The section symbol in law is §, a shorthand mark that stands in for the word “section” when pointing to a specific numbered provision of a statute, regulation, or code. When you see a citation like 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the § tells you to look at section 1983 of title 42 of the United States Code. It shows up constantly in briefs, statutes, law review articles, and judicial opinions because legal writing moves faster when every statutory reference saves four characters.
What the Symbol Is and What It Does
The character’s formal name is the section sign or section symbol. Typographers sometimes call it a silcrow. Its sole job in legal writing is to replace the word “section” in citations, footnotes, and cross-references. Its Unicode code point is U+00A7, and in HTML you can insert it as §.
How to Use § in a Citation
In a citation, the § sits between the code abbreviation and the section number. A reference to federal question jurisdiction reads 28 U.S.C. § 1331.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 US Code 1331 – Federal Question A reference to the exclusive rights of copyright owners reads 17 U.S.C. § 106.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 17 US Code 106 – Exclusive Rights in Copyrighted Works The pattern stays the same: code, then §, then the number.
Put a non-breaking space between the § and the number. That prevents a word processor or browser from splitting the symbol onto one line and the number onto the next. In Microsoft Word, press Ctrl + Shift + Space. On a Mac, press Option + Space.
When to Spell Out “Section”
Both the Bluebook (Rule 6.2(c)) and the ALWD Guide to Legal Citation (Rule 12.2(a)) agree on one firm rule: never begin a sentence with §. If a sentence opens with a section reference, spell the word out. Write “Section 1331 grants federal question jurisdiction,” not “§ 1331 grants federal question jurisdiction.”
Elsewhere in the sentence, context decides. In citation sentences and footnotes, § is standard. In the running text of a law review article, convention is to spell out “section” unless a full code citation sits alongside it. “Under 42 U.S.C. § 1983” is fine. A looser phrase like “the § addressing equal protection” should be rewritten as “the section addressing equal protection.”
Citing More Than One Section
When a citation refers to more than one section, double the symbol: §§. A range of consecutive sections looks like §§ 201–205. Non-consecutive sections take commas: §§ 301, 305, 312. A single space goes between §§ and the first number.
Writing § 201–205 with a single symbol creates ambiguity, because it suggests you are citing section 201 and then referencing pages or paragraphs 201 through 205 inside it. The doubled symbol signals right away that the numbers point to multiple distinct provisions.
Subsections
Subdivisions within a section take parenthetical letters or numbers attached directly to the section number, with no space. For example, § 1983(a) points to subsection (a) of Section 1983. You do not add a separate symbol for the subsection; the parenthetical handles it.
Section Sign vs. Pilcrow
The section sign (§) and the pilcrow (¶) get mixed up more often than their appearance would suggest. The pilcrow marks a paragraph, not a section. In legal citations, ¶ directs a reader to a numbered paragraph inside a specific document, such as a deposition transcript or an administrative decision. The § directs a reader to a numbered section of a code or statute. Swapping one for the other sends the reader to the wrong place.
An easy rule of thumb: § goes with statutes and codes, ¶ goes with numbered paragraphs inside a document. Their Unicode points reflect the split, with § at U+00A7 and ¶ at U+00B6.
How to Type the § Symbol
The section sign has no dedicated key on a standard keyboard, so you need a shortcut or an insert menu.
- Windows: hold Alt and type 0167 on the numeric keypad, then release.
- Mac: press Option + 6.
- Microsoft Word: Insert, then Symbol or Special Characters, then select the section sign.
- Google Docs: Insert, then Special Characters, then search for “section sign.”
- HTML: type
§in your source.
If you draft legal documents regularly, memorizing the shortcut for your operating system is worth the small effort. Across a brief with dozens of statutory references, hunting through menus adds up.
Screen Readers and Accessibility
Screen readers handle § inconsistently. Some announce it as “section,” which is correct. Others skip it or read it as a garbled character name, which can make a statutory citation hard to follow for a visually impaired reader. The behavior depends on the software and its symbol configuration file. JAWS, one of the most widely used screen readers, lets administrators customize symbol announcements by editing its symbol definition files. If you publish legal material on the web or share accessible PDFs, test how the § sounds in a screen reader before releasing the document.