Do I capitalize months in AP Style?
In AP Style you should capitalize the names of months in all of their uses.
Month Abbreviations AP Style
When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec. All other months should always be completely spelled out. Also, all months should be spelled out when they stand alone or are alone with a year. For example,
- The play will be shown beginning on July 17. (Appears with date but is not a month that is abbreviated)
- The last day of the play is Aug. 15. (Appears with date and is abbreviated)
- My birthday is in September. (Appears alone and is spelled out)
- September 1975 was a very cold month. (Appears alone with a year and is spelled out)
Punctuating Months
When a phrase lists only a month and year, do not separate the two with commas. When a phrase lists a month, day, and year, set off the year with commas. For example,
- September 1975 was a very cold month.
- Feb. 12 is Lincoln’s birthday.
- Lincoln was born on Feb. 12, 1809.
- He alleged it was Wednesday, Jan. 5, when the crime was committed. (Set off by commas)
For use with tabular material, use the following three-letter forms without periods,
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
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