PERRLA/Guides/MLA 9/Press release

How to Cite a Press Release in MLA 9

An MLA 9 entry for a press release on an organization's own website starts with the headline in quotation marks and title case, then the website's name in italics, the full date written day, month, year, the URL, and the words Press release at the end. The organization isn't listed as the author, because it also publishes the site. The in-text citation is a short form of the headline: ("American Nurses Association").

The format

"Headline of the Press Release." Website Name, Day Mon. Year, www.url.com. Press release.

PERRLA MLA Experts ยท Updated October 29, 2026
Checked against the MLA Handbook, 9th 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, the headline, the date, and the URL. When the organization also runs the site, PERRLA starts the entry with the headline, puts the organization's name in italics as the website, and adds Press release at the end, just as MLA wants.

Then check the result against the release. If the date is blank, add the date printed on the release. If you found it on a news distribution service like PR Newswire, the search can bring in the site's address (prnewswire.com) as both the author and the publisher: change the group author to the organization that issued the release, and type the service's name, PR Newswire, in Publisher or Organization Name.

Adding one by hand? Choose Press Release, add a Group Author (Organization) with the organization's full name, and type the headline in Title or Description. In Publisher or Organization Name, type the name of the website you read it on: the organization's own name for its own site, or the service's name for a distribution site. PERRLA leaves the author out when the two match.

Look up
Paste a URL, get the reference

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

"FDA Approves First Over-the-Counter Naloxone Nasal Spray." U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 29 Mar. 2023, www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-first-over-counter-naloxone-nasal-spray. Press release.

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

The parts of the works cited entry

1. Author: usually nobody

A press release comes from an organization, and it's usually posted on that organization's own website. MLA lists an organization that's both author and publisher only once, so the entry skips the author and starts with the headline.

"FDA Approves First Over-the-Counter Naloxone Nasal Spray."

When the release is posted somewhere else, like a news distribution service, the organization that issued it is the author. Look for "News provided by" or the name in the closing "About" paragraph. People quoted in the release, like a commissioner or a CEO, are never the author.

American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

2. Headline

Put the headline in quotation marks and title case, with a period inside the closing quotation mark. Use the main headline only, not the smaller line under it.

"American Nurses Association Declares Today a National Nurses Day of Action."

MLA title case leaves articles, prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or) lowercase in the middle, even inside a hyphenated term: Over-the-Counter.

3. Website name

The website you read the release on is the container, so its name goes in italics, followed by a comma. For an organization's own site, that's usually the organization's name.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration,

For a release on a distribution service, the service's site is the container.

PR Newswire,

Leave the publisher out in both cases. On the organization's site, the website name already gives it. A distribution service only hosts releases that other organizations write, so MLA doesn't need its owner.

4. Date

Releases are dated to the day, so give the full date, day first, with the month abbreviated (except May, June, and July) and no commas inside it.

29 Mar. 2023,

Use the release date, often printed after "For Immediate Release" or in the dateline, not a "Content current as of" date further down the page.

5. URL

Give the release's own URL without https://, followed by a period.

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

6. Press release

End the entry with the words Press release and a period. MLA treats this as an optional label, and it tells your reader what kind of source this is. It's not italic, and it takes no brackets.

Press release.

Downloaded the release as a PDF? The MLA Style Center adds PDF download to the same label: Press release, PDF download.

Examples

A press release on a government agency's website

The FDA's March 2023 release announcing the first over-the-counter naloxone nasal spray. The agency wrote it and runs the site, so the entry starts with the headline and the agency's name appears once, as the website. A press release has no page numbers, so the in-text citation is a short form of the headline.

  • In-text citation("FDA")
  • Narrative citationThe FDA's release "FDA Approves First Over-the-Counter Naloxone Nasal Spray" explains that …

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 issued it, so it's the author. PR Newswire is the website where you read it, so it's the container, in italics.

  • In-text citation(American Association)
  • Narrative citationThe American Association of Nurse Practitioners reports that …

A press release from a professional association

The American Nurses Association's November 2025 release declaring a National Nurses Day of Action, on the ANA's website. Like the FDA's, it starts with the headline. Here the short title in the citation is the association's name, because the headline opens with it.

  • In-text citation("American Nurses Association")
  • Narrative citationIn "American Nurses Association Declares Today a National Nurses Day of Action," the association urges …

In-text citations

An MLA 9 in-text citation starts with whatever starts the Works Cited entry. For most press releases, that's the headline, not the organization.

