How to Cite an ISBN in Chicago
Updated August 2026
Citing an isbn 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 Book. Edition ed. Publisher, Year.
Chicago (17th edition) formats a book (by ISBN) reference as shown above. A real example, generated by our citation engine:
Martin, Robert C. Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship. Prentice Hall, 2008.
In-text(Martin 2008)
Finding the pieces
Or skip the hunt: Paste the 10- or 13-digit ISBN into the generator's ISBN tab — hyphens optional, and every field is filled from the source's own record — then select Chicago on the result.
- Copyright page — the back of the title page lists the ISBN
- Back cover — above or below the barcode
- Retailer/library listings — product details on Amazon, Google Books, or WorldCat
- eBook store pages — eBooks carry their own ISBNs, sometimes different from print
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
ISBN-specific pitfalls
- An ISBN identifies a book edition — citing by ISBN guarantees you cite the edition you actually used
- The ISBN itself never appears in the finished citation in any style
- Print and eBook editions may have different ISBNs and different years — cite yours
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.
Keep every citation you make.
A free account saves your citation history and organizes sources into projects with notes and tags.
Create a free account →Find the sources you should be citing.
Premium searches 250 million scholarly works by topic, recommends citations for your claims, and flags statements in your writing that need support.
Go Premium — $5/monthFrequently asked questions
- What's the basic Chicago format for an isbn?
- Author Last, First. Title of Book. Edition ed. Publisher, Year. — see the worked example above, generated by the same engine that powers the free citation tool.
- ISBN-10 or ISBN-13 — does it matter?
- Either works in the generator; they identify the same edition. ISBN-13 (starting 978/979) is the modern standard.
- How do I cite an isbn 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.