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MLA Website Citation with No Date
In MLA style, when a webpage shows no publication date, posted date, or last updated date, omit the publication date element from the Works Cited entry. If the page gives only a copyright year, use that year instead. End with the URL, and add an access date when the page is undated or likely to change.
Use this guide for the Works Cited entry. If you need the matching in-text form, see MLA In-Text Citation with No Date. If the same webpage also has no author, see MLA Website Citation with No Author.
When an MLA webpage has no date
Omit the publication date element if the page shows no publication, posted, reviewed, or updated date.
Do not write n.d. in an MLA Works Cited entry.
If the page gives only a copyright year, use that year. If it gives a copyright range, use only the last year in the range.
Add an access date at the end when the page is undated or when the content may change over time.
Need the broader MLA website pattern for pages that do show a date?
See the MLA Website Citation Guide.
If you want to build the entry from a URL, use the URL Citation tool.
MLA Rules for Website Citations with No Date
Check the page carefully before treating it as undated
Many webpages look undated at first glance. The relevant date may appear near the title, beside the author byline, in an updated note, or in a details panel farther down the page.
Before you omit the date element, look for any publication, posting, review, or revision date that clearly belongs to the page you are citing.
If the page gives a usable date anywhere on the page, this is no longer a no-date citation.
Omit the date element only when no publication date is available
MLA Works Cited entries follow the template of core elements. When a webpage has no publication date, the publication date element simply drops out of the entry.
The rest of the website pattern stays in place. You still give the author when one is named, the page title in quotation marks, the website name, any distinct publisher that belongs to the source, and the URL.
Missing a date changes one element. It does not force you to rebuild the rest of the citation.
Use a copyright year when that is the only date the page gives
If the page shows no posted or updated date but does show a copyright year, MLA lets you use that year as the publication date in the Works Cited entry.
When the copyright appears as a range of years, use only the last year in the range rather than copying the whole span.
A copyright year means the source is not truly a no-date case, even if the page does not display a full day and month.
An access date can help readers recover an undated webpage
MLA does not require an access date for every reliable, stable webpage. But access dates are often useful when a page does not indicate a publication date or when the content may be revised or removed.
If you include one, place it at the end of the entry as Accessed Day Mon. Year.
The access date is extra recovery information. It does not replace a publication date that the page actually shows.
Do not insert n.d. in MLA Works Cited entries
MLA does not use placeholder abbreviations like n.d. for missing publication dates in Works Cited entries.
If the page truly has no usable date, omit the date element. If the page gives a copyright year, use that year instead.
If your instructor has assigned a local variation, follow the assignment sheet. Otherwise, keep the entry clean and leave the placeholder out.
Keep the in-text citation tied to the first element
A missing date changes the Works Cited entry more than the MLA in-text citation. In text, you still cite the author or title that begins the Works Cited entry.
Because MLA in-text citations usually do not use publication years, an undated webpage normally keeps the ordinary in-text pattern.
For the in-text rule in full, use MLA In-Text Citation with No Date.
How This Page Differs from Nearby MLA Guides
This page covers one Works Cited issue only. The webpage has a usable first element, but it does not show a publication, review, or update date you can cite.
If the source also has no author, use MLA Website Citation with No Author. If you need the matching parenthetical form, use MLA In-Text Citation with No Date. For the full website pattern when a date is present, use MLA Website Citation.
MLA also differs from APA and Chicago on this issue. MLA usually omits the date element instead of writing n.d.. APA uses (n.d.), while Chicago keeps n.d. in the year slot and adds an access date for an undated webpage.
How to Format an MLA Website Citation with No Date
Use this sequence when a webpage does not show a publication, review, or update date.
- Check the page one more time for a posted, published, reviewed, or updated date.
- If the page shows a copyright year but no publication date, use the copyright year.
- If the copyright is a range, use only the last year in that range.
- If no usable date appears at all, start the citation with the normal first element, usually the author or organization.
- Give the webpage title in quotation marks.
- Add the website name and any other standard website details that clearly apply to the source.
- Omit the publication date element instead of inserting n.d..
- End with the direct URL.
- If the page is undated or likely to change, add Accessed Day Mon. Year. at the end.
- Use the same first element in the matching in-text citation.
