Library Guides: APA Guide : Personal Communication

Information You Need

Initials and surname of communicator
Exact date of communication (or a date as close as possible)

What Are Considered Personal Communication?

Only use the personal communication citation style when a recoverable source is not available. These types of sources include:

Emails
Text messages
Class lectures that are unrecorded (either in-person lectures or webinars)
- Note: If the lecture was recorded, see the MyCanvas/Closed Sources page for information on how to cite recorded lectures
Online chats/direct messages; discussion forum messages
Personal interviews
Telephone conversations
Live speeches
Nonarchived social media livestreams
Memos and letters

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Notes about Personal Communication Citations

If a lecture covers a topic covered elsewhere (e.g., in your textbook), cite the original source. If the content is original – cite the lecture as personal communication.
- For example, if citing within the text Professor Stephen Bakshi who gave a lecture on October 4, 2025, we would cite it like so: S. Bakshi (personal communication, October 4, 2025) stated that lily pads are important to frog health and well-being. Or if using an in-text citation: Lily pads are important to frog health and well-being (S. Bakshi, personal communication, October 4, 2025). Note: If the lecture was recorded, use the MyCanvas/Closed Sources method of citing.
If a social media stream is recorded and posted somewhere, do not use personal communication as the citation type – for e.g., cite it as a Youtube video (if available on Youtube)
Quote participants in a research study using the Quotations from Research Participants style
Because the source cannot be retrieved, it is not included in the reference list but do include an in-text citation

Since the material cannot be recovered (e.g., personal interviews, private letters, memos, telephone conversations, or emails) it is not included in References.

APA Publication Manual, Seventh Edition - Personal communications are covered in Section 8.9

Personal Communication From APA Style

Narrative In-text

Author (personal communication, Month Day, Year)

E. M. Paradis (personal communication, August 8, 2019)

Parenthetical

(Author, personal communication, Month Day, Year)

(T. Nguyen, personal communication, February 24, 2020)