How to Cite a Report or White Paper in APA, MLA, and Chicago

Reports and white papers are everywhere in academic research. Government agencies publish policy reports, corporations release white papers, think tanks produce research briefs, and organizations of all kinds issue technical documents. These sources carry real authority, but they don’t follow the same citation rules as journal articles or books.

This guide covers how to cite reports and white papers in APA, MLA, and Chicago, with examples for the most common types you’ll encounter.

What Counts as a Report or White Paper?

Before diving into formats, it helps to understand what sets reports apart from other sources:

• Reports are standalone documents produced by an organization, government body, or research group. They present findings, data, or recommendations but aren’t published in a journal or as a book.
• White papers are a subset of reports, typically produced by corporations or industry groups, that argue a position or present a solution to a problem.
• Technical reports often include a report number assigned by the issuing organization.

The key difference between a report and a journal article is that reports lack volume and issue numbers. They’re usually published directly by the authoring organization rather than through a traditional publisher.

APA 7th Edition

APA treats reports as a distinct reference type. The basic template is:

Author(s). (Year). Title of report (Report No. xxx). Publisher. URL

Government Report

U.S. Department of Education. (2025). The condition of education 2025 (NCES 2025-144). National Center for Education Statistics. https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2025/2025144.pdf

Key points:

• The government agency is the author when no individual authors are listed
• Include the report number in parentheses after the title, before the period
• The publisher may be a sub-agency or the parent department
• If the author and publisher are the same, omit the publisher

Corporate White Paper

Deloitte Insights. (2025). The future of work: Technology and the evolving workforce. Deloitte. https://www2.deloitte.com/example

When the corporate division (like “Deloitte Insights”) is the author and the parent company (Deloitte) is the publisher, include both. If they’re identical, list the name once as the author and omit the publisher.

NGO or Think Tank Report

Brookings Institution. (2024). Global economy in transition: Challenges for developing nations. https://www.brookings.edu/example

When the organization is both author and publisher, APA says to omit the publisher to avoid repetition.

Technical Report with Report Number

Johnson, R. M., & Chen, W. (2025). Seismic resilience assessment for coastal infrastructure (Technical Report No. PEER-2025/03). Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center. https://peer.berkeley.edu/example

When individual authors are listed, use them. The report number follows the title in parentheses, using whatever label the organization assigns (Report No., Technical Report No., Working Paper No., etc.).

In-Text Citations

In-text citations for reports follow standard APA rules:

(U.S. Department of Education, 2025)

(Johnson & Chen, 2025)

For organizations with long names, you can abbreviate after the first mention:

First use: (World Health Organization WHO, 2024)

Subsequent uses: (WHO, 2024)

MLA 9th Edition

MLA uses its flexible container system for reports. The basic structure is:

Author(s). Title of Report. Publisher, Year. URL.

Government Report

United States, Department of Education. The Condition of Education 2025. National Center for Education Statistics, 2025. nces.ed.gov/pubs2025/2025144.pdf.

In MLA, government authors follow a hierarchy: country first, then the specific agency, separated by commas. Note that MLA drops “https://” from URLs.

Corporate White Paper

Deloitte Insights. The Future of Work: Technology and the Evolving Workforce. Deloitte, 2025. www2.deloitte.com/example.

NGO or Think Tank Report

Brookings Institution. Global Economy in Transition: Challenges for Developing Nations. 2024. www.brookings.edu/example.

When the author and publisher are the same, you can omit the publisher.

Technical Report with Report Number

Johnson, Robert M., and Wei Chen. Seismic Resilience Assessment for Coastal Infrastructure. Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center, 2025. Technical Report No. PEER-2025/03. peer.berkeley.edu/example.

In MLA, the report number can appear as supplemental information after the publisher and date.

In-Text Citations

MLA uses author and page number (if available):

(United States, Dept. of Education 12)

(Johnson and Chen 7)

If there are no page numbers (common with online reports), use the author only:

(Brookings Institution)

Chicago 18th Edition

Chicago offers two systems. Here’s how reports work in both.

