How to Cite a Policy Statement in APA Format

Policies detail the manner in which public and private organizations conduct business and operations. Policies can be general, covering company-wide policy or be very specific to outline rules for certain employees, job duties or events. Statements are usually part of a larger policy, the latter of which should be cited. Regardless of what is covered in the policy, the American Psychological Association style of citation requires you to give credit to a policy used in a research document. There are slight differences in citing public policy versus private policy.

Step 1

Cite all policies as parenthetical in-text citations with APA style. The author, which is the organization or company with policy statements, as well as the date of publication should be included.

For example: (American Red Cross, 2011).

Step 2

Cite public policies, also referred to as government policy, as the organization, the publication date, the title, the filing number, the publisher of the policy and its location.

For example: Food Safety Inspection Service. (2002). Freezing safety policy. (USDA Publication No. 23-9890). Washington, DC: USDA Printing Office.

Step 3

Cite private policies in a manner similar to the public policy citation but a filing number is not necessary. In the case of private policies, the publisher is usually the author so you simply write “author” instead of re-listing the information.

For example: American Red Cross. (2011). Tornado response policy. Chicago, IL: Author.

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