PERRLA/Guides/MLA 9/ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses

How to Cite the ANA Code of Ethics in MLA 9

In MLA 9, the ANA Code of Ethics entry starts with the title, because the American Nurses Association both wrote and published it. Give the title in italics, American Nurses Association as the publisher, the year, and the URL if you read it online: Code of Ethics for Nurses. American Nurses Association, 2025. In text, cite a short form of the title, adding the provision when you point to one: (Code, provision 1).

The format

Title of the Code. American Nurses Association, Year, URL (only for the online version).

PERRLA MLA Experts ยท Updated October 27, 2026
Checked against the MLA Handbook, 9th edition. Every example is formatted by PERRLA's reference engine.

First, the easy way: PERRLA

Add the Code by hand. It takes a minute, and book catalogs list it in ways that don't fit MLA, like a city after ANA's name or a person's name in the author spot.

Choose Book, then Book, e-book, or audiobook, then All or part of a book. Set the contributor's role to Group Author (Organization) and type American Nurses Association. Type the title, the year in Publication Year, and American Nurses Association again in the publisher's Name box, spelled exactly the same. PERRLA sees that the author and the publisher match and starts the entry with the title, the way MLA wants it. Read the e-book? Type e-book in the Format box, and PERRLA writes E-book ed. after the title. Read it on codeofethics.ana.org? Add that link as the URL.

To cite a provision, choose Other as the citation's location, then type provision as the label and the provision's number, like 1 or 3.2, as the value. PERRLA writes (Code, provision 1).

Not using PERRLA yet? Here is how to build the same works cited entry by hand.

The parts of the works cited entry

1. Title first

Start with the title in italics and title case, followed by a period. MLA skips the author here because the American Nurses Association is also the publisher, and MLA names an organization only once.

Code of Ethics for Nurses.

Match the title to the version you read. The 2025 Code is Code of Ethics for Nurses. The 2015 edition had a longer title, Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements. The word with stays lowercase, because MLA lowercases prepositions in titles.

2. Publisher

Give the association's full name, followed by a comma. Don't abbreviate it to ANA in the Works Cited entry.

American Nurses Association,

The 2025 Code has no edition number, so there's no edition to add. The year tells your reader which version you used.

3. Year

Give the year of the version you read. The current Code came out in January 2025. The one before it is from 2015. For the print book, the year ends the entry, followed by a period.

2025.

Read the e-book? MLA marks it with E-book ed. right after the title, before the publisher.

Code of Ethics for Nurses. E-book ed., American Nurses Association, 2025.

The first printing of the 2025 Code had errors, and ANA reprinted it with corrections. A corrected printing isn't a new edition, so the entry stays the same.

4. URL

If you read the Code on ANA's free site, add a comma after the year and end with the site's address, without the https://, then a period.

2025, codeofethics.ana.org.

Examples

The 2025 Code of Ethics for Nurses in print

The current Code, released in January 2025 and sold by ANA in paperback and as an e-book. This is the paperback entry; for the e-book, add E-book ed. after the title. ANA wrote it and published it, so the entry starts with the title, and the in-text citation uses a short form of the title.

  • In-text citation(Code)
  • Narrative citationThe Code of Ethics for Nurses states that …

The 2025 Code online, with a provision in the citation

ANA posts the full 2025 Code free at codeofethics.ana.org, one page per provision, with no page numbers. Add the URL to the entry, and point to the provision in your citation. Provision 1 reads, "The nurse practices with compassion and respect for the inherent dignity, worth, and unique attributes of every person."

  • In-text citation(Code, provision 1)
  • Narrative citationProvision 1 of the Code of Ethics for Nurses calls for …

The 2015 Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements

The edition that was current from 2015 to 2025. Cite it when your course assigns it or when you're writing about the Code's history, and use its full title.

  • In-text citation(Code)
  • Narrative citationThe 2015 Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements held that …

The Guide to the Code of Ethics (2nd ed.)

Marsha Fowler's companion book walks through the 2015 Code one provision at a time. It has a personal author, so her name starts the entry, and ANA appears as the publisher.

