Template:Citation needed

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{{Citation needed}} is a template used to identify claims in articles, particularly if questionable, that need a citation to a reliable source. This template produces the superscripted message ^{[citation needed]} and is installed with no spaces directly after punctuation.

Use

{{Citation needed|date=May 2026}}

{{Citation needed|date=May 2026|reason=Your explanation here}}

Notes

The |date= parameter consists of the full English name of the current month (with initial capital and rest lowercase), a space, and the year. For example, "January 2013" but not "jan13" or "January 23, 2013". Deviation from this rule will place the article in Category:Articles with invalid date parameter in template.

To automatically add the current date, you can use substitution like this: {{subst:Citation needed}}.

The |reason= parameter is for an explanation why you think the material needs a source. It is optional but very helpful. It is displayed as a tooltip in some browsers (hover the mouse here ^{[citation needed]} to check behaviour of your browser). For example, the following usage might be appropriate to the claim that "Humphrey Bogart was an avid snooker player":

{{Citation needed|reason=This claim needs a reliable source; Bogart was a famous actor but his major biographies don't mention snooker.|date=May 2026}}

Use only plain text for the |reason= parameter. It does not support wiki markup like wikilinks, which can mess up the tooltip.
Double quotation marks used within the |reason= parameter will likewise mess up the tooltip; use single quotes or the HTML code " instead.
If omitted, the tooltip "This claim needs references to reliable sources." is used by default.

This template should usually be installed directly after punctuation, such as a full stop (period) or a comma.
Use of this template places the article into Category:Articles with unsourced statements.
Remove the template when you add a citation for a statement.

Examples

Example 1

This sentence shows the template used at the end.{{Citation needed|reason=Reliable source needed for the whole sentence|date=May 2026}}

This wikitext will be rendered as follows:

This sentence shows the template used at the end.^{[citation needed]}

Example 2

[[w:Humphrey Bogart|Humphrey Bogart]] was an avid snooker player.{{Citation needed|date=May 2026}}

The template indicates that it may be that Humphrey Bogart played snooker at some point and it may be that he was enthusiastic about the game but no reliable, published sources were given to verify it and the information is not considered common knowledge.

Humphrey Bogart was an avid snooker player.^{[citation needed]}

When not to use this template

The {{Citation needed}} template is intended for use when there is a general question of the verifiability of a statement, or when an editor believes that a reference verifying the statement should be provided. Other templates are available for other or more specific issues.

If you have the time and ability to find an authoritative reference, please do so. Then add the citation yourself, or correct the article text. After all, the ultimate goal is not to merely identify problems, but to fix them.

While an editor may add this template to any uncited passage for any reason, many editors object to what they perceive as overuse of this tag, particularly in what is known as "drive-by" tagging, which is applying the tag without attempting to address the issues at all. Consider whether adding this tag in an article is the best approach before using it, and use it judiciously. Wikipedia's verifiability policy does not require reliable sources for common well-known facts (e.g., "the Moon orbits the Earth"), neither that citations be repeated through every sentence in a paragraph. All direct quotations and facts whose accuracy might be challenged (e.g., statistics) require citations.

This template is intended for specific passages that need citation. For entire articles or sections that contain significant material lacking citations (rather than just specific short passages), there are other, more appropriate templates, such as {{Unreferenced}} and {{More citations needed}} (for whole articles).

Do not use this template to tag policies or guidelines.

How to respond to this tag

The addition of this tag is a request for an inline citation to support the tagged statement. If you are able to provide a citation to support the claim, then please do so.

Except for contentious claims about living people, which should be immediately removed if not cited, there is no specific deadline for providing citations. Please do not delete information that you believe is correct solely because no one has provided a citation within an arbitrary time limit. If there is some uncertainty about its accuracy, most editors are willing to wait at least a month to see whether a citation can be provided.

Template data

TemplateData for Citation needed

The template is used to identify claims in articles, particularly if questionable, that lack a citation to a reliable source.

Template parameters[Edit template data]
Parameter		Description	Type	Status
Month and year	`date`	Provides the month and year of the citation request; e.g., 'January 2013', but not 'jan13' Auto value `{{subst:CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{subst:CURRENTYEAR}}`	String	suggested
Reason for citation	`reason`	A reason as to why, or for what content, the citation is needed; use single quotes, if any	String	optional

Tracking categories

Category:Pages containing citation needed template with unsupported parameters (0) – a hidden maintenance/tracking category which is added to pages using this template with unsupported parameters
Category:Articles with unsourced statements (1,738)