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How to Cite a YouTube Video

A lecture clip, a documentary excerpt, a creator's explainer — citing a YouTube video trips people up because the usual book-and-journal template doesn't quite fit. There's no publisher, the "author" is often a channel rather than a person, and if you're referencing a specific moment, you need a timestamp. Here's the actual format in APA, MLA, and Chicago, and where StudyPilot's citation generator can take the formatting off your hands.

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Citing a YouTube Video, At a Glance
Styles Covered HereAPA 7th ed., MLA 9th ed., Chicago (notes-bibliography)
Fields You NeedUploader/channel, video title, upload date, URL
Generator SupportPaste the video URL — auto-extracts title, author, and date

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1

Why a video needs a different template than a book or article

Most citation templates assume a named author, a publisher, and a fixed publication date — a video usually has none of those in the conventional sense. Scribbr's citation guides note the workaround all three major styles use: the channel or uploader's name stands in for the author unless a specific person is clearly credited, the upload date (not a print date) is what you record, and "YouTube" takes the place a publisher or journal would normally occupy. If you're citing a specific claim made at a particular point in the video rather than the whole thing, the in-text citation also needs a timestamp — something a book or article citation never requires.

2

The format in APA, MLA, and Chicago

APA (7th edition) reference-list format: Uploader Last name, Initials, or Channel Name. (Year, Month Day). Title of video [Video]. YouTube. URL. For example: Khan Academy. (2021, March 4). Photosynthesis explained simply [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/xxxxxxxxxxx. In-text, cite the channel and year, adding a timestamp for a specific moment: (Khan Academy, 2021, 2:15).

MLA (9th edition) works-cited format: Uploader Last name, First name (or Channel Name). "Title of Video." YouTube, uploaded by Uploader, Day Month Year, URL. For example: Khan Academy. "Photosynthesis Explained Simply." YouTube, uploaded by Khan Academy, 4 Mar. 2021, https://youtu.be/xxxxxxxxxxx. MLA's in-text citation just needs the uploader name and, for a specific moment, the timestamp: (Khan Academy 2:15).

Chicago (notes-bibliography) bibliography format: Uploader Name. "Title of Video." Month Day, Year. Video, Length. URL. The footnote version follows the same order but opens with the uploader's name in natural order and adds a comma-separated timestamp where you're citing a specific point: Khan Academy, "Photosynthesis Explained Simply," March 4, 2021, video, 2:15, https://youtu.be/xxxxxxxxxxx. Chicago's author-date variant exists too, but which one your paper uses depends on your field — check your assignment sheet if it isn't specified.

3

Where StudyPilot's citation generator saves you the formatting

Rather than rebuilding this template by hand for every video, StudyPilot's citation generator lets you paste the video's URL directly — it automatically extracts the title, uploader, and upload date rather than asking you to track each field down yourself. It covers six styles in total (APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, IEEE, and Vancouver), and once you've generated a citation you can export your full list as a formatted bibliography ready to paste into your paper.

One thing worth checking yourself either way: the auto-extracted uploader name is whatever the channel is called on YouTube, which isn't always the same as the specific person credited as the video's creator. If a video clearly credits an individual separately from the channel — common with multi-contributor channels — use that person's name as the author instead of the channel name, in all three styles.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I cite the YouTube channel name or the specific person who made the video?+
Use whoever is clearly credited as the creator. If the video is uploaded under an individual's own channel, cite that person. If it's a channel with multiple contributors and a specific person is credited in the video or description, cite that person instead of the channel. Otherwise, the channel name is the standard fallback in APA, MLA, and Chicago.
How do I cite a specific moment in a video, not the whole thing?+
Add a timestamp. In APA, it goes in the in-text citation after the year, like (Khan Academy, 2021, 2:15). In MLA, it follows the author name in the in-text citation: (Khan Academy 2:15). In a Chicago footnote, it's placed after the date, before the URL.
What if the video doesn't show an upload date?+
Use the most specific date YouTube displays for the video (it's usually visible below the title or in the video's description). If no date is available at all, APA and MLA both have conventions for using "n.d." (no date) in that field — but this is uncommon, since YouTube displays an upload date on nearly every video.
Can StudyPilot's citation generator format a YouTube citation automatically?+
Yes — paste the video's URL and it extracts the title, uploader, and date to build the citation, in your choice of six styles including APA, MLA, and Chicago. It's worth a quick check that the extracted "author" field matches who you actually intend to credit, since a channel name isn't always the same as an individually credited creator.

Skip tracking down every field by hand

Paste the video's URL and StudyPilot's citation generator pulls the title, uploader, and date for you — in APA, MLA, Chicago, or three other styles, free.

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