How to cite a Constitution in APA

• Hannah Berry (Ph.D.)
• Published on 03/07/2025
• Updated on04/11/2025

Citing the U.S. Constitution in APA is formalized to achieve uniformity and accuracy. The Bluebook has unique provisions for citing legal materials, which can be extended to the Constitution. This article gives recommendations on how to format properly in-text citations and reference list entries.

GENERAL CITATION FORMAT

References to the U.S. Constitution begin with U.S. Const., followed by relevant article, amendment, section, or clause numbers. The following abbreviations are employed:

• Article = art.
• Amendment = amend.
• Section = §
• Clause = cl.
• Preamble = pmbl.

Roman numerals are used for article and amendment numbers (I, II, III), whereas Arabic numerals are used for sections and clauses (1, 2, 3). In case of a repealed or amended provision, the repeal or amendment year must be included in parentheses.

REFERENCE LIST ENTRIES

Reference list entries are formatted in a similar way to in-text citations but are presented as separate entries:

U.S. Const. [article/amendment]. [section/clause].

Examples:

• U.S. Const. art. I, § 7.
• U.S. Const. amend. XIII.
• U.S. Const. amend. XXIV.

A repealed constitutional provision should include the year it was repealed in parentheses following the citation.

U.S. Const. [article/amendment]. [section/clause] (repealed year).

Examples:

• U.S. Const. amend. XVIII, § 1 (repealed 1945).
• U.S. Const. amend. XIV (repealed 1919).

IN-TEXT CITATION FORMAT

U.S. Constitution in-text citations are as follows:

(U.S. Const. [article/amendment]. [section/clause])

Examples:

• Separation of powers is established in the Constitution (U.S. Const. art. I, § 7).
• The prohibition against poll taxes in elections to the federal government was added in 1964 (U.S. Const. amend. XXIV).

When a provision of the Constitution has been repealed, place the year of repeal in parentheses after the citation. This indicates that the provision is no longer in force.

(U.S. Const. [article/amendment]. [section/clause], repealed year).

Example:

• Abolition of slavery was a significant constitutional amendment (U.S. Const. amend. XIII, repealed 1979).

No Author: The U.S. Constitution is not authored by one person, so citations use “U.S. Const.” as the citation. No Italics: APA style does not require italics or underlining for citations of law. No Date for Current Provisions: Dates only need to be used when citing repealed or amended provisions. Use Consistent Formatting in Citations: Make all citations consistent, both in the use of abbreviations, punctuation, and numerals, to make them clear and consistent. Don’t Include the Constitution in the Reference List as an Entry for General Discussion: When citing the U.S. Constitution in general and not citing articles or amendments, an in-text citation is sufficient and no reference list entry should be included.