To cite a PDF in IEEE format, work out what kind of document it is, such as a journal article, technical report or white paper, and use the IEEE template for that type.
The PDF format itself is just a container. This guide shows how to identify the document type and gives an IEEE template and example for each common kind of PDF.
The One Rule for Citing PDFs in IEEE
Cite the content type, not the file format. A journal article downloaded as a PDF is cited as a journal article; a company report in PDF is cited as a report. Add an online location, such as a DOI or "[Online]. Available:" and the URL, when the PDF came from the web.
If you cannot tell what the document is, look at its first pages for a journal name, report number, publisher or university.
How to Identify What Your PDF Is
Most PDFs announce their type on the first page or the cover. Look for the clues in the table before choosing a template.
| Clue on the PDF | Document type | IEEE template |
|---|---|---|
| Journal name, volume, issue, DOI in the header | Journal article | Journal article |
| "Proceedings of", conference name and location | Conference paper | Conference paper |
| Report number, organization logo, "technical report" | Technical report | Report |
| "White paper" or company marketing branding | White paper | Report (described as white paper) |
| ISBN, publisher, chapters | Book or e-book | Book |
| University name, "submitted in partial fulfillment" | Thesis or dissertation | Thesis |
| Standard number such as IEEE Std or ISO | Standard | Standard |
| Part number, electrical characteristics | Datasheet | Datasheet |
Journal Articles Accessed as PDF
Most PDFs students cite are journal articles downloaded from a publisher or database. Cite them exactly as journal articles, with the DOI.
Template: [n] A. Author, "Title of article," Abbrev. Title of Journal, vol. x, no. x, pp. xxx–xxx, Abbrev. Month Year, doi: xxx.
Example: [1] A. Mensah and Y. Liu, "Low-power sensor networks for crop monitoring," IEEE Sensors J., vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 5012–5020, Feb. 2021, doi: 10.xxxx/xxxxx.
Do not add "[Online]" or "PDF" for a journal article with a DOI. The DOI already tells the reader where to find it. The examples on this page use invented details.
Conference Papers as PDF
Conference papers are often shared as PDFs on author pages or repositories before or after the proceedings are published. Cite the published proceedings version if it exists.
Template: [n] A. Author, "Title of paper," in Abbrev. Name of Conf., City, Country, Year, pp. xxx–xxx, doi: xxx.
Example: [10] M. Ruiz and H. Tanaka, "Edge computing in rural clinics," in Proc. Int. Conf. Health Informatics, Lisbon, Portugal, 2022, pp. 88–95.
If you only have a preprint, such as a version posted to a repository, say so. IEEE references for preprints give the repository name and identifier, and the year it was posted.
A paper presented at a conference but never published in proceedings can be cited as "presented at" the conference, with the city, country and date of the meeting.
Technical Reports and White Papers
Reports from companies, research labs and government agencies are often only available as PDFs. Use the report template with the organization and report number.
Technical report: [2] J. Moss and R. Bose, "Thermal limits of rooftop solar inverters," Northgate Energy Lab., Leeds, U.K., Tech. Rep. NEL-2022-07, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.example.org/nel-2022-07.pdf
White paper: [3] Arcadia Networks, "Private 5G for manufacturing sites," White Paper, 2023. Accessed: Feb. 3, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://www.example.com/private-5g.pdf
Government reports in PDF follow the same report template, with the agency as author. Include any publication number printed on the cover, since agencies often issue several reports with similar titles.
White papers are usually written to promote a product or approach. Cite them for what a company claims, and support technical facts with peer-reviewed sources where possible.
E-Books and Book Chapters in PDF
A book in PDF is still a book. Use the book template, and add the online location if you accessed it on the web rather than through a library.
