How to Type the Registered Trademark Symbol (®) on Any Device

The registered trademark symbol (®) is one of those characters that looks simple but trips people up the moment they need to type it. It doesn't live on any standard keyboard key, which means the method for inserting it depends entirely on what device, operating system, or application you're working in.

Here's a complete breakdown of every reliable way to type ® — across platforms, browsers, and code environments.

What the Registered Trademark Symbol Actually Is

The ® symbol indicates that a trademark has been officially registered with a government authority (such as the USPTO in the United States). It's distinct from the ™ symbol, which can be used without registration.

In digital terms, ® is a Unicode character with the code point U+00AE. It also has an HTML entity representation (® or ®), which matters a lot if you're working in web development or design contexts.

Typing ® on Windows

Windows gives you several options depending on how fast you need to work and what application you're in.

Keyboard shortcut (Alt code): Hold Alt and type 0174 on the numeric keypad (numpad must be on). Release Alt and ® appears. This only works with a full keyboard that includes a dedicated numpad.

Character Map: Search for "Character Map" in the Start menu, find the ® symbol, copy it, and paste it wherever needed. Slow, but reliable.

AutoCorrect trick: Many Windows applications (including Microsoft Word) will automatically convert (r) to ® as you type. This is enabled by default in Word's AutoCorrect settings and works without any manual lookup.

Copy-paste from a reliable source: ® — feel free to copy directly from this article.

Typing ® on Mac

Mac makes this easier with a direct keyboard shortcut:

Option + R — That's it. Hold the Option key and press R. ® appears immediately in most Mac applications.

This works in Pages, TextEdit, browsers, email clients, and most standard macOS apps. It's the fastest method on Apple hardware.

Typing ® on iPhone or Android 📱

On mobile, the ® symbol is accessible through the extended character keyboard.

iPhone (iOS): Tap and hold the letter R on the keyboard. A popup appears with special characters including ®. Slide your finger to it and release.

Android: The method varies slightly by keyboard app. On Gboard (Google's default), long-press the R key to reveal ®. On Samsung's native keyboard, the same gesture typically works. Some keyboards require switching to a symbols view (?123) to find it.

Typing ® in HTML and Web Development 🖥️

This is where the character has multiple correct representations, and the choice matters depending on your context.

For most web projects using UTF-8 encoding (the standard for modern HTML5 documents), typing ® directly into your HTML is perfectly valid. However, ® remains the safest choice in environments where character encoding isn't guaranteed or where you're working with legacy systems, email templates, or CMS editors that might misinterpret raw Unicode.

In CSS, if you're adding the symbol via a ::before or ::after pseudo-element, use the Unicode escape: content: '0AE';

Typing ® in Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and Design Tools

Microsoft Word: Types (r) and AutoCorrect converts it automatically. You can also go to Insert → Symbol → Special Characters, where ® is listed.

Google Docs: Go to Insert → Special Characters, search "registered," and insert it. There's no default keyboard shortcut, but you can set a custom substitution in Tools → Preferences → Substitutions (e.g., (r) → ®).

Figma, Adobe Illustrator, InDesign: In vector and layout tools, you can typically paste the character directly from your clipboard, or use the Glyphs panel (InDesign/Illustrator) for fine typographic control. Font support matters here — not every font includes a well-designed ® glyph, so check your typeface.

Why the Method Varies — The Key Variables

The "right" way to type ® isn't universal because several factors shape which approach actually works:

• Operating system — Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and Linux each have different input methods
• Keyboard layout — Full keyboards with numpads support Alt codes; laptop keyboards often don't
• Application type — A code editor, a word processor, a design tool, and an HTML file all handle special characters differently
• Encoding settings — Web projects with explicit UTF-8 declarations can use raw Unicode; older or mixed-encoding environments need HTML entities
• Workflow frequency — Someone adding ® occasionally doesn't need the same solution as a developer inserting it programmatically across a template

Someone typing a legal document in Word has a completely different optimal method than a front-end developer building a brand page, or a social media manager drafting a post on their phone. The character is the same — but the context around it changes what's cleanest and most reliable.