Students who know how to cite a journal article or a webpage often assume government reports work the same way. They don’t, at least not quite.

Government reports and data sets follow APA 7 reference formats that differ in some ways from ordinary webpages and journal articles, and they come with some specific challenges: authorship that belongs to an agency rather than an individual, report or publication numbers that may need to appear in the reference, and retrieval information that differs depending on where the document lives. Here’s how to handle them.

How government reports differ from government webpages

An earlier post covered how to cite government health agency webpages, sources like CDC fact sheets, NIH health topic pages, and WHO publications. This post covers something different: formal government reports and data sets – standalone documents published by a government agency, which may include a report or publication number, that exist as a distinct, citable publication rather than a webpage that gets updated over time.

The distinction is important because the reference format is different. A government webpage is cited like a webpage. A formal government report is cited as a report – which may include a report or publication number and follows a format closer to a book reference – even if you accessed it as a PDF online.

How to cite a government report in APA 7

The standard format for a government report is:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of report in sentence case (Report No. XXX). Agency Name. URL

A few things to keep in mind about this format:

• The authoring agency goes in the author position when no individual authors are listed. If individual authors are listed, list them as the authors. The government agency or organization responsible for publishing the report may then appear as the publisher.
• The report or publication number goes in parentheses immediately after the title, using whatever format the agency uses. If no report or publication number is given, omit this element.
• The publisher is the agency that produced the report. If the group author and publisher are the same, omit the publisher from the reference. If a distinct parent agency or department is the publisher, include it.
• Use a DOI when available. If no DOI exists, use the direct URL to the report. If the report is only available in print, no URL is needed.

Example: Report with agency as author

National Institute of Mental Health. (2023). Mental health by the numbers (NIMH Publication No. 23-MH-8082). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics

Example: Report with individual authors

Meldrum, J. D., & Paulson, K. A. (2022). Field evidence for large bipedal primates in the Pacific Northwest: A systematic review (Report No. PNW-2022-14). Pacific Northwest Research Institute. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xyz

Example: Report from a congressional or federal body

U.S. Government Accountability Office. (2024). Federal health programs: Opportunities to improve coordination and reduce duplication (GAO-24-106543). https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-24-106543

Note: The GAO uses its own report numbering format (GAO-XX-XXXXXX). Use whatever format the agency uses.

How to cite a government data set in APA 7

Government data sets are cited similarly to reports, but with a bracketed descriptor to identify the source type and additional information about the data version or time period when relevant.

Author/Agency. (Year). Title of data set (Version X.X) [Data set]. Publisher. URL or DOI

Example: Government data set

Pacific Northwest Cryptid Research Bureau. (2024). Field sighting reports database, 2000-2023 (Data set]. U.S. Department of the Interior. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xyz

Example: Data set with a version number

National Wilderness Research Institute. (2024). Annual large mammal survey data, Pacific states, 2019-2023 (Version 2.1) [Data set]. U.S. Department of Agriculture. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/abc

A few things specific to data sets:

• [Data set] goes in square brackets after the title, not italicized, to identify the source type.
• Include a version number if one is provided. This helps readers locate the exact data you used.
• Retrieval dates are required when a data set is designed to change over time. For a stable, published data set, a retrieval date is generally not needed.

Navigating authorship for government sources

Government reports frequently have no named individual authors – the agency itself is the author. APA 7 handles this the same way it handles other organizational authors: use the agency name in the author position of your reference.

When an agency is a subdivision of a larger department, use the most specific name as the author. If a distinct parent agency or department is the publisher, include it:

National Cancer Institute. (2024). Cancer stat facts: Cancer of any site. National Institutes of Health. https://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/all.html

Here, the National Cancer Institute is the author and the National Institutes of Health is the publisher, because the two are distinct enough to warrant both.

Common mistakes when citing government reports and data sets

• Citing a government report as a webpage – if the source is a formal, standalone report or publication, cite it as a report, not a webpage, even if you accessed it online.
• Omitting the report number – include it when one is provided. It’s a key identifier for government documents and helps readers locate the exact publication.
• Repeating the agency as both author and publisher unnecessarily – if the agency is already listed as the author and there’s no distinct parent publisher, you don’t need to lit it again.
• Forgetting [Data set] for data sets – the bracketed descriptor is required to identify the source type for data sets. It is not italicized.
• Using a database URL instead of a direct URL – link directly to the report or data set when possible, not to a database search results page.

Let PERRLA handle the formatting

Government reports and data sets are supported reference types in PERRLA’s reference engine. Select the appropriate type, fill in the fields, and PERRLA formats the entry correctly – report number placement, bracketed descriptors, agency authorship, and all. Try PERRLA free for 7 days – no credit card required.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you cite a government report in APA 7?

Use the agency as the author if no individual authors are listed, italicize the report title in sentence case, include the report number in parentheses after the title, list the parent department as the publisher if applicable, and provide a DOI or direct URL. Omit the publisher if it’s the same as the author.

What is the difference between citing a government report and a government webpage in APA 7?

A government webpage is cited like a webpage – with a title, site name, and URL. A formal government report is cited as a report, which may include a report or publication number and follows a format closer to a book reference. The key question is whether the source is a formal, standalone publication or an online page.

Do you need to include a report number in an APA reference?

Include the report or publication number when one is provided. It appears in parentheses immediately after the title, using whatever format the agency uses. If no number is given, omit this element from your reference.

How do you cite a government data set in APA 7?

Follow the report format but add [Data set] in square brackets after the title. Include a version number if one is provided. Use a DOI when available; otherwise, use the direct URL to the data set.

Does a government data set need a retrieval date in APA 7?

Include a retrieval date when the data set is designed to change over time. A retrieval date generally is not needed for a stable, published data set.

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