Cite multiple authors in APA format with “&” in parentheses and “and” in text, using et al. after the first author under APA 7.
If you’re learning how to cite multiple authors in apa format, you don’t need a pile of rules. You need a few patterns you can reuse, plus checks that keep your in-text citations and reference list in sync.
What “multiple authors” means in APA citations
In APA style, “authors” can mean people (last names) or a group name shown as the author on the source. Once you know who the author is on the source itself, the rest is pattern work.
Two places need attention: the in-text citation (the author and year in your sentences) and the reference list entry (the full source at the end). The in-text form points readers to the matching reference entry, so the name you use must match the way the reference starts.
How to Cite Multiple Authors in APA Format for in-text citations
APA gives you two main in-text shapes. A parenthetical citation sits in parentheses at the end of a clause. A narrative citation puts the author into the sentence, then the year follows in parentheses.
One neat habit: write the citation as you draft, not at the end. When your sources pile up, these tiny choices—comma placement, ampersands, year letters—are where points slip away during final edits.
| Situation | Parenthetical | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| Two authors | (Garcia & Patel, 2022) | Garcia and Patel (2022) |
| Three+ authors | (Kim et al., 2021) | Kim et al. (2021) |
| Group author, first time | (World Health Organization [WHO], 2020) | World Health Organization (WHO, 2020) |
| Group author, later citations | (WHO, 2020) | WHO (2020) |
| Same surname, different people | (A. Chen, 2019; L. Chen, 2019) | A. Chen (2019) …; L. Chen (2019) … |
| Multiple works in one set of parentheses | (Lopez, 2018; Singh, 2020; Zhao, 2021) | Use separate narrative mentions |
| Direct quote with page | (Nguyen & Ross, 2023, p. 44) | Nguyen and Ross (2023, p. 44) |
| Same author, same year | (Jordan, 2020a, 2020b) | Jordan (2020a, 2020b) |
Two authors: swap “and” vs “&”
With two authors, you name both authors every time you cite the work. The only twist is the connector word: use & inside parentheses, and use and in the running text.
- Parenthetical: (Garcia & Patel, 2022)
- Narrative: Garcia and Patel (2022) report …
No switching to et al. for two authors, even if you cite the work many times.
Three or more authors: use et al. from the first mention
Once a work has three or more authors, APA shortens the in-text citation to the first author’s last name plus et al. and the year. You use that shortened form right away.
- Parenthetical: (Kim et al., 2021)
- Narrative: Kim et al. (2021) found …
Et al. ends with a period after al. because it’s an abbreviation.
Group authors: spell it out once, then shorten
Group authors include agencies, associations, schools, and companies that appear as the author on the source. If the group name has a common abbreviation, APA lets you introduce the abbreviation the first time, then use it later.
Sample first citation:
- (World Health Organization [WHO], 2020)
Sample later citation:
- (WHO, 2020)
Same surnames: add initials so readers can tell people apart
Two different authors can share a last name. When that happens, add the authors’ initials in every in-text citation where the names would otherwise look the same.
Sample:
- (A. Chen, 2019; L. Chen, 2019)
Multiple sources in one parenthetical citation
Sometimes you want to back one sentence with more than one source. In APA, you can place multiple works in one set of parentheses. Separate works with semicolons. Put them in alphabetical order by the first author’s last name, matching the order your reference list uses.
Sample:
- (Lopez, 2018; Singh, 2020; Zhao, 2021)
Same authors across different years in one citation
If you’re citing more than one work by the same author group inside one set of parentheses, keep the author name once, then list the years in order, separated by commas. If the years are the same, use the lettered years.
Samples:
- (Singh, 2018, 2020)
- (Singh, 2020a, 2020b)
This trick saves space and keeps the sentence readable, while still pointing to each separate reference entry.
Direct quotes: add a page or paragraph location
When you quote word-for-word, add a locator after the year. Use p. for a single page and pp. for a page range. For web pages with no page numbers, use paragraph numbers (para.) when they’re available.
Samples:
- (Nguyen & Ross, 2023, p. 44)
- Nguyen and Ross (2023, pp. 44–45) write …
- (Hernandez et al., 2021, para. 6)
Same author, same year: use letters
If one author (or the same author group) published more than one work in the same year and you cite both, APA adds letters to the year: 2020a, 2020b, and so on. Those letters also appear in the reference list entries for those works.
Sample:
- (Jordan, 2020a, 2020b)
Reference list rules for sources with many authors
Your in-text citations are short. Your reference list entries carry the full author information. APA 7 raised the author limit in the reference list, so this is the part many students trip over when they learned an older edition.
