Works of the U.S. federal government are generally automatically in the public domain and not protected by copyright. There are numerous exceptions and refinements to this rule for U.S. government works. Therefore, you still need to cite the source as part of your obligation to allow others to be able to track the source you cite.
APA Style (7th ed) 10.4 Reports and Gray Literature (p. 329 - 331) provides guidelines on citing government reports. The examples include reports by government agency, individual authors, task force, working group, annual report, code of ethics, grant, issue brief, policy brief, press release, etc. The following are summarized example based on APA guidelines:
Government Document From a Website
Name of Government Department, Agency or Committee. (Year of Publication, Month Day). Title of document: Subtitle if given (edition if given and is not first edition). Publisher Name. URL
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. (2022, October 13). Speech and language developmental milestones. United States Department of Health & Human Services. https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/speech-and-language
In-Text Paraphrase:
(Name of Government Department, Agency or Committee, Year)
(National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, 2022)
In-Text Quote:
(Name of Government Department, Agency or Committee, Year, Section Name section, para. Paragraph Number if more than one paragraph in section)
(National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, 2010, 4 to 6 Months section, line 3)
Federal or State Statute
Name of Act, Public Law No. (Year). URL
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Publ. L. No. 111-148, 124 Stat. 119 (2010). https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-111publ148/pdf/PLAW-111publ148.pd
Report by individual authors or a Government Agency or Other Organization
Organization Name. (Year). Title of report. URL
United States Government Accountability Office. (2019). Performance and accountability report: Fiscal year 2019. https://www.gao.gov/assets/710/702715.pdf
Court Decision
Name v. Name, Volume Source Page (Court Date).
Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954).
In-Text Paraphrase:
(Brown v. Board of Education, 1954).
In-Text Quote:
(Brown v. Board of Education, 1954, Syllabus (d)).
Bill or Resolution
Title [if there is one], bill or resolution number, xxx Cong. (year).
Anti-Phishing Act, S. 472, 109th Cong. (2005).
Anti-Phishing Act, H.R. 1099, 109th Cong. (2005).
In-Text Paraphrase:
(Anti-Phishing Act, 2005)
In-Text Quote:
(Anti-Phishing Act, 2005, S. 1351 "Internet Fraud")
Check the Chicago manual of style online 14.270: Legal and Public Documents online
CMU, an AA/EO institution, strongly and actively strives to increase diversity and provide equal opportunity within its community.
Copyright © Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI 48859 | (989) 774-4000 | Privacy Policy