How to Type the Copyright Symbol (©), ® and ™

Q: How do I type the copyright symbol (©)?

On Windows, press Alt + 0169 on the numeric keypad. On a Mac, press Option + G . In Microsoft Word, typing (c) will usually autocorrect to © .

Q: How do I type the registered symbol (®)?

Windows: Alt + 0174 Mac: Option + R In Microsoft Word, typing (r) will usually autocorrect to ® .

Q: How do I type the trademark symbol (™)?

Windows: Alt + 0153 Mac: Option + 2 In Microsoft Word, typing (tm) will usually autocorrect to ™ .

Q: Why won't (c) turn into © in Word?

Microsoft Word's AutoCorrect feature is likely turned off. To enable it, go to: File → Options → Proofing → AutoCorrect Options Make sure the AutoCorrect settings for replacing (c) with © are enabled.

Q: What's the difference between ©, ® and ™?

© marks copyright on original creative work. ™ claims a brand, logo or slogan as a trademark whether or not it's registered. ® is used only after a trademark is officially registered. This is general information, not legal advice.

Q: Is "(c)" in parentheses the same as the © symbol?

No. "(c)" is just three plain characters, not the real © glyph. For anything that matters, use the proper © (Alt + 0169, Option + G, or copy it from this page).

Quick answer: On Windows, hold Alt and type 0169 on the numeric keypad for ©. On a Mac, press Option + G. In Word or Google Docs, type (c) and it turns into © automatically. On a phone or Chromebook, the easiest route is to copy it below. The registered ® and trademark ™ symbols work exactly the same way.

Tap to copyCopied!

These three symbols travel together, so here’s every method for all of them in one place.

Quick reference

Symbol	Windows (Alt code)	Mac	Word / Docs autocorrect	HTML entity	Unicode
© Copyright	Alt + 0169	Option + G	(c)	`©`	U+00A9
® Registered	Alt + 0174	Option + R	(r)	`®`	U+00AE
™ Trademark	Alt + 0153	Option + 2	(tm)	`™`	U+2122

Windows

Hold Alt and type the code on the numeric keypad with Num Lock on:

0169 → ©
0174 → ®
0153 → ™

No numeric keypad (most laptops)? You have three easy fallbacks:

Type (c), (r) or (tm) in Word — AutoCorrect converts it instantly (see below).
Press Windows key + . (period) to open the emoji panel, click the symbols tab (Ω), and pick the mark.
Open Character Map (search “charmap”), find the symbol, and copy it.

Or just copy © ® ™ from the box above.

Windows keyboard showing the Alt + 0169 shortcut to type the copyright symbol ©

Mac

Option + G → ©
Option + R → ®
Option + 2 → ™

If you’d rather browse, open the Character Viewer with Control + Command + Space, search “copyright,” and double-click to insert.

Word, Excel & Google Docs

Microsoft Word: type (c), (r) or (tm) and AutoCorrect swaps in the real symbol as you type. If nothing happens, turn it back on under File → Options → Proofing → AutoCorrect Options.

Microsoft Excel: the same (c) / (r) / ™ AutoCorrect works in cells. For formulas or bulk fills, use:

=UNICHAR(169) → ©
=UNICHAR(174) → ®
=UNICHAR(8482) → ™

You can also use Insert → Symbol and pick the character from the grid.

Google Docs: typing (c) and (r) autocorrects by default. (tm) isn’t in the default substitution list — if it doesn’t convert, add it under Tools → Preferences → Substitutions, or use Insert → Special characters and search “trademark.”

iPhone & Android

iPhone (iOS): the © ® ™ marks aren’t on the standard letter keyboard. The quickest way is to open the emoji keyboard, tap the search bar, and type “copyright,” “registered,” or “trademark” — the matching symbol appears. To make it permanent, set up a Text Replacement (Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement) so a shortcut like cc expands to ©.

Android (Gboard): switch to the symbols keyboard with ?123, then tap =< to reach the extra-symbols page where © ® ™ live. Searching the emoji panel for “copyright” also works. Exact placement shifts between keyboard apps, so if yours differs, the emoji search or copying from the top of this page is the reliable route.