  • Entry that starts with the headline: a short form in quotation marks: the first noun and any words before it, minus an opening A, An, or The. "American Nurses Association Declares Today a National Nurses Day of Action" becomes ("American Nurses Association"), and the FDA's headline, which starts with the noun FDA, becomes ("FDA").
  • An organization in the author spot: its name, or its first few words if the name is long: (American Association of Nurse Practitioners) or (American Association). Well-known initials like AANP work too, as long as you use the same form every time.
  • Name in your sentence: when the entry starts with the headline, name the release in your sentence and skip the parentheses: The FDA's release "FDA Approves First Over-the-Counter Naloxone Nasal Spray" describes the approval.

Press releases have no page numbers, so give none, and don't count paragraphs. Quoting someone the release quotes, like the FDA commissioner? Cite the release: it's where you read the words.

Common mistakes

  • U.S. Food and Drug Administration. "FDA Approves First Over-the-Counter Naloxone Nasal Spray." U.S. Food and Drug Administration,"FDA Approves First Over-the-Counter Naloxone Nasal Spray." U.S. Food and Drug Administration,When the organization wrote the release and runs the site, MLA skips the author so the name appears only once.
  • U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2023, March 29). FDA approves first over-the-counter naloxone nasal spray [Press release]."FDA Approves First Over-the-Counter Naloxone Nasal Spray." U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 29 Mar. 2023, www.fda.gov/… Press release.That's APA. MLA puts the headline in quotation marks and title case, the website in italics, the date after the website, and Press release at the end with no brackets.
  • "Nurse Practitioner Profession Grows to 385,000 Strong." prnewswire.com,American Association of Nurse Practitioners. "Nurse Practitioner Profession Grows to 385,000 Strong." PR Newswire,A distribution service posts other organizations' releases. The organization that issued it is the author, and the service's name, not its web address, is the website.
  • U.S. Food and Drug Administration, March 29, 2023,U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 29 Mar. 2023,MLA writes dates day, month, year, with the month abbreviated (except May, June, and July) and no commas inside the date.
  • (American Nurses Association, 2025)("American Nurses Association")The entry starts with the headline, so the citation does too, in quotation marks. MLA never adds the year.

Quick checklist

  • Organization runs the site? Start with the headline
  • Found it on a service like PR Newswire? The organization is the author
  • Headline in quotation marks and title case, main headline only
  • Website name in italics, then the full date, day first
  • The release's URL without https://
  • Press release at the very end, with a period

Questions students ask

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

Cite the study whenever you can. A press release sums up research for reporters, and your instructor will want the evidence itself, usually the journal article or the full report. Cite the release when the announcement is your point, like what an agency approved or what an association called for.

Why doesn't my MLA citation start with the organization's name?

Because the organization also runs the website. MLA lists an organization that's both author and publisher once, as the website or publisher, and starts the entry with the title. Your in-text citation then uses a short form of the headline.

Is the title of a press release italicized in MLA?

No. A release posted on a website is part of that site, so its headline goes in quotation marks and the website's name goes in italics. That's the opposite of APA, which italicizes the title.

Do I have to write Press release at the end?

It's optional in MLA, but recommended. The label tells your reader at a glance that the source is an organization's announcement, not a news article. Write it at the very end of the entry, with a capital P and a period.

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

The organization that issued it is the author, and the service is the website, in italics. If the same release is on the organization's own website, you can cite that version instead, starting with the headline.

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 gives the organization's view. It's fine for facts about the announcement itself, but pair it with peer-reviewed research for clinical claims.

Rules checked against the MLA Handbook (9th ed.), chapter 5 (organizations as authors and publishers, when to leave out a publisher, containers, dates, and optional elements) and chapter 6 (in-text citations and shortened titles), and the MLA Style Center's answers on citing press releases (title, website as container, date, URL, and Press release as an optional element), on author, publisher, and website names that are the same, on abbreviating corporate authors in in-text citations, on organizations as authors in your prose, and on shortening titles to the first noun. Example releases are the ones verified for the APA 7 page, reopened by curl on October 29, 2026, to confirm each issuing organization, headline, release date, website name, and URL.

PERRLA builds the press release entry from its link, with the headline first when the organization runs the site and Press release at the end.

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