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OSCOLA to Chicago N-B converter

Paste OSCOLA references, get Chicago N-B. Free, no sign-up.

Paste references written in OSCOLA and get them back in Chicago N-B, ready to copy into Word or Google Docs. The main changes: the list is alphabetical by first author’s surname, author names are written as in Chicago N-B (first author inverted with full names, the rest in normal order) and the date moves (near the end). CiteSwap looks each reference up in the open Crossref catalogue, so authors, years and page numbers come from the publisher’s record rather than being rewritten by hand.

OSCOLA vs Chicago N-B: the same sources side by side

Each example below was formatted by CiteSwap’s engine, exactly as the converter outputs it.

Journal article

OSCOLA

Suri T and Jack W, ‘The Long-Run Poverty and Gender Impacts of Mobile Money’ (2016) 354 Science 1288 <https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aah5309>

Footnote: Tavneet Suri and William Jack, ‘The Long-Run Poverty and Gender Impacts of Mobile Money’ (2016) 354 Science 1288, 1290 <https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aah5309>.

Chicago N-B

Suri, Tavneet, and William Jack. “The Long-Run Poverty and Gender Impacts of Mobile Money.” Science 354, no. 6317 (2016): 1288–92. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aah5309.

Footnote: Tavneet Suri and William Jack, “The Long-Run Poverty and Gender Impacts of Mobile Money,” Science 354, no. 6317 (2016): 1290, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aah5309.

Book

OSCOLA

Achebe C, Things Fall Apart (Heinemann 1958)

Footnote: Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart (Heinemann 1958) 1290.

Chicago N-B

Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. Heinemann, 1958.

Footnote: Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart (Heinemann, 1958), 1290.

Web page

OSCOLA

World Health Organization, ‘Malaria’ (4 December 2023) <https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malaria> accessed 1 October 2026

Footnote: World Health Organization, ‘Malaria’ (4 December 2023) 1290 <https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malaria> accessed 1 October 2026.

Chicago N-B

World Health Organization. “Malaria.” December 4, 2023. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malaria.

Footnote: World Health Organization, “Malaria,” December 4, 2023, 1290, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malaria.

Key differences between OSCOLA and Chicago N-B

10 of 12 rules differ; they are listed first.

RuleOSCOLAChicago N-B
In-text citationsfootnotes: a superscript number in the text points to a footnote with the full citation; later notes use a short form or “ibid”superscript note numbers linked to footnotes or endnotes that give the source
List orderSecondary sources alphabetically by first author’s surname, with cases and legislation in separate listsAlphabetical by first author’s surname
Author namesFootnotes give the name as written (Tavneet Suri); the bibliography gives surname and initials without full stops (Suri T)First author inverted with full names, the rest in normal order, e.g. Suri, Tavneet, and William Jack
Many authorsMore than three authors: first author followed by “and others”List up to six authors; for seven or more, the first three followed by “et al.”
DateIn brackets: after the title for journal articles, (2016), and with the publisher for books, (Heinemann 1958)Near the end: in parentheses after the issue for journals, after the publisher for books
Article titlesIn single quotation marks, title caseIn quotation marks, title case
ItalicsBook titles (and case names); article titles and journal names are not italicisedJournal and book titles
Journal namesFull journal name (or its standard abbreviation) after the volume number, not italicisedFull journal name, volume, then “no.” for the issue
Page rangesFirst page only, e.g. 1288; pinpoint pages go in the footnoteShortened range after a colon, e.g. 1288–92
DOIs and linksURLs in angle brackets, followed by the date you accessed them: <https://…> accessed 1 October 2026DOI as a link: https://doi.org/…
Reference list heading(same)BibliographyBibliography
Title capitalisation(same)Title caseTitle case

When to use Chicago N-B

Chicago notes and bibliography is the standard in history and much of the humanities, where footnotes let you comment on sources as well as cite them. It is published by the University of Chicago Press; CiteSwap follows the 18th edition (2024).

OSCOLA is more common in law, law schools in the UK, Ireland, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and other common-law countries, while Chicago N-B is usual in history, the arts, philosophy. If your department or journal names a style, always follow it.

OSCOLA to Chicago N-B: frequently asked questions

How do I convert OSCOLA citations to Chicago N-B?

Paste your OSCOLA reference list into the box above (one reference per line, numbered, or separated by blank lines), check that “From” says OSCOLA or Auto-detect and “To” says Chicago N-B, then press Convert. You can also paste DOIs, BibTeX or RIS. Copy the result or download it for Word.

How do in-text citations change from OSCOLA to Chicago N-B?

OSCOLA uses footnotes: a superscript number in the text points to a footnote with the full citation; later notes use a short form or “ibid”. Chicago N-B uses superscript note numbers linked to footnotes or endnotes that give the source. A first footnote for the Suri and Jack article reads: Tavneet Suri and William Jack, “The Long-Run Poverty and Gender Impacts of Mobile Money,” Science 354, no. 6317 (2016): 1290, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aah5309.

Does the order of my references change in Chicago N-B?

Yes. OSCOLA: secondary sources alphabetically by first author’s surname, with cases and legislation in separate lists. Chicago N-B: alphabetical by first author’s surname. CiteSwap sorts the converted list for you.

How are author names written in Chicago N-B?

Chicago N-B: First author inverted with full names, the rest in normal order, e.g. Suri, Tavneet, and William Jack. OSCOLA: Footnotes give the name as written (Tavneet Suri); the bibliography gives surname and initials without full stops (Suri T). When a reference is matched in Crossref, CiteSwap uses full first names from the publisher’s record, so it can produce either form.

How are DOIs and URLs written in Chicago N-B?

Chicago N-B: DOI as a link: https://doi.org/…. OSCOLA: URLs in angle brackets, followed by the date you accessed them: <https://…> accessed 1 October 2026. The converter rewrites DOIs in Chicago N-B format for you.

Is the OSCOLA to Chicago N-B converter accurate?

Each reference is matched against the Crossref catalogue (over 150 million records) and only accepted automatically when the title, year and first author agree. Anything uncertain is marked “Needs review” so you can pick the right match, and references that aren’t in the catalogue, like websites or local journals, are parsed from your text and marked so you can check them.