Check your references before you submit

Free reference checking tool: it verifies every reference in your thesis or paper against open academic databases, catches AI-fabricated citations and unresolvable DOIs, finds the real record, and reformats it to the style you need (APA, Vancouver, IEEE and more).

How to use this tool

Paste a reference list (or upload a .txt/.docx/.pdf) and we verify each entry against scholarly databases — catching fabricated, mismatched, retracted or wrongly-formatted citations.

  1. Paste your references, or upload a file — from a full paper we auto-detect the bibliography section. .bib/.ris imports are also supported.
  2. Pick a citation style (APA 7, IEEE, Vancouver, MLA or a CSL style).
  3. Click “Check”. Each reference is checked for reality (DOI / year / authors / journal), for formatting, and against the retraction database.
  4. Read the result: a colored badge (verified / suspicious / not found) and a 0–100 confidence score per entry.
  5. Click any citation to see the matched source record and where it was found.
  6. Copy the “Repaired bibliography” (complete, in-order list — verified entries rewritten, the rest kept as-is and numbered for manual checking) or download it as Word.
  7. About to submit? Use the “Pre-submission check” card: enter the target journal and get a single Word report combining bibliography health, retractions and the journal's reliability.
Full guide & PDF →

Check your bibliography

Put each reference on its own line, or upload a PDF · Word · .odt · .rtf · text file — you can also drag and drop it onto the box below. Guest: 5 searches/day · Member: first day unlimited, then 20 references/day · Pro: unlimited.

Example scenarios — no bibliography at hand? Pick one; the tool fills the box with a sample reference and checks it right away.

The selected style determines the corrected bibliography below and the copied/downloaded output.

Your text is processed in your browser, is never stored and is never sent to Turnitin or any other plagiarism database.

Members get free weekly email alerts: new citations to your work (ORCID), new papers on a topic, new publications by an author you follow, and retractions of sources in your saved reports. Set up alerts →