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Vancouver to OSCOLA converter

Paste Vancouver references, get OSCOLA. Free, no sign-up.

Paste references written in Vancouver and get them back in OSCOLA, ready to copy into Word or Google Docs. The main changes: numbered in-text citations become footnotes, your “References” list becomes “Bibliography” and titles switch to title case. 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.

Vancouver vs OSCOLA: the same sources side by side

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

Journal article

Vancouver

Suri T, Jack W. The long-run poverty and gender impacts of mobile money. Science. 2016 Dec 9;354(6317):1288–92. doi:10.1126/science.aah5309

In-text: (1)

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>.

Book

Vancouver

Achebe C. Things fall apart. London: Heinemann; 1958.

In-text: (1)

OSCOLA

Achebe C, Things Fall Apart (Heinemann 1958)

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

Web page

Vancouver

World Health Organization. Malaria [Internet]. 2023 [cited 2026 Oct 1]. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malaria

In-text: (1)

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.

Key differences between Vancouver and OSCOLA

12 of 12 rules differ; they are listed first.

RuleVancouverOSCOLA
Reference list headingReferencesBibliography
In-text citationsa number in round brackets, square brackets or superscript, e.g. (1), in the order sources are first citedfootnotes: a superscript number in the text points to a footnote with the full citation; later notes use a short form or “ibid”
List orderNumbered in the order of first citationSecondary sources alphabetically by first author’s surname, with cases and legislation in separate lists
Author namesSurname and initials without full stops, e.g. Suri T, Jack WFootnotes give the name as written (Tavneet Suri); the bibliography gives surname and initials without full stops (Suri T)
Many authorsSeven or more authors: first six followed by “et al.”More than three authors: first author followed by “and others”
DateAfter the journal name, with abbreviated month: 2016 Dec;354(6317):1288–92In brackets: after the title for journal articles, (2016), and with the publisher for books, (Heinemann 1958)
Title capitalisationSentence caseTitle case
Article titlesPlain text, sentence caseIn single quotation marks, title case
ItalicsNothing: titles and journal names are plain textBook titles (and case names); article titles and journal names are not italicised
Journal namesAbbreviated journal name (NLM abbreviations), not italicFull journal name (or its standard abbreviation) after the volume number, not italicised
Page rangesShortened range, e.g. 1288–92First page only, e.g. 1288; pinpoint pages go in the footnote
DOIs and links“Available from:” before URLs, “[cited date]” for web pages, “doi:” for DOIsURLs in angle brackets, followed by the date you accessed them: <https://…> accessed 1 October 2026

When to use OSCOLA

OSCOLA is the standard for law essays, dissertations and journals in the UK and many common-law countries. CiteSwap formats secondary sources (articles, books, chapters and websites); cite cases and legislation by hand following the OSCOLA guide. It is published by the Faculty of Law, University of Oxford; CiteSwap follows the 4th edition (2012).

Vancouver is more common in medicine, nursing, dentistry, while OSCOLA is usual in law, law schools in the UK, Ireland, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and other common-law countries. If your department or journal names a style, always follow it.

Vancouver to OSCOLA: frequently asked questions

How do I convert Vancouver citations to OSCOLA?

Paste your Vancouver reference list into the box above (one reference per line, numbered, or separated by blank lines), check that “From” says Vancouver or Auto-detect and “To” says OSCOLA, 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 Vancouver to OSCOLA?

Vancouver uses a number in round brackets, square brackets or superscript, e.g. (1), in the order sources are first cited. 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”. 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’ (2016) 354 Science 1288, 1290 <https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aah5309>.

What is the reference list called in OSCOLA?

In Vancouver the list is headed “References”; in OSCOLA it is “Bibliography”. Change the heading when you paste the converted list into your document.

Does the order of my references change in OSCOLA?

Yes. Vancouver: numbered in the order of first citation. OSCOLA: secondary sources alphabetically by first author’s surname, with cases and legislation in separate lists. CiteSwap sorts the converted list for you.

Do titles need different capitalisation in OSCOLA?

Yes. OSCOLA uses title case for article and book titles, so words like “Poverty” and “Gender” are capitalised. CiteSwap applies this automatically.

Is the Vancouver to OSCOLA 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.