CiteTools renders Chicago 18 notes and bibliography. The author-date example below belongs to Chicago’s separate system.

Notes-Bibliography System

Footnote:

1. U.S. Department of Education, The Condition of Education 2025, NCES 2025-144 (National Center for Education Statistics, 2025), 15, https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2025/2025144.pdf.

Bibliography Entry:

U.S. Department of Education. The Condition of Education 2025. NCES 2025-144. National Center for Education Statistics, 2025. https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2025/2025144.pdf.

Chicago 18 omits the publication place for modern reports.

Author-Date System

(U.S. Department of Education 2025, 15)

Reference List Entry:

U.S. Department of Education. 2025. The Condition of Education 2025. NCES 2025-144. National Center for Education Statistics. https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2025/2025144.pdf.

Corporate White Paper (Notes-Bibliography)

Footnote:

2. Deloitte Insights, The Future of Work: Technology and the Evolving Workforce (Deloitte, 2025), https://www2.deloitte.com/example.

Bibliography:

Deloitte Insights. The Future of Work: Technology and the Evolving Workforce. Deloitte, 2025. https://www2.deloitte.com/example.

Technical Report with Report Number (Notes-Bibliography)

Footnote:

3. Robert M. Johnson and Wei Chen, Seismic Resilience Assessment for Coastal Infrastructure, Technical Report No. PEER-2025/03 (Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center, 2025), https://peer.berkeley.edu/example.

Bibliography:

Johnson, Robert M., and Wei Chen. Seismic Resilience Assessment for Coastal Infrastructure. Technical Report No. PEER-2025/03. Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center, 2025. https://peer.berkeley.edu/example.

Style Comparison at a Glance

For a deeper comparison of how these three styles differ overall, see our APA vs MLA vs Chicago guide.

How to Handle Report Numbers

Report numbers are more important than many students realize. They serve as unique identifiers, much like a DOI does for journal articles. Here’s how to handle them:

• Always include them when the report has one – they make the source much easier to locate
• Use the exact label the organization assigns: “Report No.,” “Technical Report,” “Working Paper,” “Publication No.,” “NCES 2025-144,” etc.
• Placement varies by style: APA puts it in parentheses after the title, MLA treats it as supplemental information, and Chicago places it after the title but before the publisher

If a report has both a report number and a DOI, include both. The DOI goes at the end of the citation in place of the URL.

Common Mistakes

Treating a report like a book. Reports don’t have traditional publishers the way books do. The issuing organization is usually both the author and the source. Don’t invent a publisher that doesn’t exist.

Omitting the report number. If the document has a report number, include it. It’s the fastest way for readers to find the exact document.

Using individual author names when the organization is the author. If the title page lists “U.S. Government Accountability Office” without individual names, the organization is the author. Don’t dig through the document for staff names to use instead.

Confusing a report with a journal article. If the source has a volume number, issue number, and page range, and it was published in a periodical, it’s an article – not a report. Check our guide on how to cite journal articles if that’s what you have.

For legislation and court cases specifically, see how to cite government and legal documents.

Forgetting the access URL. Most reports are accessed online. Include the direct URL or DOI so your reader can find the source.

Tips for Finding Citation Information

Reports can be frustrating to cite because the necessary details aren’t always obvious. Here’s where to look:

1. Title page or cover page – usually has the title, author(s), and date
2. Inside front cover or verso page – often has the report number and publishing organization
3. Footer or header – technical reports sometimes place the report number here
4. The URL itself – government URLs often embed publication numbers (e.g., /pubs2025/2025144.pdf)
5. The “About” or “Citation” section – some organizations include a suggested citation

Try It with CiteTools

Reports and white papers have enough variation that formatting them manually is error-prone. Paste a report’s URL or DOI into CiteTools.io and get a correctly formatted citation in APA, MLA, Chicago, or any other style. CiteTools handles the tricky parts – report numbers, organizational authors, and style-specific formatting – so you don’t have to.