Spanish citation styles, in most Spanish and Latin American universities, come down to two: APA 7 as each university library adapts it to Spanish, and UNE-ISO 690, Spain's edition of the international standard for references. This guide is published by EdCitation, whose tools look every reference up in the publisher's record instead of writing it.
Every rule below was read on 26 September 2026 at its source: APA's own pages, UNE's catalogue, and library guides from universities in Spain, Peru, Chile and Colombia. Quotations stay short and in Spanish; the translations in brackets are ours. Two texts could not be read because both are sold: UNE-ISO 690 itself and the Spanish translation of the APA manual. Once a list is written, EdCitation's free Verify references checks each entry against the published record, whatever its language.
What changes when APA 7 is written in Spanish?
Mostly the small words: "y" for "&", "s. f." for n.d., Spanish abbreviations, and dates written day first. The four elements of an APA reference, author, date, title and source, stay as they are.
The Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (2026a) lists a Spanish translation of the seventh edition, the Manual de publicaciones de la American Psychological Association (4.ª edición en español). We could not read it, so we cannot say which variant below it prescribes. Students meet their own library's guide, and the guides disagree.
"y" or "&"
The guides split three ways.
- "y" everywhere. The Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (2026) says a text in Spanish "se usará Y" ("uses Y", our translation), keeping "&" for English. Madrid Autónoma writes "y" in the list and in parentheses.
- "y" with no comma. The Universidad Pública de Navarra (n.d.) joins the last author with "y", "sin coma previa" ("with no comma before it", our translation).
- "y" in a sentence, "&" in parentheses and the list. The Universidad Complutense de Madrid (2025) writes Hasan, Liang, Kahn y Jones-Miller (2015) in running text and (Hasan, Liang, Kahn & Jones-Miller, 2015) in parentheses, and the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (2026b) does the same.
The rule that wins is the one in your course's guide, applied the same way throughout.
No date, editions and roles
For a work with no date, Spanish guides write "s. f." (sin fecha), with or without the space: Navarra writes "s. f.", the Peruvian and Chilean guides mostly "s.f.". Moreno and Carrillo (2020), in the Universidad Central's guide from Bogotá, tabulate the other changes: "et al." stays (with "et ál." as a rarer Spanish form), (2nd ed.) becomes (2.ª ed.), (Ed.) and (Trans.) become (ed.) and (trad.) in lower case, and (2018, May 15) becomes (2018, 15 de mayo). Navarra keeps the capital in (Ed.) and (Trad.), so even the abbreviations vary.
"Recuperado de" is gone
APA 7 dropped "Retrieved from" before a DOI or URL, because the link takes the reader there (American Psychological Association, 2022), and Navarra likewise says "Recuperado de" is not used. A retrieval date survives only for pages built to change; the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (2026a) writes it "Recuperado el 2 de febrero de 2021, de" and the address. Navarra adds two more: a subtitle after a colon starts in lower case, and a paper in Spanish drops APA's bracketed translation of a title in another language.
How do Spanish surnames work in APA and in UNE-ISO 690?
Write both surnames whenever the author publishes with both, and file the entry under the first. APA's rule is to write the name exactly as it appears on the work, hyphenated and two-part surnames included; its example is Santos-García, S., & Velasco Rodríguez, M. L. (American Psychological Association, 2025).
Navarra notes that works signed with two surnames are "muy frecuentes" ("very common", our translation) among Spanish and Latin American authors. Moreno and Carrillo (2020) add that APA's single surname and initial can confuse in Spanish, so both are preferable when needed, as in García Márquez or Fals Borda.
Where two surnames go wrong
The usual slip is dropping the second surname. Madrid Autónoma cites the Octaedro book on inclusive education as "Echeita, G., y Serrano, G. (2019)", while Dialnet gives its author as Gerardo Echeita Sarrionandia (Echeita Sarrionandia, 2019). The other slip is treating the first surname as a middle name, which files the book under S instead of E. EdCitation's Cite a source made exactly that slip with this book's ISBN, as the tools section shows.
Surnames in UNE-ISO 690
University guides to UNE-ISO 690 put surnames in capitals and forenames in full. The Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (2026b) sets FERNÁNDEZ GARCÍA, Tomás y PONCE DE LEÓN, Laura, cited as (Fernández García y Ponce de León 2018). The Universidad Pablo de Olavide (2026) inverts the first creator and lets the others go forename first, and the Universidad de Málaga (2026) notes that the standard speaks of "creadores" (creators), with names given as the document gives them.
What is UNE-ISO 690, and which edition applies?
