Webpage, add an Author or a Group Author (Organization), and fill in the Page Title, Website Name, and URL. Leave Publication Date empty. If the page is one that changes all the time, fill in Retrieval Date (the Today button does it in one click) and PERRLA adds "Retrieved ..., from" before the URL.

Citing two undated pages from the same organization? PERRLA spots it and labels them n.d.-a and n.d.-b in your references and your citations, so you never have to sort that out yourself.

Look up
Paste a URL, get the reference

https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/workforce/what-is-nursing/

American Nurses Association. (n.d.). What is nursing? https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/workforce/what-is-nursing/

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

The parts of the reference

1. Author

Start with whoever is responsible for the page. On most undated pages that's an organization, so the organization's full name is the author. Don't abbreviate it in the reference.

American Nurses Association.

A page with a person's byline takes that person as the author: last name, comma, initials. A page with no author at all moves its title into the author spot; see the FAQ below.

2. Date: n.d.

Write n.d. in parentheses, with a period after each letter and a period after the closing parenthesis. It stands for "no date." Use it when nothing on the page dates the content you're citing.

(n.d.).

Three dates look like publication dates but aren't. A copyright year in the footer covers the whole website, not this page. A "Last reviewed" date only says someone checked the page, and APA says to leave review dates out. And the day you visited the page is never its date. A "Last updated" or "Last revised" date that belongs to this page's content is a real date, so use it instead of n.d.

3. Page title

Italicize the page title and write it in sentence case: capitalize the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns. If the title ends in a question mark, that replaces the period.

What is nursing?

4. Site name

Give the name of the website, not italicized, followed by a period. When the site name and the author are the same, leave the site name out so it doesn't print twice.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health.

For a page by a government agency, APA puts the parent agencies here instead, from largest to smallest, so the in-text citation can use just the specific agency.

5. Retrieval date (only sometimes)

Most undated pages don't get a retrieval date. Add one only when the page is designed to change over time and has no archived versions, like a live data dashboard, a counter, or a list that updates daily. Write "Retrieved" and the date you looked at it, then "from" before the URL.

Retrieved October 21, 2026, from https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/drugshortages/default.cfm

n.d. and a retrieval date answer different questions. n.d. says the page has no date. The retrieval date says when you saw content that may already be different.

6. URL

End with the full URL of the page itself, not the website's home page. Don't put a period after it.

https://www.ihi.org/library/tools/sbar-tool-situation-background-assessment-recommendation

Examples

An organization's page with no date

The American Nurses Association's page on what nursing is. Nothing on the page dates it, not even a copyright year in the footer, so it takes n.d. The site name matches the author, so it drops out.

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

A tool page that names who developed the tool

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement's page on SBAR, a standard framework for talking about a patient's condition with the care team. The page says SBAR was developed by Michael Leonard, Doug Bonacum, and Suzanne Graham at Kaiser Permanente, but IHI wrote and published this page, so IHI is the author. This example skips the abbreviation, as you would if you cite the page only once or twice, so the citation spells out the name every time.

  • Parenthetical citation(Institute for Healthcare Improvement, n.d.)
  • Narrative citationInstitute for Healthcare Improvement (n.d.)

A page that shows only a "Last Reviewed" date

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases page on what diabetes is. Its only date is "Last Reviewed April 2023." APA leaves review dates out, because a reviewed page hasn't necessarily changed, so this page is n.d. The parent agencies go where the site name goes.

  • Parenthetical citation(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases [NIDDK], n.d.)
  • Narrative citationNational Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK, n.d.)
  • Later citations(NIDDK, n.d.)

A page that changes all the time: n.d. plus a retrieval date

The FDA's drug shortages list, which changes as shortages start and end and keeps no dated versions. It gets n.d. and a retrieval date, so your reader knows which day's list you saw.

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

In-text citations

The in-text citation for an undated page is the author and n.d., the same way a dated page uses the author and the year. The retrieval date never goes in the citation.

