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OSCOLA Citation Generator

Format UK cases, statutes, books, and journal articles to the Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (4th edition). Free, fast, no sign-up. Also known as an OSCOLA referencing generator.

OSCOLA output

Fill in the form above to generate a citation.

OSCOLA is a footnote style — italicise case names and book titles in your final document. This tool emits plain text for portability.

What is OSCOLA?

OSCOLA — the Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities — is the citation format used by most UK law schools and legal scholarship. It’s footnote-driven, deliberately sparse, and very different from APA, MLA, or Bluebook.

Use this tool to format any source you cite in an essay, dissertation, or moot bundle. Output is plain text — paste into Word, Pages, LaTeX, or your reference manager.

Quick reference: case citations

  • Neutral citation present (post-2001 cases): Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] UKHL 100, [1932] AC 562.
  • Pre-neutral: case name in italics, then the most authoritative report only. Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co [1893] 1 QB 256 (CA).
  • Court abbreviation in brackets when the report alone doesn’t make it obvious (HL, CA, QBD, Ch, Fam).
  • Pinpoint references — paragraph for neutral citations ([34]), page for law reports (562).

OSCOLA referencing — frequently asked questions

Is this OSCOLA citation generator free?
Yes. The OSCOLA referencing generator is completely free, needs no sign-up, and works in your browser. Format as many cases, statutes, books and articles as you like.
How do I cite a case in OSCOLA?
For cases with a neutral citation (post-2001), use the case name in italics, the neutral citation, then the best law report — e.g. Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] UKHL 100, [1932] AC 562. For older cases, give the case name and the single most authoritative report with the court in brackets, e.g. Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co [1893] 1 QB 256 (CA).
How do I cite a statute in OSCOLA?
Cite an Act by its short title and year, with no comma before the year — e.g. Human Rights Act 1998. Pinpoint to a section using 's', e.g. Human Rights Act 1998, s 3. OSCOLA does not put statutes in footnotes if the Act is named in the text.
Does OSCOLA use footnotes or in-text citations?
OSCOLA is a footnote style. Sources are cited in numbered footnotes, not in-text brackets, and a bibliography is only required for longer works like dissertations. This is the main difference from Harvard and APA.
What is the difference between OSCOLA and Harvard referencing?
OSCOLA is footnote-based and built specifically for UK legal materials (cases, statutes, EU law), while Harvard uses in-text author-date citations and suits the sciences and social sciences. Most UK law schools require OSCOLA for legal essays and moots.

Want every case in your reading list pre-formatted? Caselaw stores an OSCOLA citation on every brief in our case library.