UNE-ISO 690 is Spain's edition of ISO 690, the international guidelines for references and citations. UNE's catalogue shows UNE-ISO 690:2013, identical to ISO 690:2010, annulled on 17 April 2024 and replaced by UNE-ISO 690:2024, identical to ISO 690:2021 and in force (Asociación Española de Normalización, 2013, 2024). The text is sold, in Spanish and a Spanish-English edition; we did not read it, and what follows comes from guides that did.
Many guides still teach 2013
Carlos III (2026a) calls the 2024 edition "mucho más detallada" ("much more detailed", our translation) but keeps its examples on 2013. Pablo de Olavide marks its 2013 guide superseded and links to a new one. If a brief says "UNE-ISO 690" with no year, ask which edition its examples follow.
A standard, not a style
Málaga puts it plainly: UNE-ISO 690 "no es un estilo, sino unas directrices" ("is not a style but guidelines", our translation), and it prescribes no punctuation or typography. That is why two libraries' UNE examples rarely match comma for comma. It allows author-date and numeric citation, and Pablo de Olavide adds running notes, which it says the 2013 edition prefers.
APA in English, APA in Spanish and UNE-ISO 690 compared
The Spanish APA column shows the range across the guides above; the UNE column follows the 2013 examples most libraries still publish.
| Element | APA 7 in English | APA as taught in Spanish | UNE-ISO 690 (library examples) | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Last author in the list | Comma, then & | "y" (Chile, Madrid Autónoma, Navarra) or & (Complutense, Peru) | "y" | Orduña Malea, E. y Repiso, R. |
| Two authors in the text | (Krook & Restrepo, 2016) | Krook y Restrepo (2016); in parentheses & or y | No comma before the year | (Fernández García y Ponce de León 2018) |
| Surname | As published, both parts | Both surnames when used | Capitals, full forename | ORDUÑA MALEA, Enrique |
| No date | (n.d.) | (s. f.) or (s.f.) | [sin fecha] | Real Academia Española. (s. f.). |
| Three or more authors | et al. from the first citation | et al., or et ál. | "et al." or "y otros" | (Blanco et al., 2020) |
| Edition and roles | (2nd ed.), (Ed.), (Trans.) | (2.ª ed.), (ed.) or (Ed.), (trad.) or (Trad.) | 2ª ed. after the title | (A. Ramos, Trad., 2.ª ed.) |
| Online source | DOI as a link, no "Retrieved from" | No "Recuperado de" | [en línea], [consulta: date], Disponible en: | [consulta: 26 septiembre 2026] |
| Subtitle after a colon | Capital | Lower case (Navarra) | As the source | …Universidad-Empresa: análisis |
| Heading of the list | References | Referencias | Bibliografía | Referencias |
One article in three forms
The article by Moreno-Delgado, Orduña Malea and Repiso (2020) has a hyphenated surname, a two-part surname and an ñ. EdCitation's Cite a source built this APA 7 entry from its DOI, in English, exactly as returned:
Moreno-Delgado, A., Orduña Malea, E., & Repiso, R. (2020). Relevancia de la ubicación en la relación Universidad-Empresa: Análisis de la procedencia de los egresados de universidades españolas en empresas del IBEX35 [Relevance of location in the University-Business relationship: Analysis of the origin of Spanish universities graduates employed in IBEX35 companies]. Revista General de Información y Documentación, 30(1), 297–312. https://doi.org/10.5209/rgid.70071
Names, accents, ñ and the journal's English title came through. Navarra prints the same article in Spanish APA, showing the hand changes: "y" with no comma, "análisis" in lower case, a hyphen in the pages.
Moreno-Delgado, A., Orduña Malea, E. y Repiso, R. (2020). Relevancia de la ubicación en la relación Universidad-Empresa: análisis de la procedencia de los egresados de universidades españolas en empresas del IBEX35. Revista General de Información y Documentación, 30(1), 297-312. https://doi.org/10.5209/rgid.70071
On Carlos III's 2013 pattern for an online article, with details read on the journal's page, UNE-ISO 690 gives:
MORENO-DELGADO, Alicia, ORDUÑA MALEA, Enrique y REPISO, Rafael, 2020. Relevancia de la ubicación en la relación Universidad-Empresa: análisis de la procedencia de los egresados de universidades españolas en empresas del IBEX35. Revista General de Información y Documentación [en línea]. Madrid: Ediciones Complutense, vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 297-312 [consulta: 26 septiembre 2026]. ISSN 1988-2858. Disponible en: https://doi.org/10.5209/rgid.70071.
Where do footnotes and a bibliografía still belong?
Footnotes survive in law and the humanities, and a "Bibliografía" wherever a list holds more than the works cited.
