Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Inserting a Copyright Mark.

Inserting a Copyright Mark

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 18, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


There are a number of special symbols that are often used in the course of creating a document. One common symbol is the copyright mark, which is a small letter c surrounded by a circle. Copyright marks are easy to add to your document, assuming you are using a version of Word that has AutoCorrect and that it hasn't been turned off or modified. If this is the case, you should be able to type a lowercase c surrounded by parentheses—as in (c)—and Word will automatically change the three characters to a copyright mark when you press the Space Bar after the closing parenthesis.

If you have AutoCorrect turned off, there are a number of other ways you can insert a copyright mark. If you use the keyboard a lot, you can simply press Ctrl+Alt+C. If you prefer to use the mouse, you can follow these steps:

  1. Display the Insert tab of the ribbon.
  2. Click the Symbol tool (in the Symbols group) and then click More Symbols. Word displays the Symbol dialog box.
  3. Click on the Special Characters tab. (See Figure 1.)
  4. Figure 1. The Special Characters tab of the Symbol dialog box.

  5. Choose Copyright from the list of available characters.
  6. Click on Insert.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1526) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Inserting a Copyright Mark.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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