APA 6 Regulation Citation Generator
Citing a regulation (administrative agency rule or executive order) under the American Psychological Association (6th Edition) framework requires combining APA 6 (American Psychological Association)'s punctuation hierarchy with the specific metadata of the source. To construct a compliant entry, researchers must collect the regulation title or subject, Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) or Federal Register volume, agency abbreviation, section/page number, and year of codification. In the body of your paper, APA 6 (American Psychological Association) utilizes author-date parentheticals (Author, Year, p. X) listing up to 5 authors on first mention before using et al., which links directly to an entry organized in alphabetical order by the first author surname, then chronological by publication year.
When formatting a regulation in APA 6 (American Psychological Association), pay close attention to contributor names and capitalization. Specifically, APA 6 (American Psychological Association) enforces surname and initials separated by commas with an ampersand (&) before the final author (up to 7 authors listed in the reference list), and applies sentence case for work titles where only the first word, first word after a colon, and proper nouns are capitalized. Unlike APA 7, APA 6th edition requires the publisher city and state/country abbreviation (e.g., New York, NY: Publisher) for print books and retains "Retrieved from" before standard URLs. Furthermore, if your regulation does not display an individual creator, the rule is straightforward: begin with the regulation title or CFR citation; credit the issuing government agency in the authority or publisher slot if required by your style.
For digital and online regulation references, APA 6 (American Psychological Association) stipulates prefacing online links with the phrase "Retrieved from" and using the legacy "doi:10.xxxx" or http://dx.doi.org/ format. Note whether the regulation is already codified in the C.F.R. or is still a proposed/uncodified rule published in the Federal Register. Using the client-side APA 6 (American Psychological Association) Regulation generator below, you can automatically parse URLs, DOIs, or ISBNs and apply these exact Citation Style Language (CSL) rules locally in your browser with zero server tracking.
Live APA 6 (American Psychological Association) Example
Critical Errors to Avoid
- Source-Specific Pitfall: Citing an agency press release about a rule instead of the official codified regulation in the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) or Federal Register (Fed. Reg.).
- Title & Author Formatting: Failing to apply APA 6 (American Psychological Association)'s requirement of sentence case for work titles where only the first word, first word after a colon, and proper nouns are capitalized, or violating the contributor rule (surname and initials separated by commas with an ampersand (&) before the final author (up to 7 authors listed in the reference list)).
- Locator & Sorting Mismatch: Ordering the bibliography incorrectly instead of using alphabetical order by the first author surname, then chronological by publication year, or neglecting APA 6 (American Psychological Association)'s link rule for a regulation (prefacing online links with the phrase "Retrieved from" and using the legacy "doi:10.xxxx" or http://dx.doi.org/ format).
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Frequently Asked Questions
What information do I need to cite a regulation in APA 6 (American Psychological Association)?
To cite a regulation according to American Psychological Association (6th Edition) standards, you need the regulation title or subject, Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) or Federal Register volume, agency abbreviation, section/page number, and year of codification. Our generator formats these elements using sentence case for work titles where only the first word, first word after a colon, and proper nouns are capitalized.
How do I cite a regulation with no author in APA 6 (American Psychological Association)?
When a regulation has no named individual author, begin with the regulation title or CFR citation; credit the issuing government agency in the authority or publisher slot if required by your style. The APA 6 (American Psychological Association) engine automatically adjusts both the full reference entry and the in-text citation (author-date parentheticals (Author, Year, p. X) listing up to 5 authors on first mention before using et al.) when the author field is left blank.
How are in-text citations formatted for a regulation in APA 6 (American Psychological Association)?
In APA 6 (American Psychological Association), in-text references use author-date parentheticals (Author, Year, p. X) listing up to 5 authors on first mention before using et al.. In the final reference list, your regulation entries must be arranged in alphabetical order by the first author surname, then chronological by publication year.
Do I need to include a URL or access date for an online regulation in APA 6 (American Psychological Association)?
Under American Psychological Association (6th Edition) guidelines, online regulation citations follow prefacing online links with the phrase "Retrieved from" and using the legacy "doi:10.xxxx" or http://dx.doi.org/ format. Note whether the regulation is already codified in the C.F.R. or is still a proposed/uncodified rule published in the Federal Register.