AP Style Datelines
An AP style dateline is the city where the news is based, in all capital letters, followed by the state abbreviation and the date, then a long dash: DENVER, Colo., Sept. 22, 2026 —. Below are the rules, the cities that drop the state, and the mistakes editors notice first.
What an AP style dateline looks like
The rule: city name entirely in capital letters, then the state abbreviation, then the date, then a long dash (an em dash, not a hyphen). Domestic cities that AP considers well known enough drop the state.
- Most cities: DENVER, Colo., Sept. 22, 2026 —
- Standalone cities: CHICAGO, Sept. 22, 2026 —
- Outside the US: LONDON, Sept. 22, 2026 —
In a press release the dateline opens the first paragraph, directly under the headline, subhead and release line. A dateline says where the news came from, so it should name the city the announcement is genuinely based in — not a city you picked because it sounds bigger. Some distribution services also require the year in the dateline; AP itself omits the year for stories in the current year.
US cities that stand alone in a dateline
AP's stylebook lists 30 US cities that are "capable of standing alone" without a state. Use the city alone, in caps:
Everything else gets the state abbreviation: ANN ARBOR, Mich. — SACRAMENTO, Calif. For Honolulu use HAWAII for other cities on the islands (EDGARTOWN, Mass., not "Martha's Vineyard"). Same-name cities are exactly why the state stays in: AP's own example is KANSAS CITY, Mo. versus KANSAS CITY, Kan. AP notes that state wires may let additional cities stand alone, which is why you occasionally see a dateline that breaks the national rule.
State and month abbreviations
Eight states are never abbreviated in AP style, even in a dateline: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas, Utah. So it's AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 22, 2026 — not "AUSTIN, TX".
| State | AP | State | AP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Ala. | Nebraska | Neb. |
| Arizona | Ariz. | Nevada | Nev. |
| Arkansas | Ark. | New Hampshire | N.H. |
| California | Calif. | New Mexico | N.M. |
| Colorado | Colo. | New York | N.Y. |
| Connecticut | Conn. | North Carolina | N.C. |
| Delaware | Del. | North Dakota | N.D. |
| Florida | Fla. | Oklahoma | Okla. |
| Georgia | Ga. | Oregon | Ore. |
| Illinois | Ill. | Pennsylvania | Pa. |
| Indiana | Ind. | Rhode Island | R.I. |
| Kansas | Kan. | South Carolina | S.C. |
| Kentucky | Ky. | South Dakota | S.D. |
| Louisiana | La. | Tennessee | Tenn. |
| Maryland | Md. | Vermont | Vt. |
| Massachusetts | Mass. | Virginia | Va. |
| Michigan | Mich. | Washington | Wash. |
| Minnesota | Minn. | West Virginia | W.Va. |
| Mississippi | Miss. | Wisconsin | Wis. |
| Missouri | Mo. | Wyoming | Wyo. |
| Montana | Mont. |
Months: spell out March, April, May, June and July; abbreviate the rest — Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec. Note that "Sept." has four letters in AP style (not "Sep."). A full date is Sept. 22, 2026, with a comma between the day and the year and another after the year if the sentence continues.
International datelines
For news from outside the US, use the city, then the country or region if the city is not on AP's standalone list, then the date:
- Standalone: PARIS — TOKYO — SYDNEY — MEXICO CITY — TORONTO — LONDON — ROME
- Needs a country or region: PODGORICA, Montenegro — DUBLIN, Ireland is standalone, but VALENCIA, Spain is not
- United Nations: use UNITED NATIONS alone, with no "N.Y."
Whether a city stands alone abroad follows the same logic as at home: how often it appears in the news and how unlikely the name is to be confused with somewhere else.
Examples: right and wrong
| Dateline | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| DENVER, Colo., Sept. 22, 2026 — | Correct | Denver is not on the standalone list, so it takes the state |
| CHICAGO, Ill., Sept. 22, 2026 — | Wrong | Drop the state for standalone cities: CHICAGO, Sept. 22, 2026 — |
| AUSTIN, TX, Sept. 22, 2026 — | Wrong | Texas is never abbreviated, and Austin is not standalone |
| TAMPA, Fl., Sept. 22, 2026 — | Wrong | The abbreviation is Fla. |
| Denver, Colo., Sept 22 2026 - | Wrong | City must be in caps, "Sept." needs its period, and the dash is an em dash |
| LOS ANGELES, Calif., Sept. 22, 2026 — | Wrong | Los Angeles stands alone: LOS ANGELES, Sept. 22, 2026 — |
Common mistakes
- Mixed case city names. Dateline cities are all caps.
- Two-letter postal codes. "CA", "TX" and "NY" belong on envelopes, not in datelines.
- A hyphen instead of an em dash.
- State added to a standalone city (or missing from the rest).
- Abbreviating Texas, Ohio or the other seven.
- A dateline with no news behind it. If nothing actually happened in that city, cut it.
Datelines are one part of the press release format. When you order from us, our editors handle datelines, abbreviations and structure for you — see the free press release template for the surrounding layout, or read how to write a press release if you're drafting it yourself.
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Start My Order — From $195 See pricing »FAQ
Does every press release need a dateline?
No. Use one when the news is tied to a specific place — a store opening, a hire, an award. Purely online announcements with no location can run without a dateline, and without a city in the headline.
Is the dateline the same as the embargo line?
No. An embargo line sits above the dateline and asks media to hold the story until a set time. See embargoed press releases.
Should I include the year in the dateline?
For press releases, yes — a specific date with the year removes any ambiguity for journalists reading it later. AP's own stories often drop the year for current-year events.
What if my city shares a name with another city?
Keep the state abbreviation. Kansas City has one in Missouri and one in Kansas, which is why AP requires the state for both.