Simone Lawson
The American Psychological Association (APA) recommends following the Bluebook uniform system of citation for legal materials. The Bluebook sets the standard for all legal citations and is the best resource to consult for citing the U.S. Constitution. However, if you are citing a part of the Constitution, you should use the article, amendment, section, and/or clause numbers. This involves abbreviating U.S. Constitution to U.S. Const. followed by the relevant details.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Format | APA 7th Edition |
| Type of document | Legal document |
| Referencing style | The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation |
| Abbreviation | U.S. Const. |
| Article number format | Roman numerals (I, II, III) |
| Amendment number format | Roman numerals (I, II, III) |
| Section number format | Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3) |
| Clause number format | Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3) |
| Preamble abbreviation | pmbl. |
| Date inclusion | Only if referring to a repealed or amended part of the Constitution (include the year in parentheses) |
| Full citation example | U.S. Const. amend. XVIII (repealed 1933) |
| Parenthetical citation example | (U.S. Const. amend. XVIII) |
| Narrative citation example | Amendment XVIII to the U.S. Constitution |
| Hanging indent | Required for reference list |
| Spacing | Double-space reference list |
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What You'll Learn
Citing the US Constitution as a whole
The APA recommends following the Bluebook uniform system of citation for legal materials. The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (18th ed., 2005; www.legalbluebook.com) sets the standard for all legal citations. The Publication Manual includes a variety of legal citation examples, but citing the US Constitution as a whole is not among them.
If you wish to cite the US Constitution as a whole, you may simply mention it in your paper without including a citation in the references list. However, if you are citing a specific part of the Constitution, you should use the article, amendment, section, and/or clause numbers. The terms article, amendment, section, and clause are always abbreviated as "art.," "amend.," "§," and "cl.," respectively. Preamble is abbreviated as "pmbl." Article and amendment numbers are given in Roman numerals (I, II, III), while section and clause numbers are given in Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3).
> During prohibition, the sale of liquor was made illegal (U.S. Const. amend. XVIII, repealed 1933). U.S. Const. amend. XVIII (repealed 1933).
> The founding fathers addressed the process by which new states may join the union (U.S. Const. art. I, § 3). U.S. Const. art. I, § 3.
If you are referring to a part of the Constitution that has been repealed or amended, include the year that the part in question was repealed or amended in parentheses. For parts of the Constitution currently in force, do not include a date.
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Citing a part of the Constitution
The APA recommends following the Bluebook uniform system of citation for legal materials. The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (18th ed., 2005; www.legalbluebook.com) sets the standard for all legal citations.
If you simply want to make a passing reference to the U.S. Constitution in an APA Style paper, you can mention it in the text without a reference list entry. However, if you are using a part of the U.S. Constitution as evidence to support a point in your paper, you should construct the citation using Bluebook Rule 11, which covers federal and state constitutions.
All citations of the U.S. Constitution begin with U.S. Const., followed by the article, amendment, section, and/or clause numbers as relevant. The terms article, amendment, section, and clause are always abbreviated as art., amend., §, and cl., respectively. Preamble is abbreviated as pmbl. Article and amendment numbers are given in Roman numerals (I, II, III); section and clause numbers are given in Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3).
The Bluebook states that for parts of the Constitution currently in force, do not include a date. If you are referring to a part of the Constitution that has been repealed or amended, include the year that the part in question was repealed or amended in parentheses.
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Using Roman numerals
When citing the U.S. Constitution in APA 7 style, you should follow the Bluebook Rule 11, which covers federal and state constitutions.
If you are citing the U.S. Constitution as a whole, you do not need to include a citation in the reference list. Simply refer to it in your text. However, if you are citing a specific part of the Constitution, you should use the article, amendment, section, and/or clause numbers.
Article and amendment numbers are written using Roman numerals. For example, "U.S. Const. art. IX, § 3" or "U.S. Const. amend. XIX". The terms "article" and "amendment" are abbreviated to "art." and "amend." respectively, and "section" and "clause" are abbreviated to "§" and "cl." respectively.
State constitution article numbers also use Roman numerals, but state constitution amendment numbers use Arabic numerals. For example, "S.C. Const. art. IX, § 3" or "Md. Const. amend. 1".
In the narrative, use either "U.S." or "United States" for the U.S. Constitution, and spell out the name of the state for a state constitution, for example, "the Wisconsin Constitution."
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Referencing amendments
The APA recommends following the Bluebook uniform system of citation for legal materials. The Bluebook is the standard reference guide for legal citations and the APA Publication Manual bases its guidance on this.
If you are simply making a passing reference to the U.S. Constitution in an APA Style paper, you can mention it in the text without a reference list entry. However, if you are using a part of the U.S. Constitution as evidence to support a point, you should construct the citation using Bluebook Rule 11, which covers federal and state constitutions.
All citations of the U.S. Constitution begin with the abbreviation "U.S. Const.", followed by the article, amendment, section, and/or clause numbers as applicable. The terms article, amendment, section, and clause are always abbreviated to "art.", "amend.", "§", and "cl." respectively. Preamble is abbreviated to "pmbl.". Article and amendment numbers are given in Roman numerals (I, II, III), while section and clause numbers are given in Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3).
For parts of the Constitution currently in force, do not include a date. However, if you are referring to a part of the Constitution that has been repealed or amended, include the year that the part in question was repealed or amended in parentheses.
> U.S. Const. amend. I
This is citing the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
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Citing state constitutions
The APA recommends following the Bluebook uniform system of citation for legal materials. The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation sets the standard for all legal citations. The Publication Manual includes a variety of legal citation examples, but citing constitutions is not among them. For in-depth information on citing legal materials, refer to The Bluebook or the Legal Information Institute at Cornell Law.
To cite a whole federal or state constitution, a citation is not necessary. Simply refer to the constitution in the text. In the narrative, use either "U.S." or "United States" for the U.S. Constitution, and spell out the name of the state for a state constitution—for example, "the Wisconsin Constitution". The U.S. Constitution should be abbreviated as "U.S. Const." in the reference list and in-text citations. State constitutions should be abbreviated using the legal state abbreviation, for example, "Md. Const." for the Maryland Constitution.
State constitution article numbers are given in Roman numerals, but state constitution amendment numbers are given in Arabic numerals. In general, article and amendment numbers are given in Roman numerals (I, II, III), while section and clause numbers are given in Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3). The terms article, amendment, section, and clause are always abbreviated as "art.", "amend.", "§", and "cl.", respectively. Preamble is abbreviated "pmbl.".
If you are referring to a part of the Constitution that has been repealed or amended, include the year that the part in question was repealed or amended in parentheses. For parts of the Constitution currently in force, do not include a date.
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