  • Parenthetical: (Institute for Healthcare Improvement, n.d.)
  • Narrative: Institute for Healthcare Improvement (n.d.) described SBAR as a framework for team communication.
  • Group author with an abbreviation: spell the name out the first time, with the abbreviation in square brackets, then use the abbreviation: (American Nurses Association [ANA], n.d.), then (ANA, n.d.). In a narrative citation it's American Nurses Association (ANA, n.d.), then ANA (n.d.).
  • A quote from a page with no page numbers: give the paragraph number, (ANA, n.d., para. 2), or the nearest heading, (ANA, n.d., "Heading Name" section).
  • Two undated pages by the same author: add a lowercase letter after n.d. with a hyphen, in the reference and the citation: (ANA, n.d.-a) and (ANA, n.d.-b). The letters follow the order of the titles in your reference list.
  • No author and no date: use the title in italics and title case: (Title of the Page, n.d.).

Common mistakes

  • Institute for Healthcare Improvement. (2023, October 20). SBAR tool: Situation-background-assessment-recommendation.Institute for Healthcare Improvement. (n.d.). SBAR tool: Situation-background-assessment-recommendation.That date sits in the page's hidden code, where citation tools sometimes pick it up. Nothing on the page shows it. APA wants the date the page gives for its content, and this page gives none, so it's n.d.
  • National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. (2023, April). What is diabetes?National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. (n.d.). What is diabetes?"Last Reviewed April 2023" is a review date. APA says to ignore review dates, because a page that was reviewed wasn't necessarily changed.
  • American Nurses Association. (n.d.). What is nursing? Retrieved October 21, 2026, from https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/workforce/what-is-nursing/American Nurses Association. (n.d.). What is nursing? https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/workforce/what-is-nursing/n.d. doesn't call for a retrieval date. Save retrieval dates for pages built to change, like live data or lists that update daily.
  • American Nurses Association. (2026, October 21). What is nursing?American Nurses Association. (n.d.). What is nursing?The day you read the page isn't its publication date. If there's no date on the page, the date is n.d.
  • (ANA, no date) or (ANA, nd)(ANA, n.d.)APA 7 uses the abbreviation n.d., lowercase, with a period after each letter, in the reference and in the citation.

Quick checklist

  • Author: the person or organization responsible for the page
  • (n.d.). when the page has no date for its content
  • Ignore copyright years, review dates, and the day you visited
  • Page title in italics and sentence case
  • Site name, left out when it's the same as the author
  • A retrieval date only for pages designed to change
  • In text: (Author, n.d.), with n.d.-a and n.d.-b for same-author pages

Questions students ask

What does n.d. mean in APA?

It means "no date." It goes in parentheses where the year would go, in the reference and in the in-text citation: (American Nurses Association, n.d.). Write it in lowercase with a period after each letter.

Do I need a retrieval date for a webpage with no date?

Usually not. APA 7 adds a retrieval date only when a page is designed to change over time and isn't archived, like a live dashboard or a list that updates daily. A stable page with no date gets n.d. and its URL, nothing more.

Can I use the copyright year at the bottom of the page?

No. The copyright line in a footer belongs to the whole website and usually shows the current year. It says nothing about when this page's content was written, so the page is n.d.

The page says "Last reviewed" with a date. Is that the date?

No. APA leaves review dates out of references, because reviewing a page doesn't mean anything on it changed. If the review date is the only date, write n.d. A "Last updated" or "Last revised" date that belongs to the page's content is different: use that one.

How do I cite two undated pages from the same organization?

Add lowercase letters after n.d. with a hyphen: n.d.-a and n.d.-b, in the reference list and in the citations. Put the references in order by title to decide which gets a and which gets b. PERRLA assigns the letters for you when it sees two matching references in your paper.

What if a webpage has no author and no date?

Move the page title to the front, then the date: Title of the page. (n.d.). Site Name. URL. In the text, use the title in italics and title case with n.d. Check first, though: most pages without a byline have an organization as their author.

How do I quote a webpage with no date and no page numbers?

Count the paragraphs and give the number, (ANA, n.d., para. 4), or name the nearest heading, (ANA, n.d., "Heading Name" section). Don't count lines or make up page numbers.

Rules checked against the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.), Sections 8.13, 8.14, 8.19, 8.21, 8.28, 9.11, 9.12, 9.15–9.17, 9.47, and 10.16, and the APA Style website's webpage examples and missing-information guidance. Each example page was opened on October 21, 2026, to confirm its author, title, and URL, and that it shows no publication or update date for its content.

PERRLA writes n.d. for any webpage without a date, adds the retrieval date when you give one, and letters same-author undated references for you.

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