This guide will help you understand how to properly cite sources in ABNT format, Brazil's official standard for bibliographic references. Whether you're writing a TCC (trabalho de conclusão de curso), dissertação, or tese for a Brazilian university, following ABNT NBR 6023 rules ensures your academic work meets national requirements.
Jan 4, 2026
By
Joe Pacal, MSc
Search citation styles
TL;DR
ABNT style offers author-date (SILVA, 2023) and numeric [1] citation systems with specific Brazilian formatting rules. Author surnames appear in CAPITALS, titles use bold text, and references follow a strict element order. Key standards: NBR 6023:2025 (references) and NBR 10520:2023 (in-text citations). Distinctive features include location before publisher and specific punctuation patterns. Perfect for Brazilian universities, journals, and academic publishing.
What Is ABNT?
ABNT (Associação Brasileira de Normas Técnicas / Brazilian Association of Technical Standards) publishes Brazil's official standards for academic writing. Two key standards govern citations:
NBR 6023:2025 — Rules for bibliographic references (3rd edition, released May 2025)
NBR 10520:2023 — Rules for in-text citations and footnotes
These standards are required by virtually all Brazilian universities and academic journals.
Citation Systems
ABNT supports two in-text citation methods:
Author-Date System (Sistema Autor-Data)
The author's surname appears in capitals with the year, separated by a comma:
According to recent research (SILVA, 2023), the phenomenon occurs frequently.
Silva (2023) demonstrated that the phenomenon occurs frequently.
With page numbers:
(SILVA, 2023, p. 45)
Numeric System (Sistema Numérico)
Superscript or bracketed numbers correspond to footnotes or endnotes:
The phenomenon occurs frequently¹.
The phenomenon occurs frequently (1).
Citing Books (Monografias)
Format: SURNAME, First Name. Title: subtitle. Edition. Location: Publisher, Year.
Examples:
Single author:
FREIRE, Paulo. Pedagogia do oprimido. 50. ed. São Paulo: Paz e Terra, 2011.
Two authors:
LAKATOS, Eva Maria; MARCONI, Marina de Andrade. Fundamentos de metodologia científica. 8. ed. São Paulo: Atlas, 2017.
Three or more authors:
SILVA, João Carlos et al. Metodologia da pesquisa. Rio de Janeiro: Editora FGV, 2020.
Citing Book Chapters
Format: CHAPTER AUTHOR. Chapter title. In: BOOK AUTHOR. Book title. Edition. Location: Publisher, Year. p. X-Y.
Example:
SANTOS, Maria. A importância da leitura. In: OLIVEIRA, Carlos (org.). Educação e sociedade. 2. ed. São Paulo: Cortez, 2019. p. 45-67.
Citing Journal Articles
Format: SURNAME, First Name. Article title. Journal Name, Location, v. X, n. X, p. X-Y, month(s). year.
Examples:
Print journal:
SOUZA, Ana Paula. Mudanças climáticas no Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Meio Ambiente, São Paulo, v. 15, n. 3, p. 234-256, jul./set. 2022.
Online journal with DOI:
COSTA, Roberto. Inteligência artificial na educação. Revista Brasileira de Informática na Educação, v. 30, p. 145-162, 2022. DOI: 10.5753/rbie.2022.2456.
Online journal with URL:
LIMA, Fernanda. Saúde pública no século XXI. Cadernos de Saúde Pública, Rio de Janeiro, v. 38, n. 5, e00123421, 2022. Disponível em: https://www.scielo.br/csp. Acesso em: 15 jan. 2024.
Citing Theses and Dissertations
Format: SURNAME, First Name. Title. Year. Type (Degree)—Institution, Location, Year.
Examples:
Doctoral thesis:
MARTINS, Carolina. Análise do desenvolvimento sustentável no Brasil. 2021. Tese (Doutorado em Economia)—Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, 2021.
Master's dissertation:
ALMEIDA, Pedro. Gestão de recursos hídricos. 2020. Dissertação (Mestrado em Engenharia Ambiental)—Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, 2020.
Undergraduate thesis (TCC):
FERREIRA, Lucas. Marketing digital para pequenas empresas. 2022. Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso (Graduação em Administração)—Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, 2022.