Law and the humanities
The Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos (n.d.) says Chicago's note system "se utiliza en el área del derecho y las humanidades" ("is used in law and the humanities", our translation). Its thesis rules make footnotes necessary with Chicago and optional but not recommended with APA, and point to the Manual de estilo Chicago-Deusto, Deusto's Spanish adaptation. Repeat notes use "op. cit." or "ibid.", explained in ibid, op. cit. and loc. cit.. For law theses, the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (2026b) says legislation and case law are usually cited in the text, with footnotes to clarify, and a list of abbreviations at the front.
Referencias or bibliografía
Navarra draws the line. "Referencias" lists only the works cited, and is the default; a "Bibliografía" adds works read but not cited, for bibliographic studies, very long lists, or with the supervisor's or journal's express permission. The English distinction is in reference list, bibliography or works cited.
How do I build a reference list in Spanish APA?
Build it in English APA from the record, make the Spanish changes your guide asks for, and check it last.
- Read your guide or brief for the style, the UNE-ISO 690 edition if named, and the "y" or "&" rule. EdCitation's free Check your paper turns a brief into a checklist, though it reads Spanish rules poorly (see below).
- Search in Spanish words with Find sources.
- Build each entry in English APA 7 with Cite a source, from the DOI, ISBN or title.
- Check every surname against the title page or the journal's page, and restore any second surname the record lost.
- Make the Spanish changes: "y" or "&", "s. f.", (2.ª ed.) and (trad.), dates day first, lower case after a colon if your guide asks.
- Order the list by first surname, so Echeita Sarrionandia files under E.
- Paste the list into Verify references and resolve every "check this".
Which EdCitation tools help with a Spanish reference list?
Verify references is the best tool for the last step, because it checks a Spanish list against the publisher's record rather than the format, a lookup no chatbot can do. It is free with no account. We pasted four entries in Spanish APA, three as printed in the guides above, and it returned:
- Moreno-Delgado and colleagues, with "y" and a hyphen in the pages: verified, "The DOI resolves to this record and the title matches."
- Borrego's 2017 chapter, with "En" and "(Ed.)": verified, "The page is at this address, and its title matches."
- Blanco and colleagues, dated 2019 as Madrid Autónoma prints it: "check this", "The work was published in 2020, not 2019; the record has no date in 2019." The record puts volume 52, issue 4 in 2020 (Blanco et al., 2020).
- The Echeita book: "check this", "A record with this title exists, but it is by someone else and from 2023, so it may be a different work. Check your source." It had matched a different piece; the book is real, so read that as a prompt to look.
Cite a source builds APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 18 author-date, Harvard, IEEE and Vancouver only, in English. It builds neither Spanish APA nor UNE-ISO 690, so a Spanish list starts from its English entries, adjusted by hand. From the Echeita book's ISBN it returned "Sarrionandia, G. E., & Rodríguez, G. S. (2019). Educación inclusiva: El sueño de una noche de verano. S.L. Editorial Octaedro." It took each author's last surname as the whole surname; the right form starts Echeita Sarrionandia, G. (2019), with the publisher Octaedro.
Find sources searches about 300 million published works and takes Spanish queries. "abandono universitario en España" returned a 2021 bibliometric study of university dropout in Spain, a 2023 chapter on its causes and a 2026 article comparing Spain and Bolivia, then drifted from the fifth result to other topics about Spanish universities. There is no language filter.
Check your paper reads Spanish briefs poorly. Given the Rey Juan Carlos thesis rules, it returned two rules: Times New Roman, quoted from the sentence about footnotes, and Chicago as the style, although the rules allow Chicago or APA (it also listed that choice as not checked). It missed the length in pages and characters, the 12-point size, the 2.5 cm margins and the single spacing. Read a Spanish brief yourself.
EdCitation never writes any part of a student's paper. Theoretics QA, part of Max at $24 a month, judges a paper against its brief with quotations from it; Pro at $8 a month adds References from a file. See pricing, and for English in-text rules, APA 7 in-text citations.
Quick questions
Do I write "y" or "&" in APA in Spanish?
Follow your university's guide. The Chilean and Navarra guides write "y" throughout; the Complutense and Peruvian guides write "y" in a sentence and "&" in parentheses and the list.
What replaces n.d. in Spanish APA?
"s. f.", for sin fecha, in the citation and the list. Some guides write it without the space.
Is UNE-ISO 690:2013 still valid?
No. UNE annulled it on 17 April 2024 and replaced it with UNE-ISO 690:2024, though many university guides still show 2013 examples.
Does EdCitation build references in Spanish APA or UNE-ISO 690?
