How to Cite a DOI in Chicago
Updated July 2026
Citing a doi in Chicago comes down to one template and a handful of rules. Below: the exact 17th edition format, a real example produced by our citation engine, and the in-text form — or paste your source into the generator and copy the finished citation.
The Chicago format
Author Last, First. “Title of Article.” Journal Name Volume, no. Issue (Year): pages. DOI or URL.
Chicago (17th edition) formats a DOI source reference as shown above. A real example, generated by our citation engine:
Rasch, Björn, and Jan Born. "About sleep's role in memory." Physiological Reviews 93, no. 2 (2013): 681-766. https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.00032.2012.
In-text(Rasch and Born 2013)
Finding the pieces
Or skip the hunt: Paste the DOI directly into the generator's DOI tab — any form works (bare, https://doi.org/…, or dx.doi.org), and every field is filled from the source's own record — then select Chicago on the result.
- On the article — first-page header or footer of the PDF
- On the landing page — near the title or in the "Cite" panel
- In databases — PubMed, JSTOR, Scopus, and Google Scholar records all display it
- Via CrossRef — search.crossref.org finds a DOI from a title
Chicago's formatting rules at work
- First author inverted, additional authors in natural order
- Titles use Title Case; articles in quotes, containers in italics
- Reads like prose: the year sits in parentheses before the page range for articles
- Pairs with footnotes — the same data in sentence form with commas
DOI-specific pitfalls
- A DOI identifies the work — the citation that results is for whatever the work is (almost always a journal article)
- The citation is built from the publisher's registry record, making DOI-based citations the most reliable kind
- When a source has a DOI, every modern style prefers it over a URL
In-text citations in Chicago
Chicago's notes-bibliography system cites with footnotes: a superscript number in the text pointing to a note with the source details and page. The bibliography entry shown here contains everything the footnote needs — un-invert the author's name and swap most periods for commas to form the note.
No author? The note and bibliography entry begin with the title; alphabetize by it (ignoring A/An/The).
Building the Bibliography
Every in-text citation pairs with a full entry on the Bibliography page, alphabetized by author. Add each citation to your bibliography as you generate it, and the Bibliography Builder assembles and exports the finished page to Word with the title, ordering, and indentation Chicago requires.
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Go Premium — $5/monthFrequently asked questions
- What's the basic Chicago format for a doi?
- Author Last, First. “Title of Article.” Journal Name Volume, no. Issue (Year): pages. DOI or URL. — see the worked example above, generated by the same engine that powers the free citation tool.
- What if my source has no DOI?
- Common for pre-2000 articles and most web content. Cite with the journal's URL or the print details instead — the format is otherwise identical.
- How do I cite a doi in Chicago in-text?
- With a footnote: a superscript number pointing to a note with the source details and the specific page.
- Can I get this citation in other styles too?
- Yes — every result in the generator renders APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and IEEE simultaneously. Generate once, switch styles with one click.