How to format a screenplay — the definitive guide

Screenplay format is unforgiving and old. The current conventions were set by Hollywood studio readers in the 1930s who needed to estimate runtime by flipping pages. That's still the job — one page, roughly one minute on screen — and almost every rule below traces back to it.

This is the working reference. If you want the pretty version, read it once and then write your script. If you want the argumentative version, read the section on font choice — it's the only rule with real disagreement left.

What is screenplay format?

Screenplay format is a fixed visual layout that turns a story into a production document. It uses Courier 12pt, specific margins, and a small grammar of element types — slugline, action, character cue, dialogue, parenthetical, transition. Each element has its own indent. The result is one minute of screen time per page, plus or minus a few seconds.

That timing assumption is why studios still insist on it. A line producer reading a 110-page action script knows it's a 110-minute movie within a small margin. Reformat that script in 11pt Helvetica and the math breaks.

The page setup

Letter-size paper (8.5 × 11 in). For UK and Commonwealth productions, A4 is also accepted, but US studios still expect Letter and Final Draft defaults to it. Margins are:

• Left: 1.5 in (the binding margin — wide on purpose)
• Right: 1.0 in
• Top: 1.0 in
• Bottom: 1.0 in (with page numbers in the top-right)

The left margin is wider than the right because pre-1990s scripts were three-hole punched and bound with brads. The binding ate the inside half-inch. The convention stuck.

Font: Courier, and not negotiable

12pt Courier. Either Courier, Courier New, or Courier Final Draft (FD's in-house variant). The shape doesn't matter. The width does — Courier is monospaced, every character occupies exactly the same horizontal space, and that's what makes the one-page-per-minute math hold. A proportional font like Helvetica fits more characters per line and silently shortens the script.

Some indie writers experiment with Courier Prime (a redesigned free Courier from Quote-Unquote Apps). It renders cleaner on screen but matches Courier 12 metrics. Use it if you like. Don't use anything that isn't metric-identical to 12pt Courier.

The five elements (and what each one does)

1. Slugline

Also called a scene heading. Tells the reader where and when we are. Always all-caps. Three parts: location prefix (INT./EXT.), location, and time of day.

INT. CHURCH — NIGHT

EXT. ROOFTOP, BROOKLYN — DAWN

INT./EXT. POLICE CAR — MOVING — NIGHT

Slugline rules deserve their own deep dive — see Slugline rules and conventions for the full grammar including secondary headers and the mini-slug.

2. Action

Present tense, third person. Describes what we see and hear — only what we see and hear. Action lines that explain a character's thoughts or backstory get cut by readers because they aren't shootable.

A man in a wet overcoat steps into the church.
He doesn't take off his hat.

Two short paragraphs, not one long one. Working writers break action into short bursts because each paragraph break creates a visual beat — the reader's eye stops, then starts again. That rhythm is the closest a script gets to directing.

3. Character cue

All-caps, centred-ish (industry-standard indent is 3.7 in from the left). Sits directly above dialogue. The first time a character speaks, write the name they'll be known by for the rest of the script — Chinatown opens with JAKE GITTES and uses GITTES every cue thereafter.

4. Dialogue

Indented under the character cue. Roughly 2.5 in from the left, 2.5 in from the right. Don't bold, italicise, or emphasise — the words carry the emphasis or they don't.

                    GITTES
          You're a very lovely woman, Mrs. Mulwray.
          Tell me about your husband.

5. Parenthetical

Lowercase, in parens, tucked between the character cue and the line it modifies. Used sparingly — most are stage direction the actor will ignore. The two parentheticals that earn their place are (beat) for a deliberate pause and (O.S.) / (V.O.) for off-screen and voice-over respectively.

Transitions

CUT TO: was once standard between every scene. It is no longer. Working writers use a transition only when they want the reader to feel one — SMASH CUT, MATCH CUT, FADE TO BLACK. A bare CUT TO: between scenes is dead weight; the reader assumes a cut.

Transitions are right-aligned, all-caps, followed by a colon. FADE IN: at the start. FADE OUT. at the end (note: period, not colon, at the end).

Page numbers, headers, the title page

Page numbers go top-right, followed by a period (e.g. 23.). The first page of the script is unnumbered — page 1 is the first page of FADE IN. Some studios prefer 23.centred at the bottom; Final Draft's default is top-right and that is what almost every reader expects in 2026.

The title page is its own page, not numbered. Title in all-caps centred about a third down. Below it: by and the writer's name. Bottom-left: contact info — agent if you have one, your email if you don't. Bottom-right: draft version and date if it's a working draft. No copyright notice — the WGA loose-leaf rule has long ruled copyright marks on title pages as amateurish. (See How to register a screenplay for what to do instead.)

How long should a screenplay be?

Feature: 90–120 pages. The sweet spot is 95–110. Shorter than 90 reads as thin; longer than 120 reads as unproduceable. Comedy tends to come in shorter (Whiplash is 85 pages); drama and prestige longer (The Social Network is 162, Aaron Sorkin being Aaron Sorkin). New writers should target 105 unless they have a reason not to.

Half-hour TV: 28–35 pages single-cam, 40–50 multi-cam (the spacing is wider). Hour TV: 55–65. See Screenplay vs teleplay format for the structural differences.

The rules people argue about

Three are still contested.

Underlining sluglines.Some writers underline every slugline; some never do. Final Draft's default is no underline, and modern readers don't require it. Pick one and be consistent.

Camera direction in spec scripts.Spec wisdom says don't (PUSH IN, ANGLE ON, etc. read as directing from the page). Working pros do it constantly when they need to. The truth: avoid it until the script can survive a reader who hates it. Then earn it.

One sentence vs three for an action paragraph. The Cormac McCarthy school says one short paragraph carries more force. The Sorkin school will give you a paragraph of eleven lines if the rhythm wants it. Both are correct.

What working screenwriters get wrong

Even produced writers slip on three things:

• Over-using parentheticals. If you find yourself writing (angrily) the line probably needs a rewrite, not a stage direction.
• Mixing tenses. Action is present tense. Always. He walked to the window is a novel. He walks to the window is a screenplay.
• Overlong scene headers.INT. JAKE'S OLD APARTMENT IN THE EAST VILLAGE — RAINY THURSDAY MORNING is a sentence pretending to be a slugline. INT. JAKE'S APARTMENT — DAY does the job.

Why software matters less than people think

The format above is enforced by every screenwriting tool — Final Draft, WriterDuet, Highland, Fade In, and Arqo. They'll all hand you a script that passes a reader. What separates them is what happens around the format — revisions, collaboration, mobile editing, the import/export round-trip. The format itself is a solved problem.

For comparisons of the writing experience, see Arqo vs Final Draft or Switching from Final Draft.

The shortest format checklist that actually works

Before you send a script anywhere:

• 12pt Courier, full stop.
• Margins set to 1.5 / 1.0 / 1.0 / 1.0.
• Sluglines all-caps, INT./EXT., location, time.
• Action present tense, two-to-four-line paragraphs.
• Character cues all-caps, consistent name across the script.
• Dialogue indented; no bold, no italic except for unmistakable emphasis.
• Title page: title, by-line, contact info. No cover art.
• Page count under 120 unless you have a reason.

If you have those eight things, the script reads. The story is your job.