What file formats can I import and export?

You can import PDF, DOCX, ODT, RTF, TXT, LaTeX, BibTeX, RIS, MEDLINE, CSL-JSON, EndNote, BBL, Markdown, and HTML files, or extract a bibliography from an arXiv paper. Completed checks and correction suggestions can be exported as Markdown, CSV, JSON, BibTeX, or RIS.

Can a reference checker detect AI-generated fake citations?

It can identify common warning signs, including missing records, conflicting citation details, invented titles, and identifiers that lead to a different paper. The result should be treated as evidence for review, not automatic proof of misconduct.

Does a valid DOI prove that a citation is correct?

No. A DOI may resolve successfully but belong to a different title, author, year, or subject. A strong check compares the returned record with the full submitted citation.

Is a reference fake when no match is found?

Not necessarily. The entry may contain a typo, have incomplete citation details, or refer to a book, dataset, report, regional publication, or other source with limited index coverage. No-match results require manual review.

Is a reference checker the same as an APA citation checker?

No. APA checkers focus mainly on style and formatting. Reference verification focuses on whether the cited source can be found and whether its identifying fields agree with a candidate record.

Can it verify whether a source supports the claim in my paper?

Source existence and claim support are separate checks. Determining support requires the surrounding citation context and access to the source text, so it should be presented as an additional review rather than inferred from a publication record alone.

Does it identify retracted and non-traditional sources?

When a matched publication record contains an explicit retraction signal, Reference Checker shows a warning and links to the supporting source. It also recognizes webpages, datasets, software, and technical reports and marks them for appropriate manual review when publication databases cannot fully verify them.

What happens after I apply a correction?

The corrected citation is immediately checked again against the scholarly sources. The original citation and result remain available, so you can review the new status, inspect changed fields, and undo the decision if needed.

Free Reference Checker Verify Sources and Catch Citation Errors

Check references, DOIs, and citation details for free. Guests can check 100 pasted references daily; free accounts receive 500 total daily credits, one per reference. Resets at 00:00 UTC with no check-in or rollover.

Paste text or import a document

PDF · DOCX · ODT · RTF · TXT · TEX · BIB · RIS · MEDLINE · CSL-JSON · ENDNOTE · BBL · MD · HTML

14 formats · local parsing

Correction formatBibliography orderEntercontinueShift + Enternew line

0/500 references

100 guest checks daily
500 daily credits when signed in
Resets at 00:00 UTC · no rollover
No check-in or credit card

A real six-reference check with a wrong DOI expanded field by field.

Coverage across 12 scholarly data sources

References are routed to the most relevant publisher registries, medical indexes, citation graphs, preprint archives, open-access records, and computer-science libraries.

Crossref
DataCite
OpenAlex
Semantic Scholar
PubMed
Europe PMC
OpenCitations
Unpaywall
arXiv
OpenReview
DBLP
ACL Anthology

Complete example result

See how a reference checker catches a wrong DOI

This fully expanded example shows the submitted citation, matched publication record, field-by-field evidence, and a source-backed correction—the same evidence produced by the live checker above.

Submitted reference

Doudna, J. A., & Charpentier, E. (2014). The new frontier of genome engineering with CRISPR-Cas9. Science, 346(6213), 1258096. DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03819-2

Result: Citation details differWork match: 99.8%

The title, authors, year, journal, volume, issue, and article number match a real Science publication. The submitted DOI resolves to a different Nature paper, so the reference needs correction before use.

Field-by-field citation verification

Field	Submitted citation	Matched source record
DOI	10.1038/s41586-021-03819-2	10.1126/science.1258096
Title	The new frontier of genome engineering with CRISPR-Cas9	The new frontier of genome engineering with CRISPR-Cas9
Authors	Jennifer A. Doudna; Emmanuelle Charpentier	Jennifer A. Doudna; Emmanuelle Charpentier
Year	2014	2014
Journal	Science	Science
Volume / issue	346 (6213)	346 (6213)
Article number	1258096	1258096

Matched publication record

The new frontier of genome engineering with CRISPR-Cas9

Jennifer A. Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier · Science · 2014 · Volume 346, Issue 6213 · Article 1258096

Evidence checked: Crossref and OpenAlex publication records

Source-backed correction

Doudna, J. A., & Charpentier, E. (2014). The new frontier of genome engineering with CRISPR-Cas9. Science, 346(6213), 1258096. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1258096

Open the publication record

A mismatch is a review signal, not an accusation. Always inspect the linked publication record before changing a bibliography or evaluating academic work.

Built for students and researchers worldwide

Trusted Academic Sources

Connect every citation to the publication databases and scholarly records researchers rely on.

A more defensible way to review references

Evidence over verdicts

Every status should be backed by the fields and source records that produced it.

Mismatch-aware

A DOI that resolves can still point to the wrong title, author, year, or discipline.

Human review remains final

Missing and ambiguous records are review signals—not automatic accusations of fabrication.

What to inspect

Catch reference problems formatting tools miss

Formatting tools can make a citation look correct. Reference Checker verifies whether the source can be found and whether its DOI, title, authors, year, and journal match the published record.

