OSCOLA (the Oxford Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities) is a footnote-based referencing style used by almost every UK law school. Instead of author–date citations in the text, you place a superscript number after the relevant point and give the full citation in a footnote at the bottom of the page. OSCOLA is precise about punctuation and order — which is exactly why it costs careless students marks. This guide shows you how to cite the sources law students use most.
OSCOLA's golden rule: minimal punctuation. No full stops after abbreviations (it's "ed", "edn", "ch", not "ed.", "edn.", "ch."). Get that habit early and half the common errors disappear.
How OSCOLA works
- A footnote marker (a superscript number) goes after the relevant text, usually after the closing punctuation.
- The footnote contains the full citation. The first time you cite a source, give it in full; afterwards, use a short form.
- A bibliography at the end lists your sources, usually split into a Table of Cases, a Table of Legislation, and Secondary Sources.
Citing cases
Modern case with a neutral citation (UK cases from 2001 onwards have one):
R (Miller) v Prime Minister [2019] UKSC 41, [2020] AC 373.
Format: case name | neutral citation | [year] law report volume report-abbreviation first-page. Use square brackets [ ] for the year when it's essential to finding the report, and round brackets ( ) when the volume number alone identifies it.
Older / classic case (no neutral citation):
Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562 (HL).
The court appears in round brackets at the end where it isn't obvious from the report.
Pinpointing a paragraph or page:
R (Miller) v Prime Minister [2019] UKSC 41, [12].
Square brackets around a number [12] refer to a paragraph; a plain number refers to a page.
Case names are italicised in the text and in footnotes; the rest of the citation is not.
Citing legislation
Act of Parliament:
Human Rights Act 1998.
A specific section:
Human Rights Act 1998, s 6.
Note: "s" for section, "ss" for sections, no full stop, no comma inside the abbreviation. Subsections use brackets: s 6(1).
Statutory instrument:
The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) Regulations 2011, SI 2011/2260.
Citing secondary sources
Book:
Author, Title (edn, Publisher Year) page.
Example:
Gary Slapper and David Kelly, The English Legal System (18th edn, Routledge 2018) 45.
Note the author's name is given first name then surname in footnotes.
Chapter in an edited book:
Author, 'Chapter Title' in Editor (ed), Book Title (Publisher Year).
Journal article:
Author, 'Title of Article' (Year) Volume Journal-Abbreviation First-Page.
Example:
Paul Craig, 'Theory and Values in Public Law' [2005] PL 440.
Where the journal is identified by year, use square brackets [2005]; where it has a running volume number, use round brackets (2005).
Website:
Author, 'Title' (Website Name, Date) accessed Date.
Example:
Law Commission, 'Reform of the law' (Law Commission, 2023) https://www.lawcom.gov.uk/... accessed 12 March 2026.
Short forms and "ibid"
After a full first citation, use a short form:
- For cases, use a recognisable short name: Miller (n 4) — where (n 4) refers back to the footnote where it was first cited in full.
- For books and articles, use the author's surname and (n X): Craig (n 7) 442.
- Use ibid to refer to the immediately preceding footnote (ibid 12 for a different pinpoint in the same source). Note: "ibid" with no full stop in OSCOLA's minimal-punctuation house style.
The bibliography
At the end of your work, OSCOLA bibliographies are typically split into:
- Table of Cases — alphabetical by case name.
- Table of Legislation — statutes, then statutory instruments.
- Secondary Sources — books, articles, websites, alphabetical by author surname (here, surname first: Slapper G and Kelly D).
A key catch: footnotes give the first name first, but the bibliography gives the surname first. Mixing these up is a classic OSCOLA error.
The mistakes that lose marks
- Full stops after abbreviations — OSCOLA uses none (edn, ed, ss, ch).
- Wrong brackets around the year — square for year-identified reports, round for volume-identified ones.
- Author name order — first-name-first in footnotes, surname-first in the bibliography.
- Forgetting the court where the report doesn't make it obvious.
- Inconsistent pinpointing — [12] for paragraphs, plain numbers for pages.
- A reference list instead of a proper Table of Cases / Legislation / Secondary Sources split.
OSCOLA's precision is unforgiving, and a long dissertation magnifies every inconsistency. If your footnotes and tables have drifted, our Formatting & Referencing service includes OSCOLA specialists who will bring the whole document into line.
The bottom line
OSCOLA rewards consistency and punishes stray punctuation. Learn the minimal-punctuation rule, the bracket convention for years, and the first-name/surname switch between footnotes and bibliography — and you'll keep marks that trip up most law students. For a long dissertation, a specialist final pass is one of the highest-value checks you can make.
Get OSCOLA formatting help or see our dissertation editing.
Frequently asked questions
Is OSCOLA a footnote or author–date style? Footnote-based. You place a superscript number in the text and give the full citation in a footnote, with a bibliography (split into tables of cases, legislation and secondary sources) at the end.
Do I use full stops in OSCOLA abbreviations? No. OSCOLA uses minimal punctuation — "edn", "ed", "ss", "ch", "ibid" with no full stops.
When do I use square vs round brackets for the year? Square brackets when the year is essential to locating the report or journal; round brackets when a volume number alone identifies it.
How do I do a short citation after the first one? Use the author's surname or the case's short name followed by "(n X)", where X is the footnote number of the first full citation. Use "ibid" for the immediately preceding footnote.
Why does the author's name order change between footnotes and the bibliography? It's an OSCOLA convention: footnotes use first-name-then-surname; the bibliography lists surname first for alphabetical ordering. Keep them consistent within each.
Written by Dr Sarah M., PhD, academic editor with 9 years' experience supporting UK university students, working with our OSCOLA-specialist law editors.