Do I use et al. in the APA reference list?

No. Et al. is for in-text citations. Reference entries list all authors up to 20.

How many authors can I include in one APA reference?

List up to 20 authors. For 21 or more, list the first 19, add an ellipsis, then the final author.

Do I use 'and' or '&' in the reference list?

Always use an ampersand before the final author's name in the reference entry.

Reference Formatting

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

In-text rules are short. Reference-list rules are not. This page shows exactly how author names, commas, ampersands, and ellipses work once you build the full entry.

Open the free APA citation generator APA in-text citation multiple authors

Quick Rules

The shortest version of this page.

List every author for works with 2 to 20 authors

For 21+ authors, keep the first 19, then an ellipsis, then the last author

Use & before the final author in every reference entry

Reference list vs. in-text citation

The in-text citation points readers to the source. The reference list provides 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, start with et al. in APA.

Author formatting rules

Last name first, initials only

Write each person as Surname, Initials.

Example: Garcia, M. L.

Commas between authors, & before the last

Separate authors with commas and place an ampersand before the final author.

Example: Garcia, M. L., Chen, R., & Patel, S.

2–20 authors: list all of them

APA 7th edition expanded the limit. When a source has 2 through 20 authors, list every author in the reference entry in the order shown on the source.

21+ authors: first 19 + ellipsis + last

For 21 or more authors, keep the first 19 names, insert an ellipsis, and then add the final author.

21+ authors pattern

Nguyen, A., Brown, T., ... , Young, P. (2024). Title of work.

The reference keeps the first 19 authors and the final author only.

Formatting details that still matter

The core structure is only half of the job. The presentation details still matter.

Use a hanging indent for each entry.
Alphabetize by the first author or by the title when there is no author.
Paper spacing rules sit on top of the citation logic itself.

For no-author entries, pair this with the APA no-author guide.

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

FAQ

Answers to the common APA edge cases

Follow the connected APA guides below to move from rule lookup to final citation.

How to Use Et Al. in APA 7th Edition

Rules, edge cases, and disambiguation examples for citing 3 or more authors.

How to Cite Sources Without an Author

Learn the title-as-author rule for websites, reports, articles, and no-date sources.

Free APA Citation Generator

Generate in-text citations and reference entries for websites, books, and journals.