How To Insert A Check Mark In Word (5 Ways To ... - Avantix Learning

Insert or Type a Check Mark or Tick Mark Symbol in Word

by Avantix Learning Team | Updated March 10, 2025

Applies to: Microsoft® Word® 2016, 2019, 2021 or 365 (Windows)

You can insert or type a check mark or tick mark symbol (✓) in a Word document in several ways. Check marks can be inserted using built-in commands or keyboard shortcuts. In this article, we'll review 8 ways to insert a check mark in Word. In this article, we'll review 8 ways to insert a check mark or tick mark symbol in Word.

Contents

• Use the Insert Symbol command
• Create a custom Word keyboard shortcut
• Create an AutoCorrect shortcut
• Use an Alt code shortcut
• Insert check marks as bullets (best for lists)
• Insert an icon
• Insert an emoji
• Copy and paste

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Recommended article: How to Show or Hide White Space in Word Documents

Use Insert Symbol to insert a check mark

If you want to add a check mark in a line of text (or at the end of a line of text), you can use Insert Symbol.

To insert a check mark using Insert Symbol in the Ribbon in Word:

1. Position the cursor in the Word document where you want to insert a check mark.
2. Click the Insert tab in the Ribbon.
3. In the Symbols group, click Symbol. A drop-down menu appears.
4. Click More Symbols. A dialog box appears.
5. If necessary, click the Symbols tab.
6. Select Wingdings from the Font drop-down menu. Alternatively, you can select another font such as Wingdings 2 or Segoe UI Symbol.
7. Scroll through the list of symbols until you find the check mark symbol you want to use and then click it.
8. Click Insert.
9. Click Close.

Once the check mark has been inserted, you can change its size or color using the Home tab in the Ribbon or by right-clicking and selecting formatting options from the mini-toolbar.

In the example below, Wingdings is selected in the Symbol dialog box:

You can insert a check mark with or without a box around it (which is not a clickable check mark).

Create a custom Word keyboard shortcut to insert a check mark

If you insert a check mark frequently, you can create your own keyboard shortcut for the check mark symbol.

To create a keyboard shortcut for a check mark in Word:

1. Position the cursor in a Word document.
2. Click the Insert tab in the Ribbon.
3. In the Symbols group, click Symbol. A drop-down menu appears.
4. Click More Symbols. A dialog box appears.
5. If necessary, click the Symbols tab.
6. Select Wingdings from the Font drop-down menu. Alternatively, you can select another font such as Wingdings 2 or Segoe UI Symbol.
7. Scroll through the list of symbols until you find the check mark symbol you want to use and then click it.
8. Click Shortcut. A dialog box appears.
9. Click in the box below Assign New Shortcut key.
10. Press the keys you want to assign (such as Ctrl + Alt + M). Don't type any text, just press the keys. Be careful not to override a useful built-in shortcut such as Ctrl + C.
11. Click Assign. Typically the location for these shortcuts is the Normal (or default) template.
12. Click Close twice.

Test the shortcut in your document by pressing the assigned keys.

The Customize Keyboard dialog box appears as follows:

Since custom shortcuts are typically saved in the Normal template, when you exit Word, if you are prompted to save the Normal template, click Yes.

Create an AutoCorrect shortcut to insert a check mark

You can also insert a check mark automatically using AutoCorrect.

To set up an AutoCorrect entry for a check mark:

1. Position the cursor in a Word document.
2. Click the Insert tab in the Ribbon.
3. In the Symbols group, click Symbol. A drop-down menu appears.
4. Click More Symbols. A dialog box appears.
5. If necessary, click the Symbols tab.
6. Select Wingdings from the Font drop-down menu. Alternatively, you can select another font such as Wingdings 2 or Segoe UI Symbol.
7. Scroll through the list of symbols until you find the check mark symbol you want to use and then click it.
8. Click AutoCorrect. A dialog box appears.
9. In the Replace box, enter the name of the entry (such as cm1).
10. Click Add.
11. Click OK.
12. Click Close.

To insert the entry in the document, type the entry (such as cm1) and then press the Spacebar.

The AutoCorrect dialog box appears as follows:

Since these shortcuts are typically saved in the Normal template, when you exit Word, you should be prompted to save it.

Use an Alt code keyboard shortcut to insert a check mark

You can press the Alt key in combination with numbers on the numeric keypad to insert a check mark symbol.

To insert a check mark in a Word document using an Alt code shortcut:

1. Position the cursor where you want to insert the check mark symbol.
2. Press Alt + 0252 or Alt + 0254 on the numeric keypad. If the sequence doesn't work, press NumLock on the numeric keypad. Word will insert a different character.
3. Select the character, click the Home tab in the Ribbon and select Wingdings from the Font drop-down menu.

Insert bullets to insert check marks (best for lists)

If you want to insert a check mark at the beginning of one or more paragraphs, you can apply custom bullets using the Wingdings font (or a similar font).

To insert check marks as bullets at the beginning of paragraphs:

1. Select the paragraph(s) to which you want to add check marks at the beginning.
2. Click the Home tab in the Ribbon.
3. In the Paragraph group, click the arrow beside Bullets. A drop-down menu appears.
4. Click Define New Bullet. A dialog box appears.
5. Click Symbol. A dialog box appears.
6. Select Wingdings from the Font drop-down menu. Alternatively, you can select another font such as Wingdings 2 or Segoe UI Symbol.
7. Click the desired check mark.
8. Click OK.
9. Click Font. A Font dialog box appears.
10. Select the desired font color and size. This dialog box offers the same options as the regular Font dialog box.
11. Click OK twice.

The check marks will be added at the beginning of the paragraph(s).

In the Define New Bullet dialog box (below), you can select Symbol, Font or Picture:

The following characters appear when you select Wingdings as the Symbol font for bullets:

In the Define New Bullet dialog box, you can also select Picture and then navigate to a picture you want to use as a bullet and then double-click it.

Insert an icon checkmark

You can add icons or an image of a check mark in Word. In newer versions of Word, an Icons command appears in the Ribbon.

To insert a check mark or tick mark icon in Word:

1. Position the cursor in the Word document where you want to insert the icon.
2. Click the Insert tab in the Ribbon.
3. In the Illustrations group, click Icons. A dialog box appears.
4. In the Search box, enter the word "check" or "tick".
5. Click the check mark or tick mark you want to use.
6. Click Insert.
7. Close the dialog box.

The Icons dialog box appears below:

Because the icon is an image, you can change the color by clicking the icon and then using commands on the Graphics Format tab in the Ribbon and resize by dragging a corner handle.

Insert a check mark emoji

You can insert a check mark or tick mark as an emoji as well although the choices are limited. The appearance of emojis are different depending on the device you are using.

To insert a check mark emoji in Word:

1. Position the cursor in the Word document where you want to insert a tick mark emoji.
2. Press the Windows key + period (.). On a Mac, press Command + Control + Spacebar. A dialog box will appear.
3. Enter the words "check mark" in the search area.
4. Click the check mark or tick mark you want to use.
5. Close the dialog box.

The dialog box with Emojis appears as follows (in Windows but is similar on the Mac):

Copy and paste a check mark

To copy and paste a check mark or tick mark:

1. Select a check mark (✓) in this article, on another website or document by dragging over it.
2. Press Ctrl + C to copy it (Command + C on a Mac).
3. Open the Word document and position the cursor where you want to insert the check mark or tick mark.
4. Press Ctrl + V (Windows) or Command + V (Mac) to paste the check mark.

Final Words

If you want to create clickable check boxes, you could create a Word form using controls or create a dynamic form using Microsoft Forms.

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