No. EdCitation's Cite a source builds six styles in English; a Spanish list starts from its APA entries, is adjusted by hand, then checked with Verify references.
Do I keep both surnames in APA?
Yes, when the author publishes with both. APA writes the name as it appears on the work, as in Velasco Rodríguez, and the entry files under the first surname.
References
- American Psychological Association. (2022, July). DOIs and URLs. APA Style. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/dois-urls
- American Psychological Association. (2025, October). Elements of reference list entries. APA Style. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/elements-list-entry
- Asociación Española de Normalización. (2013). UNE-ISO 690:2013 Información y documentación. Directrices para la redacción de referencias bibliográficas y de citas de recursos de información [Catalogue entry]. UNE. https://www.une.org/encuentra-tu-norma/busca-tu-norma/norma?c=N0051162
- Asociación Española de Normalización. (2024). UNE-ISO 690:2024 Información y documentación. Directrices para la redacción de referencias bibliográficas y de citas de recursos de información [Catalogue entry]. UNE. https://www.une.org/encuentra-tu-norma/busca-tu-norma/norma?c=norma-une-iso-690-2024-n0072823
- Blanco, M., Veiga, O. L., Sepúlveda, A. R., Izquierdo-Gomez, R., Román, F. J., López, S., & Rojo, M. (2020). Ambiente familiar, actividad física y sedentarismo en preadolescentes con obesidad infantil: Estudio ANOBAS de casos-controles. Atención Primaria, 52(4), 250–257. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aprim.2018.05.013
- Echeita Sarrionandia, G. (2019). Educación inclusiva: El sueño de una noche de verano. Octaedro. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/libro?codigo=736975
- Moreno, D., & Carrillo, J. (2020). Normas APA 7.ª edición: Guía de citación y referenciación (2nd rev. ed.) [PDF]. Ediciones Universidad Central. https://erevistas.uacj.mx/ojs/public/journals/7/GuiaAPA.pdf
- Moreno-Delgado, A., Orduña Malea, E., & Repiso, R. (2020). Relevancia de la ubicación en la relación Universidad-Empresa: Análisis de la procedencia de los egresados de universidades españolas en empresas del IBEX35. Revista General de Información y Documentación, 30(1), 297–312. https://doi.org/10.5209/rgid.70071
- Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. (2026, June 16). Guía de normas APA7. Bibliotecas UC. https://guiastematicas.bibliotecas.uc.cl/apa7
- Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. (2026a, September 25). Referencias. Normas APA, Biblioteca PUCP. https://guiastematicas.biblioteca.pucp.edu.pe/apa_7aedicion/referencias
- Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú. (2026b, September 25). Variación en la citación. Normas APA, Biblioteca PUCP. https://guiastematicas.biblioteca.pucp.edu.pe/apa_7aedicion/citas_variacion
- Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. (2026a, September 22). Estilo APA 7ª ed. Citas y elaboración de bibliografía, Biblioguías UAM. https://biblioguias.uam.es/citar/estilo_apa_7th_ed
- Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. (2026b, September 22). Estilo para Derecho. Citas y elaboración de bibliografía, Biblioguías UAM. https://biblioguias.uam.es/citar/estilo_derecho
- Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. (2026a, June 11). UNE-ISO 690. Guía temática sobre citas bibliográficas UC3M. https://uc3m.libguides.com/guias_tematicas/citas_bibliograficas/norma-une-iso-690
- Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. (2026b, June 11). UNE-ISO 690:2013. Guía temática sobre citas bibliográficas UC3M. https://uc3m.libguides.com/guias_tematicas/citas_bibliograficas/une-iso-690
- Universidad Complutense de Madrid. (2025, November 25). Biblioguía de citas en estilo APA, 7ª edición. Biblioguías UCM. https://biblioguias.ucm.es/estilo-apa-septima
- Universidad de Málaga. (2026, September 22). Norma UNE-ISO 690. Citas y bibliografía, Guías de la BUMA. https://biblioguias.uma.es/citasybibliografia/UNE690
- Universidad Pablo de Olavide. (2026, July 29). Norma UNE-ISO 690:2013. Guías BibUpo. https://guiasbib.upo.es/iso6902013
- Universidad Pública de Navarra. (n.d.). Guía del estilo APA 7ª ed. Guías BUPNA. https://guias-tematicas.unavarra.es/sp/subjects/guide.php?subject=Apa7
- Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. (n.d.). Normas de formato y estilo para la redacción de los trabajos fin de grado de la Facultad de Artes y Humanidades [PDF]. https://www.urjc.es/images/facultades/fah/documentos/TFG/Reglamentos_25_26/NORMAS_TFG_FAH.pdf