What does a reference checker actually check?

Three things a format checker cannot: that the source exists in an authoritative database, that the details you cite (authors, year, journal, volume, pages) match the real record, and that the paper has not been retracted. A reference can be perfectly formatted and still be wrong on all three.

Is this the same as a plagiarism or grammar checker?

No. Plagiarism tools compare your prose against other documents; grammar tools check your writing. A reference checker validates the sources themselves — it catches a citation to a paper that does not exist or that says something different from what the reference claims.

Which reference styles are supported?

APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, IEEE, Vancouver, AMA, ASA, ACS, Turabian and Bluebook. You can paste a mixed list — each reference's style is detected automatically and corrections are returned in the same style you wrote.

Reference checker

Verify every reference in your list before you submit. Paste your references — CiteProve checks each one against authoritative databases and returns a verdict with field-level corrections.

In short

To check a reference, verify it against the databases of record rather than eyeballing its format: resolve any DOI or PMID it carries, search Crossref, OpenAlex, PubMed and CourtListener for the title and authors, and compare every field against the matched record. CiteProve does this for a whole reference list at once — free, in seconds, with a shareable report.

Paste your reference list

What we verify in each reference

Existence — the source is findable in Crossref, OpenAlex, PubMed, CourtListener or the book databases, or via its DOI/PMID/arXiv ID/ISBN.
Accuracy — authors, year, title, journal, volume and pages match the real record; any mismatch is shown as a field-level diff.
Integrity — retracted papers are flagged prominently using Retraction Watch, OpenAlex and Crossref data.
Identifiers — a DOI that resolves to a different work than the one cited is caught, not trusted.

Fix, don't just flag

When a reference is close but wrong — the right paper with the wrong year, a misspelled author, an abbreviated journal that doesn't match — CiteProve shows exactly which field differs and hands back a corrected reference in your own citation style, ready to copy. Uncertainty always degrades to a softer verdict: we flag, we never accuse.

Frequently asked questions

What does a reference checker actually check?: Three things a format checker cannot: that the source exists in an authoritative database, that the details you cite (authors, year, journal, volume, pages) match the real record, and that the paper has not been retracted. A reference can be perfectly formatted and still be wrong on all three.
Is this the same as a plagiarism or grammar checker?: No. Plagiarism tools compare your prose against other documents; grammar tools check your writing. A reference checker validates the sources themselves — it catches a citation to a paper that does not exist or that says something different from what the reference claims.
Which reference styles are supported?: APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, IEEE, Vancouver, AMA, ASA, ACS, Turabian and Bluebook. You can paste a mixed list — each reference's style is detected automatically and corrections are returned in the same style you wrote.