APA Reference List: How to Format Multiple Authors (7th Edition)

The in-text citation points readers to the source. The reference list gives the full retrieval details. That is why the in-text citation may use et al., while the reference entry almost never does.

If you need the shortened in-text rule, review et al. in APA before building the full entry.

APA 7th edition expanded the limit. For any source with 2 through 20 authors, list every author in the reference entry in the order shown on the source.

For 21 or more authors, keep the first 19 names, insert an ellipsis, and then add the final author. Do not insert an ampersand before the ellipsis.

APA 6th edition listed only the first 7 authors before an ellipsis. APA 7th edition now lists up to 20 authors in full, which is why many older citation examples online look incomplete today.

• Use a hanging indent for each entry.
• Alphabetize by the first author or the title when there is no author.
• Double spacing depends on the paper formatting, not the citation logic itself.
• If the source has no person author, combine these rules with the no-author citation guide.

For a ready-made output, use the reference entry generator.