How to Cite a Government Document in CSE (8th Edition)

This guide explains how to format a government document citation in CSE (8th Edition). Follow the format template below, refer to the real example, and use the step-by-step instructions to build your citation correctly.

Format Template

The general pattern for citing a government document in CSE (8th Edition):

Template

Agency or Author. Year. Title of document. Report No. Place: Publisher. [accessed Year Mon Day]. URL.

In-Text Citation Example

How the citation appears within the body of your paper:

In-text citation

(US Department of Education 2024)

Reference List Entry Example

The full citation as it appears in your reference list:

Reference list entry

US Department of Education. 2024. Digest of education statistics. NCES 2024-009. Washington (DC): National Center for Education Statistics. [accessed 2026 Mar 28]. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/.

Step-by-Step Guide

1
Identify the author or agency
Use the full name of the agency. For individual authors, use Last Name plus initials with no periods.
2
Add the year
Place the year after the author, followed by a period.
3
Write the document title
Use sentence case. Do not italicize. End with a period.
4
Include the report number
Add the report or publication number after the title.
5
Add publication details and URL
Write the city with state/country in parentheses, publisher, access date in brackets, and URL.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Italicizing the document title (CSE does not use italics).
Using headline-style capitalization instead of sentence case.
Omitting the state/country abbreviation in parentheses after the city.
Forgetting the access date for online documents.
Adding periods between author initials.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does CSE italicize government document titles?

No. CSE does not use italics for any element in the reference list. All titles are in regular (roman) type.

How does CSE format the place of publication?

CSE requires the city followed by the state (for US cities) or country abbreviation in parentheses: Washington (DC), London (UK).

Is the access date required?

Yes. CSE requires an access date for all online sources in square brackets: [accessed 2026 Mar 28].

Information You Will Need

Before creating your citation, gather the following information from your government document:

Author/Agency
Title
Publication Number
Publisher
Year
URL

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Step-by-Step Guide

Identify the author or agency

Use the full name of the agency. For individual authors, use Last Name plus initials with no periods.

Add the year

Place the year after the author, followed by a period.

Write the document title

Use sentence case. Do not italicize. End with a period.

Include the report number

Add the report or publication number after the title.

Add publication details and URL

Write the city with state/country in parentheses, publisher, access date in brackets, and URL.