Log In
APA Website Citation with No Date
In APA style, if a webpage shows no publication date or last updated date, use (n.d.) in the date position, then keep the rest of the webpage reference in the usual order with the title, website name when needed, and URL.
Use this guide for the reference list entry. If you need the matching in-text form, see APA In-Text Citation with No Date. If the same webpage also has no author, see APA Website Citation with No Author.
When an APA webpage has no date
Write (n.d.) in the date position immediately after the author or organization name.
Keep the standard webpage reference order. The missing date does not change where the title, website name, or URL belong.
Add a retrieval date only when the page is designed to change over time.
The matching in-text citation also uses n.d., not a guessed year and not your access date.
Need the broader APA website pattern for pages that do show a date?
See the APA Website Citation Guide.
If you want to build the entry from a URL, use the URL Citation tool.
APA Rules for Website References with No Date
Check carefully before deciding that the page has no date
Many webpages look undated at first glance, but the date appears in a byline, near the page title, in an updated note, or in a metadata line lower on the page.
Before using (n.d.), check for any publication, posted, revised, or last updated date that clearly belongs to the content.
A partial date still counts as a date. If the page gives only a year, or only a year and month, use the parts the page provides instead of switching to (n.d.).
Use n.d. in the standard date position
In an APA webpage reference, the date element stays directly after the author. When no usable date is available, replace that date element with (n.d.).
The rest of the reference still follows the same sequence. After the date element, give the webpage title in italic sentence case, the website name when it is different from the author, and the direct URL.
Do not move the title to the first position just because the page has no date. A no-date page still begins with the author unless the page also has no author.
Keep the ordinary webpage structure after the date
A missing date does not change the basic APA webpage pattern. You still use the author, date, title, website name when needed, and URL in that order.
If the author and the website name are the same, omit the repeated website name and move straight from the title to the URL.
The missing information here is only the date. Keep the rest of the entry as complete as the source allows.
Add a retrieval date only for content designed to change over time
APA does not automatically require a retrieval date just because a webpage has no date.
A retrieval date belongs on pages that are designed to change over time, such as living dashboards, maps, or reference pages that are updated in place and are not tied to a stable archived version.
If you do need one, place it before the URL in the form Retrieved Month Day, Year, from.
Keep the in-text citation aligned with the undated reference
A no-date webpage reference pairs with an APA in-text citation that also uses n.d..
If the reference begins with an author or organization, the in-text citation uses that same first element. The date does not turn into your access year, and it does not disappear from the citation.
For the in-text rule in full, use APA In-Text Citation with No Date.
How This Page Differs from Nearby APA Guides
This page covers one reference-list scenario only. The webpage still has a usable author or organization, but it does not show a publication or update date you can cite.
If the same webpage also has no author, use APA Website Citation with No Author. If you need the matching parenthetical form, use APA In-Text Citation with No Date. For the full website pattern when a date is present, use APA Website Citation.
APA also handles this scenario differently from MLA and Chicago. APA keeps the date slot and uses (n.d.) in parentheses after the author. MLA usually omits the date element, while Chicago keeps n.d. without parentheses and normally adds an access date for an undated webpage.
How to Format an APA Website Citation with No Date
Use this sequence when a webpage shows no publication or update date.
- Check the page one more time for any publication, posted, revised, or updated date.
- If the page gives only a year or only a year and month, use that partial date instead of (n.d.).
- If no usable date appears, write the author or organization in the first position.
- Put (n.d.) immediately after the author.
- Write the webpage title in italic sentence case.
- Add the website name when it is different from the author.
- Finish with the direct URL.
- If the page is designed to change over time, add a retrieval date before the URL.
- Use the same author and n.d. combination in the matching in-text citation.
Author, A. A. (n.d.). Title of webpage. Website Name. URL Organization Name. (n.d.). Title of webpage. Website Name. URL Author, A. A. (n.d.). Title of webpage. Website Name. Retrieved Month Day, Year, from URL APA Website Citation Examples with No Date
These examples focus on the reference list entry first. For the matching in-text form, use APA In-Text Citation with No Date.
Standard undated webpage
Use (n.d.) when the page shows no publication or update date.
Reference list entry
Patel, N. (n.d.). Creating a workable weekend study plan. Student Success Studio. https://www.studentsuccessstudio.org/weekend-study-plan
Organization author with no repeated website name
When the organization author and the website name are the same, omit the repeated site name.
Reference list entry
American Library Association. (n.d.). Library accessibility checklist. https://www.ala.org/library-accessibility-checklist
Undated page that changes over time
Add a retrieval date when the page is designed to change in place.
Reference list entry
Regional Water Observatory. (n.d.). Reservoir conditions dashboard. Water Watch. Retrieved April 2, 2026, from https://www.waterwatch.org/reservoir-conditions
Page that looks undated but does show a year
A year by itself is still a usable date, so this entry is not an n.d. case.
Correct approach
Lane, R. (2025). Campus interview preparation guide. Career Launch. https://www.careerlaunch.edu/interview-preparation
Matching in-text citation
The missing date carries over to the in-text citation as n.d..
Parenthetical
(Patel, n.d.)
Narrative
Patel (n.d.)
Common Mistakes in APA Website Citations with No Date
Leaving the date position blank
APA still requires a visible date element. When the page has no usable date, that element becomes (n.d.).
Wrong
✕ Patel, N. Creating a workable weekend study plan. Student Success Studio. https://www.studentsuccessstudio.org/weekend-study-plan
Correct
✓ Patel, N. (n.d.). Creating a workable weekend study plan. Student Success Studio. https://www.studentsuccessstudio.org/weekend-study-plan
Turning your access date into the publication date
The day you visited the page is not the page's publication date. If the page itself gives no date, use (n.d.) and keep any retrieval date separate.
Wrong
✕ Regional Water Observatory. (2026, April 2). Reservoir conditions dashboard. Water Watch. https://www.waterwatch.org/reservoir-conditions
Correct
✓ Regional Water Observatory. (n.d.). Reservoir conditions dashboard. Water Watch. Retrieved April 2, 2026, from https://www.waterwatch.org/reservoir-conditions
Adding a retrieval date to an ordinary static webpage
A retrieval date is not the default fix for every undated page. Add it only when the content is designed to change over time.
Wrong
✕ Patel, N. (n.d.). Creating a workable weekend study plan. Student Success Studio. Retrieved April 2, 2026, from https://www.studentsuccessstudio.org/weekend-study-plan
Correct
✓ Patel, N. (n.d.). Creating a workable weekend study plan. Student Success Studio. https://www.studentsuccessstudio.org/weekend-study-plan
Using n.d. when the page actually gives a partial date
If the page provides a year or another partial date, use what the page gives. Reserve (n.d.) for pages with no usable date at all.
Wrong
✕ Lane, R. (n.d.). Campus interview preparation guide. Career Launch. https://www.careerlaunch.edu/interview-preparation
Correct
✓ Lane, R. (2025). Campus interview preparation guide. Career Launch. https://www.careerlaunch.edu/interview-preparation
Need the matching author and n.d. in-text form for the same source?
Official APA References Used for This Page
We aligned this page to APA 7 guidance for webpage references, missing reference information, and the limited cases where retrieval dates belong in an online reference.
- APA Style: Webpage on a website references
- APA Style: Missing reference information
- APA Style: References
- Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition
This guide stays focused on the reference list entry for an undated webpage. For the broader APA website format, use APA Website Citation. For the matching in-text rule, use APA In-Text Citation with No Date.
Related APA Guides
Support
About YesCite 
YesCite © 2026 YesCite.com. All rights reserved.