When in doubt on any phone, the fastest method is still to copy from the box at the top of this page.

Chromebook

On ChromeOS, use the built-in Unicode shortcut in most text fields:

Press and hold Ctrl + Shift, then tap U. A small underlined u appears.
Type the hex code: 00a9 for ©, 00ae for ®, 2122 for ™.
Press Enter or Space to convert it.

This works in most standard text fields; a few apps don’t support it, and in those you can right-click a field and choose Emoji & symbols to search by name instead.

Linux

Two reliable options:

Unicode input: press Ctrl + Shift + U, type the hex (00a9, 00ae, 2122), then press Enter. Works in most GTK-based apps.
Compose key: once enabled in your keyboard settings, press Compose, o, c → ©; Compose, o, r → ®; Compose, t, m → ™. (Sequences can differ slightly by desktop environment.)

HTML & CSS

For the web, use the named entities so the symbol renders everywhere:

html

&copy;   <!-- © -->
&reg;    <!-- ® -->
&trade;  <!-- ™ -->

In CSS (for example, in a ::before pseudo-element), use the escaped codepoint: content: "\00A9";

Which one do I use — ©, ® or ™?

A quick plain-language guide (this is general information, not legal advice):

© — Copyright. Used with original creative work: writing, photos, music, code, videos. Common format: © 2026 Your Name.
™ — Trademark. Marks a brand name, logo or slogan you’re claiming as a trademark, whether or not it’s officially registered.
® — Registered trademark. Used only once a trademark has been officially registered with the relevant authority. Putting ® on an unregistered mark can cause problems, so many brands use ™ until registration comes through.

Registration rules and ® usage differ from country to country. If the legal side matters for your business, check with a qualified professional or your local trademark office rather than relying on a symbol guide.

Examples

Troubleshooting

Alt + 0169 does nothing. You need the numeric keypad with Num Lock on. On a laptop, use (c) in Word, the Win + . emoji panel, or copy © from the top of the page.

(c) won’t convert to ©. AutoCorrect is off. Re-enable it under File → Options → Proofing → AutoCorrect Options in Word (or the substitutions list in your app).

The symbol shows as a box □ or a “?”. The font you’re using doesn’t include that glyph. Switch to a common font like Arial, Calibri or Times New Roman, or paste it into a plain-text field first.

© vs (c). Plain “(c)” in parentheses is not a substitute for the real © symbol — it’s just three characters. Use the proper © for anything that matters.

Frequently Asked Questions

On Windows, press Alt + 0169 on the numeric keypad. On a Mac, press Option + G. In Microsoft Word, typing (c) will usually autocorrect to ©.

How do I type the registered symbol (®)?

Windows: Alt + 0174
Mac: Option + R
In Microsoft Word, typing (r) will usually autocorrect to ®.

How do I type the trademark symbol (™)?

Windows: Alt + 0153
Mac: Option + 2
In Microsoft Word, typing (tm) will usually autocorrect to ™.

Microsoft Word’s AutoCorrect feature is likely turned off. To enable it, go to:
File → Options → Proofing → AutoCorrect Options
Make sure the AutoCorrect settings for replacing (c) with © are enabled.

© marks copyright on original creative work. ™ claims a brand, logo or slogan as a trademark whether or not it’s registered. ® is used only after a trademark is officially registered. This is general information, not legal advice.

No. “(c)” is just three plain characters, not the real © glyph. For anything that matters, use the proper © (Alt + 0169, Option + G, or copy it from this page).

Recap

© is Alt + 0169 (Windows), Option + G (Mac), or (c) in Word. ® and ™ follow the same pattern — Alt + 0174 / Option + R, and Alt + 0153 / Option + 2. On phones and Chromebooks, copying from the top of the page is usually fastest.

Written by Igor R.. Tested on Windows 11, macOS, Microsoft 365, Google Docs and ChromeOS. Last updated June 2026. In the Unicode Standard, © is U+00A9, ® is U+00AE and ™ is U+2122.

Related Office & Tech symbols: Degree in Excel · Bullet point · Euro symbol · Alt codes not working · up to the Office & Tech hub · or open the Symbol copy-paste tool.