Free APA Citation Checker

Validate your reference list against APA 7th Edition rules. Instant feedback on author format, sentence case, DOIs, and more.
Citation Format Checker is a free APA citation checker that validates existing references against APA 7th Edition rules. It checks author names, sentence case, DOI format, italics, and punctuation — no sign-up required.

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Paste a single APA 7th Edition citation below to check formatting.

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Key APA 7th Edition Reference Rules

APA 7th Edition references require author names in Last, F. M. format, article titles in sentence case, journal names in title case and italics, and DOIs as full URLs (https://doi.org/10.xxxx). Every reference ends with a period unless the last element is a DOI or URL.

Author Names

Use Last, F. M. format. For 2-20 authors, list all with an ampersand (&) before the last. For 21+, list the first 19, then an ellipsis, then the last author.

Sentence Case

Article and book titles use sentence case: only the first word, first word after a colon, and proper nouns are capitalized. Journal names use title case.

DOI Format

Use the full URL format: https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx. No "doi:" prefix, no "Retrieved from." No period after DOIs.

Italics

Italicize journal names, book titles, and volume numbers. Issue numbers in parentheses are not italicized.

Common APA Citation Errors

The most common APA citation error is incorrect title capitalization. Our data from 11,938 validated citations shows 67% contain at least one formatting error, with sentence case violations, missing DOIs, and incorrect author format as the top three.

Here are the formatting errors our APA checker catches most frequently:

1. Title Case Instead of Sentence Case

✗ Smith, J. (2023). The Effects of Climate Change on Biodiversity. Nature, 12, 45.
✓ Smith, J. (2023). The effects of climate change on biodiversity. Nature, 12, 45.

2. Old DOI Format

✗ doi:10.1234/example
✓ https://doi.org/10.1234/example

3. Incorrect Author Initials

✗ Smith, John A. (2023).
✓ Smith, J. A. (2023).

4. Missing Volume/Issue Numbers

✗ Journal of Psychology, 45-67.
✓ Journal of Psychology, 12(3), 45-67.

5. Ampersand vs. "And"

✗ Smith, J. A. and Jones, B. C. (2023).
✓ Smith, J. A., & Jones, B. C. (2023).

6. Period After DOI

✗ https://doi.org/10.1234/example.
✓ https://doi.org/10.1234/example

APA Citation Checker vs. APA Citation Generator

These are fundamentally different tools that solve different problems:

An APA citation checker (like this tool) takes references you have already written and validates them against APA 7th Edition rules. It finds specific errors in author format, sentence case, DOIs, italics, and punctuation.

An APA citation generator creates new citations from source information. You enter a URL, DOI, or ISBN and it produces a formatted APA reference. Tools like MyBib, BibGuru, and Scribbr's generator do this.

An APA citation checker validates existing references for errors. An APA citation generator creates new references from source data. You need both: generate first, then check. Our data shows 67% of citations contain formatting errors, including those from generators.

Why you need both: Generators are a great starting point, but they frequently produce errors. Our analysis of 11,938 citations found that 67% had formatting issues. Running a checker after generating catches those errors before you submit.

See our full comparison of the best citation checkers and generators.

APA Reference Formatting Guide

Journal Article

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of article in sentence case. Journal Name in Title Case, Volume(Issue), Page–Page. https://doi.org/10.xxxx

Book

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of book in sentence case. Publisher Name.

Website

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of page in sentence case. Site Name. https://www.example.com/page

Edited Book Chapter

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of chapter. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Title of book (pp. xx–xx). Publisher.

For a comprehensive guide to all source types, see our Complete APA 7th Edition Guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does an APA citation checker do?

An APA citation checker validates existing citations against APA 7th Edition rules. It checks author format (Last, F. M.), sentence case in titles, DOI formatting, italics on journal names and volume numbers, and punctuation. Unlike a citation generator, it does not create citations — it finds errors in citations you have already written.

Is this APA citation checker free?

Yes. Citation Format Checker offers free APA 7th Edition citation checking with no sign-up or account required. You get 5 free checks per session. Paste your citations and get instant feedback on formatting errors.

What APA formatting errors does the checker catch?

The checker catches author name format errors (Last, F. M.), title capitalization (sentence case required), missing or incorrect DOIs, journal name italicization, volume and issue number formatting, page range errors, date format issues, missing periods, and incorrect use of ampersand vs. "and" in author lists.

What is sentence case in APA format?

Sentence case means only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized in a title. In APA 7th Edition, article and book titles in the reference list use sentence case. For example: "The effects of climate change on biodiversity" — not "The Effects of Climate Change on Biodiversity." Journal names, however, use title case.

How should DOIs be formatted in APA 7th Edition?

In APA 7th Edition, DOIs are formatted as full URLs: https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx. Do not use "doi:" prefix or "Retrieved from" before the DOI. The DOI should be the last element of the reference, with no period after it. If a DOI is available, always include it.

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