How to insert a tick in Word and Excel
There is no tick key on your keyboard, so inserting a tick symbol in Word or a tick symbol in Excel always takes a small trick. This guide gives you every reliable one — the two-second copy, the code you type, the symbol menu, the Wingdings shortcut, and Excel’s real clickable checkboxes — for the check symbol in Word documents, mark sheets, forms and to-do lists where ticks actually live.
Fastest: copy a tick and paste it in
A pasted tick is ordinary text: it works in every version of Word and Excel, on Windows, Mac and the web apps, and you can resize, colour and bold it like any letter. For a one-off tick, stop here — you are done.
Every method at a glance
| Method | Works in | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Copy and paste (above) | Word + Excel, all versions | One-off ticks, any device |
| Type 2713, then Alt + X | Word (Windows) | Fast repeat typing |
| Insert → Symbol | Word + Excel | Finding exact styles |
| Wingdings: type ü | Word + Excel (Windows) | The classic chunky tick |
| Emoji panel (Win + .) | Word + Excel (modern) | ✅ ❌ colourful marks |
| =UNICHAR(10003) | Excel | Formula-driven ticks |
| Insert → Checkbox | Excel (Microsoft 365) | Clickable to-do lists |
In Microsoft Word — five ways
1. The code (fastest to learn): type 2713 and immediately press Alt + X — the code turns into ✓. Use 2714 for the heavy ✔, 2611 for ☑, 2610 for an empty ☐, 2717 for a ✗ cross. This works anywhere in a Word document and is the method worth memorising.
2. Insert → Symbol: Insert tab → Symbol → More Symbols. Set the font to Segoe UI Symbol and scroll to the check marks (or type 2713 in the character-code box). Double-click to insert.
3. The Wingdings classic: set the font to Wingdings and type ü (or hold Alt and type 0252 on the keypad) — you get the traditional bold tick. Warning from experience: the character is really “ü” wearing a costume. If the font ever changes back, your ticks turn into ü letters — which is why methods 1 and 2, real Unicode ticks, are safer for documents you share.
4. The emoji panel: press Windows key + . and search “check” for ✅ and ✔️. On a Mac, Control + Command + Space opens the Character Viewer. These are emoji — colourful, and they may print differently than a plain ✓.
5. Make your own shortcut (AutoCorrect): insert a ✓ once via method 2, select it, then File → Options → Proofing → AutoCorrect Options; in the Replace box type something like (tick) and Add. From then on, typing (tick) in Word produces a real ✓ instantly.
Bonus — tick bullets: to make a whole list of ticks, select the list, open the bullet dropdown → Define New Bullet → Symbol, and pick ✓ from Wingdings or Segoe UI Symbol.
In Microsoft Excel — symbols and real checkboxes
As cell text: Insert → Symbol works exactly as in Word (Segoe UI Symbol, code 2713). The Alt + X code trick does NOT work in Excel cells — use the Symbol dialog or paste.
By formula: =UNICHAR(10003) returns ✓ and =UNICHAR(10004) returns ✔ — handy inside IF formulas such as =IF(B2>=50, UNICHAR(10003), UNICHAR(10007)) for pass/fail mark sheets. The older trick, =CHAR(252) with the cell font set to Wingdings, also draws a tick, with the same font-dependency warning as Word.
Clickable checkboxes — three different things share the name:
| Kind | How | Behaviour |
|---|---|---|
| In-cell checkbox (Microsoft 365) | Insert → Checkbox | The cell itself holds TRUE/FALSE — count with =COUNTIF(range, TRUE) |
| Form-control checkbox (Developer tab) | Developer → Insert → Check Box | A floating box linked to a cell; works in older Excel too |
| ☑ character | Copy from the strip above | Looks the part but never changes when clicked — text only |
For a to-do list other people will tick off, use the first kind. For printing a form, the third is honestly enough.
Google Docs and Sheets, briefly
Docs: Insert → Special characters, search “check”. Sheets: =CHAR(10003) returns ✓ (Google’s CHAR accepts the full Unicode range), and Insert → Checkbox gives Sheets its own clickable cell checkbox with TRUE/FALSE values.
Tick or checkbox — which do you actually need?
A tick is a statement: done, correct, included. A checkbox is a control: an invitation to click. Documents and mark sheets need statements; interactive lists need controls. Choosing the statement when you needed the control is the mistake behind most “my checkbox doesn’t work” searches — if it must respond to a click, it has to be a real checkbox from the table above, not a pasted ☑.
Explore more symbols
For the full family of ticks, boxes and crosses to copy, see the check mark symbol page — and the punctuation symbols hub covers the other marks Office hides from the keyboard.
Frequently asked questions
What is the keyboard shortcut for a tick in Word?
Type 2713 and press Alt + X. In Wingdings font, typing ü also produces a tick — but the Alt + X method inserts the real Unicode character, which survives font changes.
Why did my tick turn into ü?
It was a Wingdings tick: the underlying character is the letter ü, displayed as a tick only while the Wingdings font is applied. Replace it with a Unicode ✓ (2713 + Alt + X) and it will stay a tick in any font.
How do I put a tick in an Excel cell with a formula?
Use =UNICHAR(10003) for ✓ or =UNICHAR(10004) for ✔. Combine it with IF for automatic pass/fail marks, e.g. =IF(B2>=50, UNICHAR(10003), UNICHAR(10007)).
Can I add a checkbox that people can actually tick in Excel?
Yes — in Microsoft 365 Excel, select the cells and use Insert → Checkbox; each cell becomes a real TRUE/FALSE checkbox. In older versions, enable the Developer tab and insert a form-control checkbox instead.
Is a tick the same as a check mark?
Yes — British English says tick, American English says check mark; the symbol ✓ and the methods on this page are identical for both.