Answered By: Vicki Sciuk
Last Updated: Mar 17, 2022     Views: 138774

Most items you find in print or in the library's online databases will have a date. But when you are using material from websites, there may not be one.

If there is definitely no date posted or date updated, APA uses the abbreviation n.d. (short for "no date") in the parenthesis where the date would normally go in your citation: (n.d.) 

But first please make sure there really is no date. Blog posts are usually dated near the top of the article; so are news items or events listings. Online magazines, newspapers, and reports should have dates also.

Webpages with reliable information usually have a "date updated", so you know whether the facts are current, or may have changed. If it's not near the top of the article, scroll down to the bottom of the page, or the bottom of the whole topic if it goes on for multiple pages. 

APA Example Reference with no date:

Author, A. (n.d.). Title of document [such as article, book chapter, webpage]. Title of where it is found [such as magazine, journal, book or website]. http://URL 

Bear, Y. (n.d.). I'm smarter than the average bear! Yellowstone Park Stories. http://yellowstone.com/YogiBear1....

In-Text Citation:  n.d. is also used in the in-text citation after the author.

(Author, n.d.); (Bear, n.d.)

Retrieval Dates (Accession Dates):

APA recommends including a retrieval date (accession date or the date you saw the material) only if an online work is not archived and it's likely to change over time. Most references do not need retrieval dates, but you may want to do it when there is no date on a webpage, or on pages that frequently change, like Census pages or COVID-19 statistics or company webpages. Here's an example from the APA Style website:

APA Sample Reference with Retrieval date:
When a retrieval date is needed, use the following format for it, as the last line of your full reference: 
Retrieved Month dd, yyyy, from URL 

U.S. Census Bureau. (n.d.). U.S. and world population clock. U.S. Department of Commerce.
Retrieved January 9, 2020, from https://www.census.gov/popclock/

The in-text citation remains the same: (U.S. Census Bureau, n.d.)

See the links below for more information.

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