APA’s official pages spell out the author–date system and the author limits for references. Two handy starting points are the APA Style author–date citation system and the APA Style note on how to format works with more than 20 authors.
Author order and punctuation you can copy
Write authors in the same order the source lists them. For each person, write the last name, a comma, then initials with periods. Separate authors with commas, and place an ampersand before the final author when you list more than one person.
Sample shape:
- Last, F. M., Last, F. M., & Last, F. M. (Year). Title …
Name particles, hyphens, and suffixes in the reference list
Reference entries use the exact author name forms shown on the source. Keep particles that belong with the surname (like “de” or “van”) together with the last name, and keep hyphenated last names hyphenated. For suffixes like “Jr.” or “III,” place the suffix after the initials, with a comma before it.
Sample:
- Rivera, J. P., Jr. (2021). Title …
If your database export flips a particle or drops a hyphen, fix it by hand so the entry alphabetizes and matches your in-text citations.
Up to 20 authors: list them all
For a work with up to 20 authors, APA lists every author in the reference entry. Keep the commas tidy, keep the initials in place, and keep the ampersand only before the final listed author.
21 or more authors: use 19, an ellipsis, then the final author
When a work has 21 or more authors, list the first 19 authors, then insert an ellipsis (three dots), then add the final author’s name. Skip the ampersand in this case; go straight from the ellipsis to the last author.
| Author count | What to write | Punctuation cue |
|---|---|---|
| 1 author | List the author’s last name and initials | No ampersand |
| 2 authors | List both authors | Ampersand before author 2 |
| 3–20 authors | List every author | Ampersand before final author |
| 21+ authors | List first 19, then …, then final author | No ampersand after ellipsis |
| Group author | Write the full organization name | Match the in-text form |
| No named author | Move the title to the author position | Alphabetize by title |
Tricky spots that show up in real papers
Most APA mistakes with multiple authors come from mixing rules. The fix is to match the author name in the in-text citation to the first element of the reference entry, then keep the punctuation steady.
Works that share the same first author and year
Letters after the year (a, b, c) follow the order the items appear in your reference list. Once the reference list uses 2020a and 2020b, your in-text citations must use the same lettered years.
When et al. points to more than one source
Sometimes you cite two different works that shorten to the same in-text form, like “Kim et al., 2021” for two different Kim-led papers from the same year. In that case, add enough author names to tell them apart.
Sample disambiguation:
- (Kim, Lewis, et al., 2021) and (Kim, Ortega, et al., 2021)
No author listed
If a source has no named person or organization as author, move the title into the author position. In text, cite a shortened title plus the year. In the reference list, the title starts the entry, and that entry is alphabetized by the title.
Sample in-text citation:
- (Student success metrics, 2022)
No date
If a source has no year, use n.d. in the date spot.
Sample:
- (Harris & Ochoa, n.d.)
Secondary citations: when you didn’t read the original
If you saw a quote or data point in one source that points back to an earlier work you did not read, cite the source you actually read. Name the original author in the sentence, then write “as cited in” with the source you read in the parenthetical citation.
Sample:
- Lopez (1999) … as cited in Singh (2020)
A fast checklist before you hit submit
These steps catch the slips that grade rubrics love to mark.
- Scan each in-text citation and ask: is it narrative or parenthetical? Then check “and” vs “&” for two authors.
- For three or more authors, confirm you used the first author plus et al. and the year.
- Match each in-text author to the first word of the matching reference entry. If they don’t match, fix the reference entry first.
- Check that every in-text citation has a matching reference entry, and every reference entry is cited in text.
- When you used lettered years (2020a, 2020b), confirm the same letters appear in the reference list.
- For quotes, check the locator: p., pp., or para., and keep the comma order steady.
Mini practice set with clean answers
Try these on a blank page, then compare your punctuation.
Practice 1: Two authors in parentheses
You cite a 2022 article by Garcia and Patel at the end of a sentence.
Answer: (Garcia & Patel, 2022)
Practice 2: Three authors in the sentence
You mention Kim’s 2021 study in your sentence, and the paper has five authors.
Answer: Kim et al. (2021) …
Practice 3: Quote with a page number
You quote Nguyen and Ross from page 44 of a 2023 book.
Answer: (Nguyen & Ross, 2023, p. 44)
If you’re still unsure about how to cite multiple authors in apa format, reread the table above, then run the checklist once. That combo usually fixes the whole page in one pass.