What Font Are Screenplays Written In?
Screenplays use Courier 12pt — Courier Final Draft, Courier New, or Courier Prime. Here's why monospace matters, which variant to pick, and what never to use.
Screenplays are written in Courier (a monospaced font) at 12 points. The variants you'll see in professional scripts are Courier Final Draft, Courier New, and Courier Prime — all acceptable. Everything else — Times, Arial, Calibri, screenplay-"style" serif fonts — is not.
Why Courier Is Mandatory
Courier is a monospaced font: every character occupies exactly the same width, exactly 10 characters per inch. That fixed density is what makes the entire system work:
- One page ≈ one minute. With ~61 lines per page at fixed width, every script in the world reads at the same speed
- Layout math. The dialogue column is ~35 characters wide regardless of who wrote the script — see Screenplay Margins
- Industry history. Courier came from the typewriter. The whole format was designed around it, and 70 years of readers calibrate to it
A page set in a proportional font can hold 20–30% more words. Your "110-page" script in Arial is really a 140-page script — and reads like one.
Which Courier Should You Use?
| Font | Where you'll find it | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Courier Final Draft | Bundled with Final Draft | The industry default |
| Courier New | Every OS and Word | Perfectly acceptable everywhere |
| Courier Prime | Free download (courierprime.com) | A modern, darker, more readable Courier built for screenplays |
| Courier (system) | macOS / Linux | Fine; slightly lighter than Courier New |
Any of these is fine. What matters is 12pt, monospace, and consistency.
Formatting Rules Around the Font
- Size: 12 pt. Only 12 pt.
- Bold: rare — occasionally for emphasis in action or a title on the title page
- Italics: effectively never (Courier italics are hard to read and often dropped in PDF export)
- Underline: legacy emphasis from the typewriter era; avoid it
Emphasis in a screenplay comes from white space and word choice, not type styling.
What About PDF Export?
Always submit scripts as PDF — that's what locks your formatting so it looks identical on every machine. Export with the font embedded, and never "fix" a too-long script by nudging margins or font size. Readers notice immediately.
Setting Up Courier in Word or Google Docs
- Select the entire document
- Set font to Courier New / Courier Prime, 12 pt
- Set line spacing to single (no extra space between lines)
- Then apply the standard screenplay margins
Font, margins, spacing — handled. Scripta uses a screenplay-optimized Courier engine and exports perfectly formatted PDFs. Start writing free →
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I write a screenplay in Times New Roman?
No. Beyond looking amateur, it breaks the page-per-minute timing because proportional fonts fit more words per page.
Is Courier Prime acceptable?
Yes — it was designed specifically as a free, screen-friendly Courier for screenwriters, and it's fully accepted by studios, contests, and the Black List.
What font size are screenplays?
12 points, always. Larger sizes inflate page counts; smaller ones look like you're hiding length.
Do screenplays use bold or italics?
Almost never. Keep the type uniform; if a line needs emphasis, rewrite the line.
Related Pages
- Screenplay Margins — the measurements that pair with Courier
- How Long Is a Screenplay? — why font affects perceived runtime
- Title Page Format — the one page with different rules
Screenplay Margins — Exact Measurements for Every Element
Standard screenplay margins explained: 1.5" left margin, 1" top/right/bottom, and the exact indent for dialogue, character names, parentheticals, and transitions.
How Long Is a Screenplay? Page Counts by Genre and Medium
How long a screenplay should be: 90–120 pages for features, page-per-minute rule, average lengths by genre, and page counts for TV pilots and short films.