E-book: [4] N. Okafor and P. Lindgren, Embedded Systems Design, 3rd ed. Leeds, U.K.: Northgate Press, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.example.org/embedded.pdf
Chapter: [5] R. Bose, "Battery aging models," in Energy Storage Systems, K. Adeyemi, Ed. Cham, Switzerland: Springer, 2019, ch. 5, pp. 101–130.
If the e-book has a DOI, give the DOI rather than a URL. For a single chapter, cite the chapter and its page range, not the whole book. Use the page numbers printed in the book, not the PDF viewer's page count.
Theses and Dissertations as PDF
University repositories publish theses as PDFs. Give the degree type, department, university and location.
Template: [n] A. Author, "Title of thesis," M.S. thesis (or Ph.D. dissertation), Abbrev. Dept., Abbrev. Univ., City, Country, Year. [Online]. Available: URL
Example: [6] J. Moss, "Fault detection in micro-grids," Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. Elect. Eng., Univ. Leeds, Leeds, U.K., 2021. [Online]. Available: https://www.example.ac.uk/moss-thesis.pdf
Standards, Datasheets and Manuals
Engineering papers often cite standards and manufacturer documents. These have their own IEEE templates.
Standard: [7] Title of Standard, Standard number, Year.
Example pattern: [7] IEEE Standard for ..., IEEE Std xxxx-yyyy, yyyy.
Datasheet: [8] Name of Part, Company, City, Country, Year. [Online]. Available: URL
Manual: [9] Title of Manual, xth ed., Company, City, Country, Year, pp. xx–xx.
Copy the standard's exact title and number from its cover, including the year suffix, because standards are revised and older versions differ.
For manuals and datasheets, the company is usually the author. Give the version or revision letter if the document shows one, since manufacturers update these files without changing the title.
When to Use a URL or a DOI
| Situation | What to include |
|---|---|
| PDF has a DOI | doi: followed by the number; no URL needed |
| PDF from a stable web page, no DOI | [Online]. Available: URL |
| Content that may change | Add "Accessed:" with the date before [Online] |
| PDF from a subscription database | Cite as the document type; leave out the database URL |
| PDF from a course page or shared drive | Find the published version; if none, ask your tutor |
If possible, link to the page that hosts the PDF rather than a direct file link, which may change. Always test the link before you submit.
Common Mistakes and a Quick Check
- Writing "[PDF]" or "PDF file" in place of the document type.
- Citing a journal article as a website because it opened in a browser.
- Leaving out report or standard numbers.
- Using a temporary download link that expires.
- Citing lecture slides when the original source is available.
Quick check for each PDF. What type of document is it? Who is responsible for it? Does it have a DOI, report number or standard number? Where can a reader find the same version? If you can answer all four, you can build a correct IEEE entry.
Our free citation generator can build IEEE entries from a DOI, which covers most journal PDFs. Reports and standards often need details added by hand from the cover page.
How Bibloq Helps with Citing PDFs in IEEE
Send your paper and the PDFs or links you cited. An editor identifies each document's type, formats every entry to the right IEEE template, adds DOIs and report numbers from the documents and checks your numbering.
You get a clean copy and a tracked version. Free revisions are included within the scope of your original request.
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Frequently Asked Questions
No. Cite the document type, such as a journal article or report. The file format is not part of the reference.
Use the organization as author if one is responsible. If there is none, start with the title.
Write "n.d." in place of the year, and include an access date for online documents.
Prefer a stable web page or a DOI. Direct file links often change.
Many tutors accept the lecturer as author, the title, the course, the university and the date. Where possible, cite the original source the slides draw on.
Use the report pattern: organization or author, title in quotation marks, "White Paper", year and the URL with an access date.
Yes. Give the part name in italics, the company, location and year, plus the URL.
Only if your tutor allows it. Try to find the published version so readers can retrieve it.
Cite the author, title in quotation marks, the repository name and identifier, and the year posted. If a peer-reviewed version has since been published, cite that instead.
No. Cite the document type and include the DOI or URL where a reader can find it, wherever you read your copy.