Citing Websites and Online Documents
Format: AUTHOR or ENTITY. Title. Location, Year. Disponível em: URL. Acesso em: day month. year.
Examples:
Institutional website:
BRASIL. Ministério da Educação. Diretrizes curriculares nacionais. Brasília, 2023. Disponível em: https://www.mec.gov.br/diretrizes. Acesso em: 20 jan. 2024.
News article:
GLOBO. Economia brasileira cresce 3% em 2023. G1, 15 jan. 2024. Disponível em: https://g1.globo.com/economia. Acesso em: 16 jan. 2024.
Citing Legislation
Format: JURISDICTION. Type Number, Date. Description. Publication, Location, Date.
Example:
BRASIL. Lei nº 9.394, de 20 de dezembro de 1996. Estabelece as diretrizes e bases da educação nacional. Diário Oficial da União, Brasília, 23 dez. 1996.
Citing Conference Papers
Format: AUTHOR. Paper title. In: CONFERENCE NAME, Number., Year, Location. Anais [...]. Location: Publisher, Year. p. X-Y.
Example:
RODRIGUES, Marcos. Inovação tecnológica na indústria. In: ENCONTRO NACIONAL DE ENGENHARIA DE PRODUÇÃO, 42., 2022, Foz do Iguaçu. Anais [...]. Rio de Janeiro: ABEPRO, 2022. p. 1-12.
Author Formatting Rules
Surnames: Always in capitals (SILVA, SANTOS, OLIVEIRA)
First names: Can be full or abbreviated (Maria or M.)
Multiple authors: Separate with semicolons (;)
Three or more: Use "et al." after the first author for in-text citations; list all in references or use "et al." after three
Corporate authors: Use the full institutional name in capitals
INSTITUTO BRASILEIRO DE GEOGRAFIA E ESTATÍSTICA. Censo demográfico 2022. Rio de Janeiro: IBGE, 2023.
Key Formatting Elements
Element | ABNT Format |
|---|---|
Author surnames | CAPITALS |
Titles | Bold |
Subtitles | Not bold, after colon |
Edition | "2. ed." (not "2nd ed.") |
Months | Abbreviated in Portuguese (jan., fev., mar., etc.) |
Pages | "p. 45-67" |
Access date | "Acesso em: 15 jan. 2024" |
Reference List (Referências)
Title the section "REFERÊNCIAS" (centered, bold, all capitals)
Arrange entries alphabetically by author surname
Use single spacing within entries, one blank line between entries
Align entries to the left margin (no indentation)
Do not number entries (unless using the numeric system throughout)
ABNT vs APA
Feature | ABNT | APA |
|---|---|---|
Author format | SURNAME, First Name | Surname, F. N. |
Title format | Bold | Italics |
Location placement | Before publisher | After publisher |
Edition format | "2. ed." | "(2nd ed.)" |
Access phrase | "Acesso em:" | "Retrieved from" |
Months | Portuguese abbreviations | English |
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Wrong author capitalization: Surnames must be in capitals (SILVA, not Silva)
Missing bold on titles: Book and journal titles require bold formatting
Incorrect edition abbreviation: Use "2. ed." not "2ª ed." or "segunda edição"
Wrong date format: Use "15 jan. 2024" not "15/01/2024" or "January 15, 2024"
Missing access information: Online sources require both URL and access date
Wrong order: Location comes before publisher in ABNT (São Paulo: Atlas), unlike APA
References
ASSOCIAÇÃO BRASILEIRA DE NORMAS TÉCNICAS. NBR 6023: informação e documentação: referências: elaboração. 3. ed. Rio de Janeiro: ABNT, 2025.
ASSOCIAÇÃO BRASILEIRA DE NORMAS TÉCNICAS. NBR 10520: informação e documentação: citações em documentos: apresentação. 2. ed. Rio de Janeiro: ABNT, 2023.
GRAFIATI. ABNT NBR 6023:2025 Reference Generator. 2025. Disponível em: https://www.grafiati.com/en/blogs/abnt-nbr-6023-2025-reference-generator/. Acesso em: 4 jan. 2026.
