Citation abbreviations: case names, courts and states

When a case name sits in a citation, abbreviate every word of a party's name that table T6 lists, even the first word (Rule 10.2.2). The ones you'll meet most: Association (Ass'n), Board (Bd.), Company (Co.), Corporation (Corp.), Department (Dep't), Education (Educ.), Government (Gov't), Insurance (Ins.), International (Int'l), Manufacturing (Mfg.), National (Nat'l), Service (Serv.) and University (Univ.). A state or city in a party's name is abbreviated too, unless it is the whole party: Pryor v. N.Y. Cent. Sch. Dist., but New York v. Pryor.

For a plural, add s to the abbreviation unless the table gives its own plural: Servs., Mfrs., Comm'rs. You may also shorten a word of eight or more letters that T6 doesn't list, when that saves real space and the reader can't mistake the word.

Don't copy a case name from an opinion and assume it's in Bluebook form. The U.S. Supreme Court and several state high courts don't abbreviate the way the Bluebook does, and older opinions use forms the tables have since changed.

• Harbor Insurance Co. v. Board of Education, 123 F.3d 456, 460 (9th Cir. 1999).Harbor Ins. Co. v. Bd. of Educ., 123 F.3d 456, 460 (9th Cir. 1999).Every T6 word, the first one included. R 10.2.2, T6
• Pryor v. Harbor Health Services Co., 123 F.3d 456, 460 (9th Cir. 1999).Pryor v. Harbor Health Servs. Co., 123 F.3d 456, 460 (9th Cir. 1999).A plural adds s to the abbreviation. T6

When the case name is part of your sentence, abbreviate only eight words: &, Ass'n, Bros., Co., Corp., Inc., Ltd. and No., plus acronyms readers know, such as FCC or NAACP (Rule 10.2.1(c) and Bluepages B10.1.1). Spell out everything else, including words you would abbreviate in a citation. The rule holds when a full citation follows the name inside your sentence.

Even those eight stay spelled out when they're the first word of a party's name: Association of Tenants v. Kerr. So one case can look different in one paragraph: Coastal Insurance Co. v. Department of Revenue in your sentence, Coastal Ins. Co. v. Dep't of Revenue in the citation after it.

• In Coastal Ins. Co. v. Dep't of Revenue, 98 F.4th 211, 214 (5th Cir. 2024), the court held that the lien survived.In Coastal Insurance Co. v. Department of Revenue, 98 F.4th 211, 214 (5th Cir. 2024), the court held that the lien survived.Ins. and Dep't aren't among the eight. R 10.2.1(c)
• In Ass'n of Tenants v. Kerr, the court heldIn Association of Tenants v. Kerr, the court heldNot even the eight as a party's first word. R 10.2.1(c)

The court parenthetical takes the jurisdiction from table T1 and the court's name from table T7: Ct. App. for a court of appeals, Cir. for a federal circuit, and a district's letters for a federal district court. Close up adjacent single capitals and space out anything longer: S.D.N.Y., but D. Del. (Rule 6.1(a)). Ordinals are 2d and 3d, not 2nd and 3rd (Rule 6.2(b)).

Never name a jurisdiction's highest court. The reporter decides only whether the state goes in too: (Pa. 2013) for a case in A.3d. When a state has two top courts, only the one T1 lists first goes unnamed: (Tex. 2018), but (Tex. Crim. App. 2018).

The 22nd edition added the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (F.I.S.C.) and its Court of Review (F.I.S.C.R.).

• 210 P.3d 44, 47 (Ariz. Sup. Ct. 2009)210 P.3d 44, 47 (Ariz. 2009)A state's highest court is never named. R 10.4, T7
• 210 P.3d 44, 47 (Cal. Court of Appeal 2009)210 P.3d 44, 47 (Cal. Ct. App. 2009)T7's form for a court of appeals. T7
• 210 F. Supp. 3d 44, 47 (SDNY 2019)210 F. Supp. 3d 44, 47 (S.D.N.Y. 2019)A district's letters take periods and close up. T7, R 6.1(a)
• 210 F.3d 44, 47 (3rd Cir. 2009)210 F.3d 44, 47 (3d Cir. 2009)Ordinals are 2d and 3d. R 6.2(b)

States in a court parenthetical come from table T1, and from T10 only when T1 has no form. The ones students most often get wrong are Cal. (not Calif.), Fla. (not Fl.) and Tex. (not Tx.). Postal codes such as CA and TX aren't Bluebook forms.

The 22nd edition left the states alone but changed the cities. Houston is now Hou. (it was Hous.), and new forms include Austin (Aus.), Denver (Denv.), San Antonio (S.A.), San Diego (S.D.) and San Jose (S.J.). D.C. moved from the cities to the territories. Since S.D. now means San Diego as well as South Dakota, some journals leave San Diego spelled out.

• 210 P.3d 44, 47 (Calif. Ct. App. 2009)210 P.3d 44, 47 (Cal. Ct. App. 2009)California is Cal. T1
• 210 S.W.3d 44, 47 (Tx. Crim. App. 2018)210 S.W.3d 44, 47 (Tex. Crim. App. 2018)Texas is Tex. T1

The 21st edition (2020) merged the old periodical table into T6 and changed a set of forms at the same time. Older opinions, casebooks and some library guides still use the old ones, so check any case name you copy. Professional is now Pro. (it was Prof'l), Employer and Employment are Emp. (Emp'r, Emp't), Environmental is Env't (Envt'l), and Psychology is Psych. (Psychol.). Research became Rsch., Reserve Rsrv., Refining Refin., Sociology Socio. and Comparative Compar. Laboratory had no abbreviation before; it is now Lab'y.

The 22nd edition (2025) added words to T6 and guidance on abbreviating medical journal titles. No source we checked reports a form it changed.

• Ortiz v. Acme Prof'l Servs. Co., 123 F.3d 456, 460 (9th Cir. 1999).Ortiz v. Acme Pro. Servs. Co., 123 F.3d 456, 460 (9th Cir. 1999).Professional has been Pro. since the 21st edition. T6
• Lund v. Dep't of Emp't Sec.Lund v. Dep't of Emp. Sec.Employment is Emp. T6
• Gale v. Coastal Envt'l LaboratoryGale v. Coastal Env't Lab'yThe 21st edition's forms. T6