How to Cite a YouTube Video in APA Style | Format & Examples

This article reflects the APA 7th edition guidelines. Click here for APA 6th edition guidelines.

To cite a YouTube video in APA Style, you include the person or organization that uploaded it, their channel name (if different from their real name), the upload date, the video title (italicized), “Video” in square brackets, the name of the site,  and a link to the video.

Note that the same format works for other video sites like Vimeo; just replace “YouTube” with the name of whatever site the video is from. APA TV show citations are different.

You can also use our free APA citation generator to generate YouTube citations in APA Style.

Generate accurate APA citations with Scribbr

Where to find citation information for a YouTube video

The information you’ll need for your citation is easy to locate on YouTube. It’s located just below the video, as shown in the image below.

APA YouTube

Authors and channel names

The “author” of a YouTube video is not necessarily the person or group who created the video. Instead, APA requires you to list the uploader of the video in the author position. This makes it easier for the reader to locate the video.

If the uploader is an individual whose real name is known and is different from their channel name, both should be included. The real name is written in the standard format, while the channel name follows in square brackets and is written exactly as it is on YouTube, retaining any unconventional capitalization or spacing.

APA format Last name, Initials. [Channel name]. (Year, Month Day). Video title [Video]. YouTube. URL
APA reference entry Stevens, M. [Vsauce]. (2017, August 14). The napkin ring problem [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J51ncHP_BrY
APA in-text citation (Stevens, 2017)

If the author’s real name is unknown or the uploader is not an individual, the channel name is included alone, with no brackets.

University of Oxford. (2019, December 15). Could we run the UK on carbon-free energy? [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/-EoVRpy4J_U

Where the channel name is the same as the author’s real name, it only needs to be written once:

Hertzfeldt, D. (2011, April 1). Everything will be OK – by Don Hertzfeldt [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/1IUX0Qy-IDM

In-text citations for YouTube videos

For an in-text citation of a YouTube video, use whichever name appears first in the full citation, whether that’s a real name or a channel name:

  • (Stevens, 2017)
  • (University of Oxford, 2019)

When you quote or refer to a specific part of a video, include a timestamp pointing to the relevant moment in the video:

(University of Oxford, 2019, 0:29)

If the person quoted is not the uploader, it’s best to specify their identity in the text, as in this TED Talk citation:

Justice reform advocate Nisha Anand opens her talk with the story of her family’s experiences during the Partition of India (TED, 2020, 1:59).

How to cite a YouTube channel

Sometimes you might need to cite a whole channel instead of a single video, as when you’re discussing a channel’s content in general.

In this case, don’t include the year the channel was created – just use “n.d.” (no date) as it’s the current content of the channel that’s relevant. Write “YouTube channel” instead of “Video” in the square brackets, and include a retrieval date, since channel content will change over time.

APA format Last name, Initials [Channel name]. (n.d.). Home [YouTube channel]. YouTube. Retrieved Month Day, Year, from URL
APA reference entry University of Oxford. (n.d.). Home [YouTube channel]. YouTube. Retrieved October 19, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/user/oxford
APA in-text citation (University of Oxford, n.d.)

“Home” refers to the homepage of the channel; if you’re citing something else like the videos or playlists tab, replace accordingly:

University of Oxford. (n.d.). Videos [YouTube channel]. YouTube. Retrieved October 19, 2020, from https://​www.youtube.com/​user/oxford/​videos

Sources in this article

We strongly encourage students to use sources in their work. You can cite our article (APA Style) or take a deep dive into the articles below.

This Scribbr article

Caulfield, J. (June 16, 2022). How to Cite a YouTube Video in APA Style | Format & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved October 17, 2022, from https://www.scribbr.com/apa-examples/youtube/

Check out other APA examples

Citing personal communications in APA Style Citing tables and figures from other sources in APA Style
How to cite a book in APA Style How to cite a brochure in APA Style
How to cite a conference paper in APA Style How to cite a court case in APA Style
How to cite a dictionary in APA Style How to cite a dissertation in APA Style
How to cite a government website or report in APA Style How to cite a journal article in APA Style
How to cite a law in APA Style How to cite a magazine article in APA Style
How to cite a movie in APA Style How to cite a newspaper article in APA Style
How to cite a patent in APA Style How to cite a PDF in APA Style
How to cite a podcast in APA Style How to cite a PowerPoint in APA Style
How to cite a press release in APA Style How to cite a report in APA Style
How to cite a speech in APA Style How to cite a survey in APA Style
How to cite a TED Talk in APA Style How to cite a TV show in APA Style
How to cite a tweet in APA Style How to cite a webpage with no author, date, or title in APA Style
How to cite a website in APA Style How to cite a YouTube video in APA Style
How to cite an encyclopedia in APA Style How to cite an image in APA Style
How to cite an interview in APA Style How to cite the Bible in APA Style
Is this article helpful?
Jack Caulfield

Jack is a Brit based in Amsterdam, with an MA in comparative literature. He writes for Scribbr and reads a lot of books in his spare time.