No reliable record

Flag references that cannot be confidently matched across the publication databases searched.

Wrong or unrelated DOI

Catch identifiers that resolve successfully but point to a different paper.

Citation details differ

Compare titles, authors, years, journals, volumes, issues, and pages field by field.

Ambiguous matches

Show possible matches and explain why the evidence is not strong enough to verify the reference.

Duplicate and order checks

Find exact and probable duplicates by DOI, PMID, arXiv ID, normalized citation text, and highly similar titles. Detect out-of-order entries and alphabetize the bibliography in one click.

Evidence for review

Open the matched publication record and inspect the exact fields behind every result.

Retraction signals

Show an explicit warning and supporting source when a matched publication record is marked as retracted.

Non-traditional sources

Recognize webpages, datasets, software, and technical reports and route them to manual review instead of treating every unmatched item as fabricated.

Complete reference workflow

From an imported bibliography to review-ready evidence.

Reference Checker keeps parsing, verification, correction, and delivery in one workflow, so every decision remains connected to its source record.

01Import
Bring in complete bibliographies, not one citation at a time.
Paste references, import from arXiv, or upload 14 file formats. Parsing stays local, and the original is saved only after confirmation.
- 14 import formats
- Direct arXiv import
- Up to 500 references
- Local browser parsing
02Verify
Inspect the publication record behind every result.
Search 12 scholarly data sources, resolve major identifiers, and compare publication fields. Retraction signals, alternative candidates, and unusual sources stay visible for review.
- Field-by-field evidence
- Retraction warnings
- Alternative candidates
- Seven review statuses
03Correct
Fix the bibliography without losing the original evidence.
Create source-backed corrections in seven citation styles. Apply, edit, recheck, ignore, or undo changes without losing the original citation or evidence.
- Seven citation styles
- Apply and recheck
- Duplicate detection
- One-click reordering
04Deliver
Export, share, and return to the work later.
Search saved results and history, revisit checked publications, export in five formats, or share a public report link.
- Five export formats
- Public report sharing
- Activity history
- Checked reference library

From citation text to evidence

Each reference is checked against academic database records.

The checker parses the citation, searches multiple scholarly databases, and compares the closest record field by field before showing a review status.

A reference being parsed and matched against academic publication records before review — Identifiers are resolved first; titles, authors, dates, venues, and publication details are then compared with the strongest matching record.

01
Parse each reference
Paste citation text, import a paper directly from arXiv, or upload PDF, DOCX, ODT, RTF, TXT, LaTeX, BibTeX, RIS, MEDLINE, CSL-JSON, EndNote, BBL, Markdown, and HTML files. Each record is parsed into structured fields, checked for exact or probable duplicates, and reviewed for the order required by the selected citation style.
02
Search across academic databases
Resolve identifiers first, then route searches across Crossref, DataCite, OpenAlex, Semantic Scholar, PubMed, Europe PMC, OpenCitations, Unpaywall, arXiv, OpenReview, DBLP, and ACL Anthology to find the strongest candidate record.
03
Compare, correct, and format
Compare the submitted citation with the matched record, then review, edit, apply, or ignore source-backed corrections in APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago, Harvard, Vancouver, IEEE, or ABNT. Applied changes are checked again immediately, while the original remains available for undo and export.

Use cases

Reference Checker Use Cases

See how professors, students, authors, and editors verify bibliographies before grading, submission, or peer review.

A grading desk with a stack of bibliography sheets, review marks, and a magnifying glass

Professors & graders

Check student bibliographies in one pass.

Check an entire student bibliography for missing records, mismatched DOIs, and incorrect citation details.

Research documents and source cards connected across a shared academic workspace

Students & research teams

Catch citation problems before submission.

Review AI-assisted drafts, group work, and imported references while there is still time to correct them.

A manuscript dossier connecting author and publication record cards to a verified archive

Authors & coauthors

Protect every name on the manuscript.

Verify titles, authors, journals, years, and identifiers across the bibliography before peer review.

An editorial review desk screening bibliography evidence before filing verified records

Editors & reviewers

Screen references before peer review.

Check the bibliography separately and keep clear evidence ready for author follow-up.

Free guest access

100 checks per day

Check up to 100 pasted references daily. The guest allowance is shared per network, and results are not saved to an account.

Start checking for free

Free account

500 checks per day

Get 500 total credits daily, one per reference. File and arXiv imports, exports, sharing, history, and the checked library are free.

Resets automatically at 00:00 UTC. No check-in or rollover. Signed-in allowance totals 500 credits daily; old gift balances are not added.

No purchase or subscription is required. Daily allowances do not accumulate or combine with any historical balance.

Questions before you check

Reference checker FAQ

Clear answers about evidence, false positives, supported formats, citation styles, and correction workflows.

Guests can check 100 references per day, shared per network. Each signed-in account gets 500 credits per day, with one credit per reference. Allowances reset automatically at 00:00 UTC, without check-in or rollover. Sign in for free to import files, save history, use the library, and share reports.

Keep the evidence attached

Check the reference—not just the formatting.

Start with the sample report, understand every status, and make the final decision from evidence you can inspect.

Review the sample report