First, the easy way: PERRLA
Paste the video's link into PERRLA's reference search. PERRLA reads the video's details from YouTube and fills in the channel, the title, the upload date, YouTube as the platform, and the URL. The finished entry goes on your Works Cited page with the title in quotation marks, YouTube in italics, and the hanging indent done.
Then compare the channel name with the one under the video. For MLA, the channel name is all you need: put it in the Name box and leave the First and Last boxes empty. Check that the title kept everything YouTube shows, including a guest's name after a vertical bar.
Adding one by hand? Choose Videos (online), then A streaming (online) video and A video posted on a streaming site (e.g., video on YouTube). Add the channel as a Username (screen name), or as a Group or Organization for an agency or a company, type the title, pick the upload date, and type YouTube as the Platform. PERRLA handles the capitalization and the punctuation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2Q4PDES9HE
"What You Need to Know about Handwashing." YouTube, uploaded by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30 Sept. 2022, www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpXh2XHwMmE.
Not using PERRLA yet? Here is how to build the same works cited entry by hand.
The parts of the works cited entry
1. Video title
Start with the title of the video in quotation marks, in title case, with a period inside the closing quotation mark. Keep the wording YouTube shows, including anything after a vertical bar, like a guest's name.
"Uncomfortable Questions about Vaccines | Dr. Paul Offit."
MLA's title case lowercases every preposition, however long it is, so about stays lowercase. It also changes an ampersand (&) in a title to and.
2. YouTube
YouTube is the container: the site that holds the video. Its name goes in italics, followed by a comma. YouTube isn't the author and isn't a publisher, so it appears only here.
YouTube,
3. Uploaded by
Write "uploaded by" and the name of the channel that posted the video, exactly as YouTube shows it, then a comma. That's the account, which isn't always the person on screen.
uploaded by Doctor Mike,
A guest or speaker who didn't post the video doesn't go here. Name them in your sentence, or, for an interview, see the FAQ on starting with the guest's name.
4. Upload date
Give the date the video was posted, shown under the video, in day, month, year order. Abbreviate months longer than four letters (Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.).
18 Dec. 2024,
5. URL
End with the link to the video itself, without https://, followed by a period. A youtu.be short link works too.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=A27ameSqcQs.
Copied the link from a playlist or at a certain time? Trim extras like &list= or &t= off the end, so the link opens the video from the start. Put the moment you mean in your in-text citation instead.
Examples
A YouTube video from an organization
A short CDC video on how and when to wash your hands, posted on the agency's YouTube channel. The title comes first, and the CDC appears after "uploaded by."
Works Cited
"What You Need to Know about Handwashing." YouTube, uploaded by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30 Sept. 2022, www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpXh2XHwMmE.
- In-text citation("What You Need")
- Narrative citationThe CDC's video "What You Need to Know about Handwashing" shows …
A YouTube interview, quoted at a timestamp
A long interview on the Doctor Mike channel, run by family medicine physician Mikhail Varshavski. The guest is pediatrician Paul Offit, but the Doctor Mike channel posted the video, so it goes after "uploaded by." The citation points to 37:35, where the video's chapter on colds, flu, RSV, and measles begins.
Works Cited
"Uncomfortable Questions about Vaccines | Dr. Paul Offit." YouTube, uploaded by Doctor Mike, 18 Dec. 2024, www.youtube.com/watch?v=A27ameSqcQs.
- In-text citation("Uncomfortable Questions" 00:37:35)
- Narrative citationIn "Uncomfortable Questions about Vaccines | Dr. Paul Offit," Offit tells Varshavski that … (00:37:35).
A nursing skills video from a creator's channel
A glove-removal video from RegisteredNurseRN. The channel introduces its creator only as Nurse Sarah, so the channel name is what goes after "uploaded by." The ampersand in YouTube's title becomes and.
Works Cited
"How to Remove Gloves Safely and Properly." YouTube, uploaded by RegisteredNurseRN, 3 June 2014, www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2Q4PDES9HE.
- In-text citation("How to Remove")
- Narrative citationRegisteredNurseRN's video "How to Remove Gloves Safely and Properly" demonstrates …
In-text citations
An MLA in-text citation starts with whatever starts the Works Cited entry. A YouTube entry starts with the title, so the citation uses the title in quotation marks, shortened to its first few words when it's long.
