Bluebook Citation Guide

Bluebook referencing overview

The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation is used in US legal writing. Start by choosing the right part of the official 22nd-edition guide: the Whitepages cover law review footnotes; the Bluepages cover court documents and legal memoranda. Their typography is not interchangeable.

The examples below illustrate Whitepages citations. Follow your assignment or court’s instructions about placement, short forms and any table of authorities.

The generator offers Whitepages and Bluepages modes. Choose the one required for your document.

Primary sources

US cases: Bluebook case citation example

For a reported decision, record the case name, reporter volume and abbreviation, opening page, pinpoint page, and court and year. Court information depends on the reporter. Rule 10 sets out case-name abbreviations and the order of procedural history.

Here, 347 is the reporter volume, U.S. stands for United States Reports, 483 is the page where the judgment begins, 495 is the page being cited, and 1954 is the year of the decision. See the judgment in United States Reports.

A reporter’s opening page and the page supporting your point serve different purposes. Do not replace one with the other. Whitepages case names in ordinary citation sentences are generally roman; names in prose and Bluepages citations have different typeface rules.

Create a Bluebook case citation

US legislation

A citation to a provision in the current United States Code identifies the title, code and section. The official quick guide does not attach a year to the current-code example. For an earlier code edition, add its year; a session-law citation identifies the public law and Statutes at Large volume and page.

Here, 42 is the Code title and 1983 is the section. For the current Code, do not add an enactment year. An earlier Code edition takes that edition’s year.

Create a US Code citation

Use Rule 12 for the source you actually consulted.

Foreign and international authorities

Do not assume a domestic citation can always be copied unchanged into Bluebook. Foreign material is addressed in Rule 20 and international material in Rule 21, with country information in the relevant tables. These are separate from the rules for US authorities.

Secondary sources

The small capitals shown here belong to Whitepages law review citations.

Books

Place the pinpoint before the publication parenthesis. The ordinary book example does not require the publisher and city used in some other styles. Add the credited editor or translator inside the publication parenthesis, before the edition and year.

Create a Bluebook book citation

Journal articles

This pattern is for a journal with consecutive pagination. The article title is italic; the journal name is in small capitals. Issue-based pagination uses a different pattern in Rule 16.

Create a Bluebook journal article citation

Websites and blogs

Identify the credited writer, page or post title, site, available publication date and URL. The official examples add the time when relevant and an archived link where available. Do not substitute a last-visited date for a known publication date. Rule 18 explains undated pages and preservation links.

For an undated page, use a last-visited date instead of a publication date. Record an archive link or identify who holds a saved copy of the cited version.

Create a Bluebook website citation

Newspaper articles

Use the full publication date. For an article accessed online, apply the electronic-source rules as well as the periodical rules; record its actual URL rather than an invented page number.

Online media and AI

Online videos

Give the account that posted the video, its title, platform, upload date and URL. Put a timestamp after the title when citing a particular passage. Identify an archived or saved copy.

Create a Bluebook online video citation

Podcast episodes

For a streamed episode, give the podcast series, episode title, streaming service and release date. Add a timestamp for the passage cited. A URL is optional for this format; if you include one, add its preservation details.

Create a Bluebook podcast citation

See the UC Davis guide to online and electronic sources for the current video and streaming formats.

Social media text posts

Record the author or account, handle, platform, posting date, available time and direct URL. The text-post format identifies the post through these details rather than repeating its opening words. Add an archive link or saved-copy holder.

Create a Bluebook social media citation

AI-generated text

Under Rule 18.3(a), record the person who submitted the prompt, if known, the company, model or tool, available version, exact prompt and submission date. Save the output as a PDF and identify who holds it.

Keep the prompt’s exact wording. The “on file with” parenthesis names the holder of the saved output. See the Colorado Community College System’s AI citation guidance.

Create a Bluebook AI text citation

Repeated citations

Short forms are source-dependent. A short case citation, id. and an author-plus-supra reference are not interchangeable. Use id. for an immediately preceding authority where unambiguous. A shortened case reference retains the reporter and pinpoint; a supra reference to a secondary source identifies its author and earlier note.

For worked primary-source examples and the detailed rules behind these structures, use the official Whitepages quick guide or the Bluepages quick guide.

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