Look carefully first
Check near the title, byline, article footer and page metadata for a publication or last-updated date. A site-wide copyright year does not necessarily tell you when that particular page was created or revised.
APA and n.d.
APA commonly uses “n.d.” when no date is available. Do not substitute the current date or a copyright year simply to fill the field. The absence of a date can also affect the matching in-text citation.
MLA handling
MLA can omit a publication date when none is available. Depending on the source and instructor guidance, an access date may be useful for web content that can change over time.
Chicago handling
Chicago may use an access date when a publication or revision date is unavailable, especially for changeable web pages. The exact treatment depends on the Chicago system and source type.
Accuracy is better than guessing
A citation with one genuinely unavailable element is better than a citation containing an invented date. References are meant to describe the source honestly and help readers locate it.
Access dates do not replace publication dates
An access date tells the reader when you viewed a page; it does not claim that the page was published on that day. Styles use access dates differently, so add one only when the required style or instructor calls for it or when it is useful for changeable, undated content.
Related resources
Reviewed: October 2026. CurioLift explanations are educational; when a school, instructor or required style guide uses different rules, those rules take priority.