The section symbol (§) is a legal-writing mark that stands for the word “section” in citations to statutes, regulations, and codes. To type it, press Alt+0167 on Windows (using the numeric keypad) or Option+6 on Mac. On a phone, long-press the ampersand or S key on the on-screen keyboard and pick § from the pop-up tray.
What § Means in a Legal Citation
When a lawyer writes 17 U.S.C. § 101, the § points to Section 101 of Title 17 of the United States Code, which covers copyright definitions.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 17 US Code 101 – Definitions The same format works across state codes and federal regulations. A citation like 29 C.F.R. § 1980.103 points to a section of the Code of Federal Regulations rather than a statute, but the symbol does the same job.
The shape itself is two S-forms stacked vertically, and the mark is thought to come from the Latin signum sectionis, “sign of the section.”
§§, Ranges, and Other Formatting Rules
A handful of conventions govern how the symbol appears in professional legal writing. These come primarily from the Bluebook, the dominant citation manual in American legal practice, and are nearly universal across federal and state filings.
- Always put a space between § and the number. Standard practice uses a non-breaking space (Ctrl+Shift+Space on Windows, Option+Space on Mac) so the symbol and number don’t split across lines.
- When citing more than one section, double the symbol: 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983, 1985 refers to two separate sections of Title 42.
- Separate non-consecutive sections with commas after §§. For a continuous range, use an en dash: §§ 101–107.
- At the start of a sentence, spell out the word: “Section 7 of the Clayton Act,” not “§ 7 of the Clayton Act.” Mid-sentence, the symbol is standard.
In private contracts, the symbol shows up far less often. Most drafters spell out “section” when cross-referencing other parts of the same agreement, and the Bluebook itself recommends spelling it out in the main text of non-statutory documents. If you do use § for internal cross-references, define the convention at the top of the agreement so every party reads it the same way.
§ vs. ¶
The section symbol and the pilcrow (¶) get confused because both appear in legal citations and both point to subdivisions of a document. The split is simple: § references a numbered section of a statute or regulation, while ¶ references a numbered paragraph within that section or within a court filing. The two sometimes appear together in one citation to drill from a broad section down to a specific paragraph nested inside it.
How to Type § on Every Platform
The symbol isn’t printed on a standard keyboard, which trips people up the first time they need it.
Windows
Hold Alt and type 0167 on the numeric keypad (not the number row above the letters). Release Alt and the symbol appears. In Microsoft Word, you can also go to Insert → Symbol, search for “section,” and pick the glyph from the character map.
Mac
Press Option + 6. The shortcut works system-wide in any text field on macOS.
Chromebook
Press Ctrl + Shift + U, which shows an underlined “u” on screen. Then type 00A7 and press Enter. The code is replaced by the symbol.
Linux
Unicode input works the same way: Ctrl + Shift + U, then 00A7, then Enter. If your distribution has a Compose key enabled, you can also press Compose and type “so” or “os” depending on your configuration.
iOS and Android
On most phone keyboards, long-press the ampersand (&) key or the “S” key. A pop-up tray appears with special characters including §. Tap it. The exact location varies by keyboard app, but the long-press works on both platforms.
Google Docs
Click Insert → Special Characters, type “section” in the search field, and click the § glyph to drop it at your cursor.
Codes for Web and Document Code
If you’re writing HTML, markup, or typesetting source rather than typing in a word processor, you need the technical identifiers.
- Unicode code point: U+00A7, in the Latin-1 Supplement block.
- HTML named entity:
§ - HTML numeric entity:
§or§ - LaTeX:
\S - UTF-8 bytes: 0xC2 0xA7
Any of the HTML entities render the symbol in a browser. The named entity § is the easiest to remember and the most widely supported across email clients and older browsers. In LaTeX, \S produces the symbol in running text, which is useful for academic papers and legal scholarship that cite statutes.