Author Last Name, First Name. “Title of Webpage.” Website Name, URL. Author Last Name, First Name. “Title of Webpage.” Website Name, URL. Accessed Day Mon. Year. Organization Name. “Title of Webpage.” Website Name, 2026, URL. “Title of Webpage.” Website Name, URL. Accessed Day Mon. Year. MLA Website Citation Examples with No Date
These examples focus on the Works Cited entry first. For the matching in-text form, use MLA In-Text Citation with No Date.
Standard undated webpage with a named author
Omit the date element and keep the ordinary website order.
Works Cited entry
Moreno, Alicia. “How to Build a Neighborhood Seed Library.” Civic Garden Lab, www.civicgardenlab.org/seed-library.
Only a copyright year is shown
A copyright year is usable as the publication date. If the site shows a range, use only the last year.
Works Cited entry
Coastal Resilience Office. “Floodplain Permit Basics.” Shoreline Planning Center, 2026, www.shorelineplanningcenter.gov/floodplain-permits.
Undated page that may change over time
An access date helps readers recover a page that is updated in place.
Works Cited entry
Regional Snowpack Tracker. “Current Basin Conditions.” Mountain Water Watch, www.mountainwaterwatch.org/basin-conditions. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
No author and no date on the same webpage
When both elements are missing, the title begins the entry and an access date often helps.
Works Cited entry
“Move-In Checklist for Exchange Students.” Harbor Housing Guide, www.harborhousingguide.edu/move-in-checklist. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
Matching in-text start
The matching MLA in-text citation could begin with (“Move-In Checklist”).
Matching in-text citation for an undated webpage
Missing date does not add a year to the MLA in-text citation.
Works Cited entry
Moreno, Alicia. “How to Build a Neighborhood Seed Library.” Civic Garden Lab, www.civicgardenlab.org/seed-library.
Parenthetical citation
(Moreno)
Common Mistakes in MLA Website Citations with No Date
Inserting n.d. for a missing date
MLA does not use n.d. in Works Cited entries. If the webpage has no usable date, omit the date element.
Wrong
✕ Moreno, Alicia. “How to Build a Neighborhood Seed Library.” Civic Garden Lab, n.d., www.civicgardenlab.org/seed-library.
Correct
✓ Moreno, Alicia. “How to Build a Neighborhood Seed Library.” Civic Garden Lab, www.civicgardenlab.org/seed-library.
Copying a copyright range instead of the last year
If a webpage shows a copyright range, MLA uses only the last year of that range as the publication date.
Wrong
✕ Coastal Resilience Office. “Floodplain Permit Basics.” Shoreline Planning Center, 2019-2026, www.shorelineplanningcenter.gov/floodplain-permits.
Correct
✓ Coastal Resilience Office. “Floodplain Permit Basics.” Shoreline Planning Center, 2026, www.shorelineplanningcenter.gov/floodplain-permits.
Turning your access date into the publication date
The day you visited the page is not the date the page was published. Keep the access date at the end of the entry.
Wrong
✕ Regional Snowpack Tracker. “Current Basin Conditions.” Mountain Water Watch, 2 Apr. 2026, www.mountainwaterwatch.org/basin-conditions.
Correct
✓ Regional Snowpack Tracker. “Current Basin Conditions.” Mountain Water Watch, www.mountainwaterwatch.org/basin-conditions. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
Treating a page as undated when it does show an update note
If the source provides a usable updated or reviewed date, cite that date. This page is only for webpages that provide no usable publication date at all.
Wrong
✕ Moreno, Alicia. “How to Build a Neighborhood Seed Library.” Civic Garden Lab, www.civicgardenlab.org/seed-library.
Correct
✓ Moreno, Alicia. “How to Build a Neighborhood Seed Library.” Civic Garden Lab, 14 Sept. 2025, www.civicgardenlab.org/seed-library.
Need the matching MLA in-text form for the same source?
Official MLA References Used for This Page
We grounded this page in MLA 9 guidance on core elements and in current MLA Style Center guidance on locating webpage dates, using copyright years, and adding access dates when they help readers recover a source.
- MLA Handbook. 9th ed.
- Citations by Format
- "How do I find a publication date that is not clearly displayed on a web page?"
- "Can a copyright date be used as a publication date for a web source?"
- "How do I cite multiple web pages from the same website?"
This guide stays focused on the Works Cited entry for an undated webpage. For the broader MLA website format, use MLA Website Citation. For the matching in-text rule, use MLA In-Text Citation with No Date.
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