How-to

How to Do APA 7th Citations in LaTeX

The fix

For APA 7th style in LaTeX, use biblatex with the apa style: \usepackage[style=apa,backend=biber]{biblatex}, load your references with \addbibresource{refs.bib}, cite with \textcite (in text) and \parencite (parenthetical), and print with \printbibliography. Compile with biber, not BibTeX.

Example

\usepackage[style=apa,backend=biber]{biblatex}
\addbibresource{references.bib}
% ...
\textcite{smith2020} found ...   % -> Smith (2020)
... (\parencite{smith2020}).     % -> (Smith, 2020)
\printbibliography

Frequently asked questions

Which package gives APA style in LaTeX?

biblatex with style=apa (the biblatex-apa package) implements APA 7th edition. Compile with biber. The older apacite package targets APA 6th.

Why must I use biber and not BibTeX?

The APA biblatex style relies on biber for its sorting and formatting. Set your editor to biber, or use latexmk which detects it. On LetX the correct pass runs automatically on compile.

Try the fix in LetX

Open the editor, paste your code, and compile in 1 second to see the error clear — free, in your browser.

Open LetX Free