  • In-text citation(Fowler)
  • Narrative citationFowler explains that …

In-text citations

An MLA 9 in-text citation starts with whatever starts the Works Cited entry. For the ANA Code, that's the title, so the citation is a short form of the title in italics: its first noun, Code.

  • The whole Code: (Code)
  • A provision: add a comma, the word provision, and the number: (Code, provision 1). Subsections work the same way: (Code, provision 3.2).
  • A page in the print book: the page, with no comma before it: (Code 12)
  • Title in your sentence: name the Code of Ethics for Nurses in full, and put only the provision or page in parentheses, or nothing at all.
  • Fowler's guide: the author and the page: (Fowler 12)

Don't cite (ANA) or (American Nurses Association): the reader looks for the first word of the entry, and the entry starts with the title. Citing both the 2015 and the 2025 Code in one paper? Their short titles match, so name the year in your sentence, or add the year in square brackets after the short title: (Code [2015]).

Common mistakes

  • American Nurses Association. Code of Ethics for Nurses. American Nurses Association, 2025.Code of Ethics for Nurses. American Nurses Association, 2025.When the organization is both author and publisher, MLA starts with the title and names the organization once, as the publisher.
  • (ANA, 2025, Provision 1)(Code, provision 1)That's APA. MLA keys the citation to the title, which starts the entry, and leaves out the year.
  • Code of Ethics for Nurses with Interpretive Statements. American Nurses Association, 2025.Code of Ethics for Nurses. American Nurses Association, 2025.The 2025 Code dropped "with Interpretive Statements" from its title. That longer title belongs to the 2015 edition.
  • Code of Ethics for Nurses. ANA, 2025.Code of Ethics for Nurses. American Nurses Association, 2025.Spell out the publisher's name in the Works Cited entry.
  • (Code p. 1)(Code, provision 1)The online Code has no page numbers, so cite the provision number, and never make up a page. In-text citations never take p. anyway.

Quick checklist

  • Start with the title in italics, not the association
  • The title that matches the year: 2025 or 2015
  • American Nurses Association spelled out as the publisher
  • The year of the version you read
  • E-book ed. after the title if you read the e-book
  • The codeofethics.ana.org URL only if you read it online
  • In text: (Code), plus the provision or page

Questions students ask

Which ANA Code of Ethics is current?

The 2025 Code of Ethics for Nurses, released by the American Nurses Association in January 2025. It revises the 2015 Code and adds a tenth provision, on nursing's part in global health. Cite the 2015 edition only if your course assigns it or you're comparing the two.

Why doesn't my MLA entry start with American Nurses Association?

Because ANA also published the Code. MLA names an organization once: when it's both author and publisher, the entry starts with the title and the organization goes in the publisher spot.

Do I need a URL for the ANA Code of Ethics in MLA?

Only if you read it online. The free version at codeofethics.ana.org gets the address at the end of the entry, without the https://. For the print book, end the entry with the year. For the e-book, add E-book ed. after the title and end with the year.

How do I cite a specific provision in MLA?

Add a comma and the provision number after the short title: (Code, provision 3). Subsections work the same way: (Code, provision 3.2). The Works Cited entry stays the same, because it covers the whole Code.

Can I write (ANA) in my in-text citations?

Not in MLA. The in-text citation has to match the first words of the Works Cited entry, and the Code's entry starts with the title. You can still call it the ANA Code in your own sentences.

Is the ICN Code of Ethics the same thing?

No. The International Council of Nurses publishes its own code, separate from ANA's. If your assignment asks for the ICN code, take the title, publisher, and year from that document.

Rules checked against the MLA Handbook (9th ed.), chapter 5 (the core elements, including an organization as author and publisher) and chapter 6 (in-text citations), and the MLA Style Center's posts on sources with no author, organizations as authors, shortening titles, citing an e-book, and works with the same title. Example sources are the ones verified for the APA 7 page: ANA's bookstore page for the 2025 Code (re-opened Oct 27, 2026: paperback and e-book ISBNs, ten provisions), the Code's own site (codeofethics.ana.org, Provision 1 wording re-checked Oct 27, 2026), and the R2 Digital Library records for the 2015 Code and Fowler's guide.

PERRLA builds the ANA Code entry title-first, with ANA named once as the publisher.

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