How to Cite an Interview in APA, MLA, and Chicago

Knowing how to cite an interview depends on one key question: was the interview published somewhere others can access it, or did you conduct it yourself? This guide walks through both situations in APA 7th edition, MLA 9th edition, and Chicago (17th edition), with correct, ready-to-copy examples for each.

Personal vs published interviews: the most important distinction

Before you write any citation, decide which type of interview you have. The two types are treated very differently, and getting this wrong is the most common mistake students make.

• A personal interview is one you conducted yourself (in person, by phone, by email, or over video) that is not recorded or published anywhere a reader could find it. Examples include an email exchange with a professor or a phone call with a local business owner.
• A published interview is one anyone can locate and consult, such as an interview printed in a magazine, broadcast on a podcast, posted on YouTube, or transcribed in a book.

The rule of thumb across all three styles: if your reader cannot retrieve the source, it usually does not get a full entry in your reference list or bibliography. Published interviews, which are retrievable, do get full entries.

How to cite an interview in APA (7th edition)

APA handles the two interview types very differently. For more on the style overall, see our APA format guide.

Personal interview in APA

APA treats a personal interview as personal communication. Because the reader cannot retrieve it, you do not include it in the reference list. You cite it only in the text, giving the person’s initials, surname, the words “personal communication,” and the exact date.

Published interview in APA

For a published interview, cite it in the format of wherever it appeared. Treat it like the surrounding source type: a magazine interview is cited as a magazine article, a podcast interview as a podcast episode, a YouTube interview as a video. The interviewee is usually the subject, not the author, so the interviewer or the publication often takes the author position.

If the interview is a video or audio recording, follow the format for that medium. Our guides on how to cite a YouTube video and how to cite a podcast show the exact templates.

How to cite an interview in MLA (9th edition)

MLA does give personal interviews a Works Cited entry, which is a notable difference from APA. For the wider rules, see our MLA format guide.

Personal interview in MLA

List the person you interviewed as the author. Describe the interview type, then give the date. MLA recommends specifying the medium of the interview in the description.

If you want to be more specific about how the interview was conducted, you can write “Interview conducted by the author” or note “Telephone interview” or “Email interview” in place of “Personal interview.”

Published interview in MLA

Begin with the interviewee. Give the interview’s title in quotation marks if it has one (or the description “Interview” if it does not), then name the interviewer with “Interview by,” and finish with the container details (the publication, date, and location).

For an interview you watched online, the container would be the website or platform. See how to cite a website for the URL and access conventions MLA uses.

How to cite an interview in Chicago (17th edition)

Chicago offers two systems: Notes-Bibliography (common in history and the humanities) and Author-Date (common in the sciences). Our Chicago style guide explains when to use each.

Personal interview in Chicago (Notes-Bibliography)

An unpublished interview you conducted is usually cited in a footnote only and left out of the bibliography, because it is not recoverable by readers. Identify the interviewee, the interviewer, the type of interview, and the date.

Published interview in Chicago (Notes-Bibliography)

A published or broadcast interview is cited like the medium it appears in, with the interviewee first and the interviewer named after. Here is a full note and matching bibliography entry.

Interview in Chicago (Author-Date)

If your assignment uses the Author-Date system, a published interview takes a reference-list entry with the year moved forward, and the in-text citation gives author and year.

Note that Chicago capitalizes titles in headline style (“A Conversation about Urban Farming”), while APA uses sentence case (“A conversation about urban farming”). These small differences matter, so check capitalization carefully.

Quick comparison of the three styles

• Reference-list entry for a personal interview: APA, no. MLA, yes. Chicago, usually no (footnote only).
• Author position: All three put the interviewee first for published interviews. MLA also puts the interviewee first for personal interviews.
• In-text form: APA uses author and year, MLA uses author and page, and Chicago uses a numbered note or, in Author-Date, author plus year.
• Title capitalization: APA uses sentence case, while MLA and Chicago use title case.

If you are comparing styles more broadly, our overview of the differences in APA vs MLA and the general guide to citation styles explained are good companions.

Tips to get interview citations right

1. Record the date precisely. APA and MLA want the full date for personal interviews. Note it during or right after the conversation.
2. Keep the interviewee, not yourself, in the author slot for published interviews, even though you may have asked the questions.
3. Match the published format to the medium. A taped interview follows audio or video rules, and a printed one follows article or book rules.
4. Get permission and consider ethics. Quoting a private individual may require their consent, especially in published work.
5. Double-check every element. Punctuation, italics, and capitalization all carry meaning. You can confirm your draft against our APA citation generator, MLA citation generator, or Chicago citation generator.

For broader help on building a reference list, see our explainer on how to cite sources and the difference between works cited, bibliography, and references.

Frequently asked questions

Do I include a personal interview in my reference list or works cited?

It depends on the style. In APA, a personal interview is a personal communication and is cited only in the text, never in the reference list. In MLA, you do add a Works Cited entry with the interviewee as the author. In Chicago, an unpublished personal interview is normally cited in a footnote only and left out of the bibliography.

Who counts as the author when I cite an interview?

For published interviews, the person being interviewed (the interviewee) goes in the author position in all three styles, with the interviewer named afterward. For a personal interview in MLA, the interviewee is also the author. In an APA personal communication, you simply name the person in the in-text citation rather than treating anyone as a formal author.

How do I cite an interview I found on YouTube or a podcast?

Treat it as a published interview in the format of its medium. A YouTube interview follows video citation rules and a podcast interview follows podcast episode rules, with the interviewee listed first. See our dedicated guides on citing a YouTube video and citing a podcast for the exact templates in each style.

What is the difference between a personal and a published interview?

A personal interview is one you conducted yourself that readers cannot access, such as a private email or phone call. A published interview is one anyone can retrieve, such as a magazine feature, broadcast, or recorded online conversation. The distinction decides whether the interview gets a full reference entry and how you format the in-text citation.