- Parenthetical: ("What You Need")
- A quote or a specific moment: videos have no page numbers, so add the time where the moment starts, in hours, minutes, and seconds separated by colons: ("Uncomfortable Questions" 00:37:35). No comma goes between the title and the time.
- Title in your sentence: put only the time in parentheses: In "Uncomfortable Questions about Vaccines | Dr. Paul Offit," Offit turns to measles (00:37:35).
- Someone in the video who isn't the uploader: name them in your sentence and cite the video by its title, as above.
Common mistakes
- YouTube. "Uncomfortable Questions about Vaccines | Dr. Paul Offit." 18 Dec. 2024,"Uncomfortable Questions about Vaccines | Dr. Paul Offit." YouTube, uploaded by Doctor Mike, 18 Dec. 2024,YouTube is the container, not the author. It goes in italics after the title.
- "Uncomfortable Questions about Vaccines | Dr. Paul Offit." YouTube, uploaded by Paul Offit,"Uncomfortable Questions about Vaccines | Dr. Paul Offit." YouTube, uploaded by Doctor Mike,"Uploaded by" names the account that posted the video. Offit is the guest; the Doctor Mike channel posted it.
- What You Need to Know about Handwashing [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpXh2XHwMmE"What You Need to Know about Handwashing." YouTube, uploaded by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30 Sept. 2022, www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpXh2XHwMmE.That's APA. MLA puts a short video's title in quotation marks, italicizes YouTube, and adds the uploader and the date after it.
- uploaded by Doctor Mike, December 18, 2024,uploaded by Doctor Mike, 18 Dec. 2024,MLA writes dates day, month, year, and abbreviates months longer than four letters.
- ("Uncomfortable Questions," 37:35) or (Doctor Mike 37:35)("Uncomfortable Questions" 00:37:35)Start with what starts the Works Cited entry, the title, and put no comma before the time.
Quick checklist
- Video title in quotation marks and title case
- YouTube in italics as the container
- Uploaded by and the channel name as YouTube shows it
- Upload date: day, month, year
- The video's URL, without https://
- In text: ("Short Title" 00:37:35) when you quote
Questions students ask
Who is the author of a YouTube video in MLA?
For most YouTube videos, MLA starts with the title and credits the channel after "uploaded by." MLA also lets you start with the creator's name when it's clear who made the video, and for an interview it treats the person interviewed as the author, so the Offit video could start with Offit, Paul. PERRLA builds the title-first, uploaded-by form.
Do I italicize a YouTube video title in MLA?
No, for most videos. A short video is part of a larger site, so its title goes in quotation marks, and YouTube goes in italics. A full-length film posted on YouTube is the exception: it's a stand-alone work, so its title is italic.
How do I cite a specific part of a YouTube video?
Add the time where the moment starts, in hours, minutes, and seconds: ("Uncomfortable Questions" 00:37:35). For a stretch of the video, give the start and end times. The Works Cited entry doesn't change.
Do I need an access date for a YouTube video?
Usually not. A YouTube video has an upload date, which goes in the entry. Add "Accessed" and the date at the end only if you think the video may be taken down or changed.
How do I cite a YouTube livestream?
A saved livestream you watched after it ended is cited like any other video, with "uploaded by." If you watched it live, MLA writes "streamed by" instead of "uploaded by" and adds "Live stream" at the end of the entry.
How is MLA different from APA for a YouTube video?
APA starts with the channel as the author, puts the year after it, italicizes the title in sentence case, and adds [Video]. MLA starts with the title in quotation marks and title case, italicizes YouTube, credits the channel with "uploaded by," and puts the full date after it. In the text, MLA uses the title and a timestamp where APA uses the author and the year.
Related guides
Rules checked against the MLA Handbook (9th ed.), chapter 5 (the core elements and containers) and chapter 6 (in-text citations), and the MLA Style Center's posts on citing YouTube videos, online videos, live streams, interviews found on YouTube, time stamps for audio and video, titles of uploaded videos, styling titles of online works, prepositions in titles, and ampersands. Each video's title, channel, and upload date were checked on October 27, 2026, against its YouTube watch page and YouTube's oEmbed data; the 37:35 timestamp comes from the chapter list in the Offit video's description.