How do I cite a reference in Chicago Style with no date?
Answer
Date is missing: use the place holder n.d. to indicate no date.
Footnotes/Endnotes: Last name, First name, and First name Last name. "Title of Article." Journal Title volume, no. Issue (n.d.): first page - last page.
Author-Date: Last name, First name, and First name Last name. n.d. "Title of Article." Journal Title volume.issue: first page - last page.
Per the Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition):
Notes and Bibliography method (p. 697 and 722) (don't forget to indent the second and subsequent lines):
If the author or editor is unknown, the note or bibliography entry should normally begin with the title. An initial article is ignored in alphabetizing.
A True and Sincere Declaration of the Purpose and Ends of the Plantation Begun in Virginia, of the Degrees Which It Hath Received, and Means by Which It Hath Been Advanced (London, 1610).
A True and Sincere Declaration of the Purpose and Ends of the Plantation Begun in Virginia, of the Degrees Which It Hath Received, and Means by Which It Hath Been Advanced. London, 1610.
When the publication date of a printed work cannot be ascertained, the abbreviation n.d. takes the place of the year in the publication details. A guessed-at date may either be substituted (in brackets) or added.
Boston, n.d.
Edinburgh, [1750?] or Edinburgh, n.d., ca. 1750
Author-Date References (p. 801) (don't forget to indent the second and subsequent lines):
If the author or editor is unknown, the reference list entry should normally begin with the title. An initial article is ignored in alphabetizing. Text citations may refer to a short form of the title but must include the first word (other than the initial article).
A True and Sincere Declaration of the Purpose and Ends of the Plantation Begun in Virginia, of the Degrees Which It Hath Received, and Means by Which It Hath Been Advanced. 1610. London.
(True and Sincere Declaration 1610)
When the publication date of a printed work cannot be ascertained, the abbreviation n.d. takes the place of the year in the reference list entry and text citations. Though it follows a period in the reference list, n.d. remains lowercased to avoid conflation with the author’s name; in text citations, it is preceded by a comma. A guessed-at date may be substituted (in brackets).
Nano, Jasmine L. [1750?] Title of Work…
(Nano [1750?])
(Nano, n.d.)