If you study law at a UK university, you will almost certainly reference in OSCOLA — the Oxford University Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities. Unlike Harvard or APA, OSCOLA is built specifically for legal writing: it uses numbered footnotes to cite cases, statutes and secondary sources, and it has strict rules about punctuation and order. Get it right and you protect easy marks; get it wrong and you leak them across every assignment.
This guide covers the essentials — how to cite the sources you'll use most, and how to build a proper OSCOLA bibliography.
How OSCOLA Works
Two rules underpin everything:
- Footnotes, not in-text citations. Every citation goes in a numbered footnote, marked with a superscript number after the relevant sentence — after the closing punctuation.
- No full stops in citations. OSCOLA deliberately minimises punctuation. Abbreviations like ss (sections) and law-report series do not take full stops.
Citing Cases
The core format is: case name, then the year, the law report volume, the report abbreviation, and the first page.
Example: Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562.
Use square brackets when the year is essential to finding the report, and round brackets when the volume number alone locates it. Where a neutral citation exists (from 2001 onwards), give it first, followed by the best report:
Example: R (Miller) v The Prime Minister [2019] UKSC 41, [2020] AC 373.
To pinpoint a paragraph in a neutral-citation case, add the paragraph number in square brackets: Miller (n 1) [50].
Citing Legislation
Cite a UK statute by its short title and year, with no comma and no full stop:
Example: Human Rights Act 1998.
Pinpointing a section: Human Rights Act 1998, s 3.
For statutory instruments, give the name, year and SI number: The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, SI 2013/3134.
Citing Books
Format: author, title (edition, publisher year).
Example: Andrew Burrows, A Casebook on Contract (7th edn, Hart Publishing 2020) 145.
The final number is the pinpoint page. Note the author's name appears first-name-first in footnotes (but surname-first in the bibliography).
Citing Journal Articles
Format: author, 'title' (year) volume journal abbreviation first page.
Example: Paul Craig, 'Theory, "Pure Theory" and Values in Public Law' [2005] PL 440.
Citing Websites
Format: author, 'title' (website, full date) <URL> accessed date.
Example: Law Commission, 'Reforming the Law' (Law Commission, 12 March 2025) <https://lawcom.gov.uk> accessed 20 July 2026.
Repeat Citations: Using (n) and ibid
- ibid — refers to the immediately preceding footnote. Add a pinpoint if the page differs: ibid 12.
- (n) — for a source cited earlier but not immediately above, use a short form plus the original footnote number: Donoghue (n 3).
Building the OSCOLA Bibliography
An OSCOLA assignment ends with a bibliography split into clear sections, usually in this order:
- Table of Cases — alphabetical by case name
- Table of Legislation — statutes then statutory instruments
- Secondary Sources — books, journal articles, websites, alphabetical by author surname
In the bibliography, the author's surname comes first (e.g. Burrows A), the opposite of the footnote order — a detail markers frequently check.
Common OSCOLA Mistakes That Cost Marks
- Using in-text (Harvard-style) citations instead of footnotes
- Omitting the neutral citation for post-2001 cases
- Adding full stops after abbreviations (AC., UKSC.)
- Forgetting the pinpoint page or paragraph number
- Listing authors first-name-first in the bibliography
- Mixing square and round brackets for case years
If referencing accuracy is where you keep losing marks, our UK law assignment help service applies OSCOLA precisely across problem questions, essays and dissertations. You can also compare OSCOLA with other styles in our referencing styles comparison.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is OSCOLA referencing?
OSCOLA is the footnote-based citation style used by most UK law schools for cases, statutes and secondary sources. It does not use in-text author-date citations.
How do you cite a case in OSCOLA?
Give the case name, year in round or square brackets, volume, report abbreviation and first page — e.g. Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562. Add the neutral citation first for cases from 2001 onward.
How do you cite a statute in OSCOLA?
Use the short title and year with no full stop — e.g. Human Rights Act 1998 — and pinpoint a provision with a section, e.g. s 3.
Does OSCOLA use a bibliography?
Yes — divided into a table of cases, a table of legislation, and a list of secondary sources, with authors listed surname-first.
Is OSCOLA the same as Harvard referencing?
No. Harvard uses in-text author-date citations; OSCOLA uses numbered footnotes for legal authorities. Most UK law modules require OSCOLA.
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