How to Cite an Organization or Group Author in APA 7th Edition
Government agencies, universities, nonprofits, and associations can all function as authors. The key is deciding when to abbreviate and when the full name should stay visible.
Quick Rules
The shortest version of this page.
What counts as a group author in APA?
Associations, agencies, research institutes, universities, and nonprofits can all count as authors when the organization is clearly responsible for the content.
This is different from a source with no author. If nobody is credited at all, use the APA citation no author rule instead.
First citation: full name + abbreviation
Parenthetical format
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2024)
Spell out the full name first, then add the abbreviation in brackets.
Narrative format
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2024)
The organization name becomes part of the sentence, with the abbreviation introduced once.
Subsequent citations: abbreviation only
After the first citation, reuse only the abbreviation if it is well known and still clear in context. The later form becomes (CDC, 2024) or CDC (2024).
When not to abbreviate
Skip abbreviations when the acronym is obscure, the name appears only once, or the shortened form would make the sentence harder to read. In those cases, keep the full organization name every time.
Group author in the reference list
The reference entry begins with the full organization name. If the organization and website name are identical, omit the repeated website name.
Reference entry example
World Health Organization. (2024). Health workforce strategy. https://www.who.int/
The organization stays in full in the reference entry, even if later in-text citations use WHO.
Real-world examples
| Case | Parenthetical | Narrative | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| CDC | (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2024) | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2024) | Good candidate for abbreviation because the acronym is widely known. |
| WHO | (World Health Organization [WHO], 2024) | World Health Organization (WHO, 2024) | Use WHO after the first full citation. |
| University center | (Center for Teaching Excellence, 2024) | Center for Teaching Excellence (2024) | No abbreviation needed if the acronym is not useful. |
If you want to compare how these look in sentence form, return to parenthetical vs narrative format.
FAQ
Answers to the common APA edge cases
Related Guides
Follow the connected APA guides below to move from rule lookup to final citation.
How to Cite Sources Without an Author
Learn the title-as-author rule for websites, reports, articles, and no-date sources.
Parenthetical vs Narrative Citations
See the difference between ampersands, narrative prose, and direct-quote placement.
Free APA Citation Generator
Generate in-text citations and reference entries for websites, books, and journals.