How to cite a YouTube video

In this guide we’re going to show you the easiest way to cite a YouTube video. YouTube is full of educational material, and as more citable sources move online it’s no longer strange to use YouTube as a resource for your assignments and papers. Here’s how to cite a YouTube video in some of the most popular citation styles: APA, MLA, and Harvard.

How to cite a YouTube video automatically

The easiest way to create a YouTube citation is to use our citation generator below. Simply paste in the video URL into the search box and we’ll magically find all the details and put them in the right order for your citation. Then just copy and paste it into your paper.

How to cite a YouTube video manually

If you want to learn how to write the citation by hand then use the templates below corresponding to the citation style you need:

In APA style

First, locate the following details for the video: author or creator of the video, video title, the date it was uploaded, and the full link to the video.

• The author or creator can be found underneath the video itself on the YouTube page.
• The video title can also be found directly under the video.
• The upload date can be found under the video too.
• The URL can be copied out of the browser address bar. If you’re using the YouTube app then you can usually find this by sharing the video and selecting the ‘link’ option.

Once you have those details, put them in this order with the following punctuation:

Author last name, Author first name initial. (Uploaded year, Uploaded month and day). Video title YouTube. Retrieved from Video URL

Your citation should look like this:

In a lot of cases (like the above example) the author will be a business or just a username, not a real name. In these cases simply list the full username in place of the author last name and first name initial.

In MLA 8 style

You need the following details for MLA 8 style: author or creator of the video, video title, the date it was uploaded, the full link to the video, and the access date (the date you watched the video).

• The author or creator can be found underneath the video itself on the YouTube page.
• The video title can also be found directly under the video.
• The upload date can be found under the video too.
• The URL can be copied out of the browser address bar. If you’re using the YouTube app then you can usually find this by sharing the video and selecting the ‘link’ option.
• The access date is the date you viewed the video (usually today)

Then use this template:

Author last name, Author first name. “Video title” , Upload date, Video URL. Accessed Access date.

The final formatted citation should look like this:

In a lot of cases (like the above example) the author will be a business or just a username, not a real name. In these cases simply list the full username in place of the author last name and first name.

In Harvard style

Harvard format is very similar to APA. First, locate these details for the video: author or creator of the video, video title, the date it was uploaded, the full link to the video, and the access date (date you viewed the video).

• The author or creator can be found underneath the video itself on the YouTube page.
• The video title can also be found directly under the video.
• The upload date can be found under the video too.
• The URL can be copied out of the browser address bar. If you’re using the YouTube app then you can usually find this by sharing the video and selecting the ‘link’ option.
• The access date is the date you viewed the video (usually today)

Then use this template:

Author last name, Author first name initial. (Upload date year) “Video title,” YouTube. Available at: Video URL (Accessed: Date accessed).

The final formatted citation should look like this:

In a lot of cases (like the above example) the author will be a business or just a username, not a real name. In these cases simply list the full username in place of the author last name and first name initial.