Title Case Converter
Capitalize a title or headline the way AP, Chicago, APA, or MLA style asks, or switch it to sentence case. Paste one title or a whole list, pick a style, and copy the result. Everything runs in your browser, so your text stays on your device.
What is title case?
Title case is a way of capitalizing titles and headings where the main words start with a capital letter and small words like "a", "of", and "the" stay lowercase. "The Lord of the Rings" is in title case. "The lord of the rings" is in sentence case.
Style guides agree on the idea but not on the details. They disagree about which prepositions count as small, whether the last word is always capitalized, and what to do with hyphenated words. That is why the same title can come out slightly differently in AP, Chicago, APA, and MLA.
Why use our title case converter
- ·Four style guides. AP, Chicago (18th edition), APA, and MLA, plus sentence case.
- ·See the rules at work. Words kept lowercase are underlined, so you know why each word changed.
- ·Many titles at once. Paste a list of headings and each line is converted on its own.
- ·Keeps acronyms. Words like NASA, iPhone, and URLs are left as you typed them.
- ·Free and private. No signup, and nothing is uploaded.
Title case rules in AP, Chicago, APA, and MLA
All four styles capitalize the first word, the first word after a colon, and every noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, and adverb, however short ("Is", "It", "Be"). They also all keep the articles a, an, and the lowercase in the middle of a title. Here is where they differ.
| Rule | AP | Chicago | APA | MLA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lowercase prepositions | 3 letters or fewer | 4 letters or fewer | 3 letters or fewer | All of them |
| Lowercase conjunctions | 3 letters or fewer | and, but, for, or, nor | 3 letters or fewer | and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet |
| Last word | Always capitalized | Always capitalized | No special rule | Always capitalized |
| Example | A Room With a View | A Room with a View | A Room With a View | A Room with a View |
| Example | Much Ado About Nothing | Much Ado About Nothing | Much Ado About Nothing | Much Ado about Nothing |
In hyphenated words, the first part is always capitalized and the later parts follow the same rules as any other word, so you get "Step-by-Step" and "Self-Employed". Chicago and MLA keep the part after a prefix that cannot stand alone lowercase, as in "Anti-inflammatory".
How to convert a title to title case
- 1
Pick a style guide
Choose AP, Chicago, APA, or MLA for title case, or Sentence case if your guide asks for it.
- 2
Paste your title
Type or paste a title. To convert several at once, put each title on its own line.
- 3
Check the result
The result updates as you type. Words the style keeps lowercase are underlined, so you can see why each word changed.
- 4
Copy or download
Copy the result, or download it as a .txt file. With a single title, you can also copy it in any of the other styles.
Which title case style should you use?
If a teacher, publisher, or company style guide names one, use that. Otherwise, pick the style most common in your field and stick with it across every title and heading.
- ·AP style. Used by news outlets, PR teams, and many company blogs. AP's title case rules are for the names of books, films, songs, and other works. AP news headlines use sentence case instead.
- ·Chicago style. Used in book publishing, history, and by many magazines and blogs. This tool follows the 18th edition (2024), which now capitalizes prepositions of five letters or more.
- ·APA style. Used in psychology, education, nursing, and the social sciences. APA uses title case for the paper title and headings, and sentence case for article and book titles in the reference list.
- ·MLA style. Used in English, literature, and other humanities classes. MLA keeps every preposition lowercase, however long it is.
What to check after converting a title
The converter follows word lists, not grammar, so a few cases need a quick look.
- ·Names in sentence case. Sentence case lowercases every word after the first, so "Harry Potter" becomes "Harry potter". Capitalize names and places by hand.
- ·Words that change role. "Over" is a preposition in "Jumps over the Fence" but part of the verb in "Take Over". The converter spots common verbs, but not all of them.
- ·Titles typed in all capitals. A line written entirely in capitals is treated as shouting, so "NASA AND THE MOON" becomes "Nasa and the Moon". Fix the acronym, or type the title in normal case first.
- ·Brand names typed in lowercase. Mixed-case words are only kept when you type them that way. "mcdonald's" becomes "Mcdonald's", so type "McDonald's" to keep it.
Who uses a title case converter
- ·Bloggers and content writers. Format post titles and headings the same way across a whole site, and switch a list of headings between title case and sentence case in one go.
- ·Students. Get paper titles and headings right for APA or MLA, and convert reference list titles to sentence case for APA.
- ·Journalists and PR writers. Capitalize book, film, and song titles mentioned in a story the way AP style asks.
- ·Editors and marketers. Check a headline, email subject line, or page title against a house style before it goes out.
Title case FAQ
- What words are not capitalized in a title?
- In title case, articles (a, an, the), short conjunctions (and, but, or), and short prepositions (in, of, on, to) usually stay lowercase unless they are the first word. What counts as "short" depends on the style guide. AP and APA lowercase prepositions of three letters or fewer, Chicago lowercases those of four letters or fewer, and MLA lowercases every preposition.
- Is "with" capitalized in a title?
- It depends on the style. "With" has four letters, so AP and APA capitalize it ("Gone With the Wind"). Chicago and MLA keep it lowercase because it is a preposition of four letters or fewer ("Gone with the Wind").
- Should "is" be capitalized in a title?
- Yes. "Is" is a verb, and verbs are always capitalized in title case, even short ones like is, be, are, and do. The same goes for short pronouns like it, he, and you. Only articles, conjunctions, and prepositions are left lowercase.
- Do you capitalize the first word after a colon in a title?
- Yes. All four styles treat the words after a colon as a subtitle and capitalize its first word, even a small one like "the" or "a". The converter also starts a new part after a question mark, an exclamation mark, or an em dash.
- Why does APA leave the last word lowercase?
- APA capitalizes the first word of a title and subtitle, but it has no rule for the last word. A short minor word at the end stays lowercase, so APA gives "What Are You Looking for" while AP, Chicago, and MLA give "What Are You Looking For". Most titles end in a noun, so this rarely makes a difference.
- Does AP style use title case for headlines?
- No. AP news headlines capitalize only the first word and proper nouns, which is close to sentence case. AP's title case rules are for the titles of books, films, songs, and other works mentioned in a story. For an AP headline, pick Sentence case and then capitalize any names by hand.
- What changed in the Chicago Manual of Style 18th edition?
- Before the 18th edition, Chicago lowercased prepositions of any length. Since the 18th edition (2024), prepositions of five letters or more are capitalized, so "Much Ado About Nothing" now has a capital A in About. Shorter prepositions like with, from, and over still stay lowercase.
- How does the converter handle phrasal verbs like "set up"?
- Words like up, down, off, and on are prepositions in some titles and part of a verb in others. When one of them follows a common verb, as in "Set Up", "Log In", or "Turn Off", the converter capitalizes it, because it is acting as part of the verb. It only knows a list of common verbs, so check phrasal verbs it might not recognize.
- Can I change title case in Word or Excel?
- Word's "Capitalize Each Word" option (under Change Case, or by pressing Shift+F3) and Excel's PROPER function both capitalize every word, including a, of, and the. Neither follows a style guide. Convert the title here, then paste it into your document.
- Is my text private?
- Yes. The title case converter runs entirely in your browser, so your text is never uploaded or saved. It is free and needs no signup.