Pound Sign
The pound sterling sign. Useful in prices and invoices where a keyboard without a UK layout will not produce it. Unicode places the pound sign at code point U+00A3, part of the currency family. Copy the £ with a single click below, then scroll down for every way to type it: the HTML entities, the CSS content escape, the JavaScript escape and the Windows alt code where one exists.
| Symbol | £ | |
|---|---|---|
| Unicode | U+00A3 | |
| Name | Pound Sign | |
| HTML (named) | £ | |
| HTML (decimal) | £ | |
| HTML (hex) | £ | |
| CSS content | \00A3 | |
| JavaScript / JSON | \u00A3 | |
| UTF-8 bytes | 0xC2 0xA3 | |
| UTF-16 units | 0x00A3 | |
| Windows alt code | Alt 0163 |
How do you type the pound sign on each platform?
| Where | How to type it |
|---|---|
| Any device | Click the £ at the top of this page. It goes straight to your clipboard, and you paste it with Ctrl+V on Windows or Cmd+V on a Mac. This is the only method that behaves identically everywhere. |
| Windows | Hold Alt and type 0163 on the numeric keypad, then release Alt. The number row above the letters does not work for this. |
| macOS | Add Unicode Hex Input under Keyboard settings, switch to it, then hold Option and type 00A3. Without that input source, open the Character Viewer with Control+Command+Space and search for pound sign. |
| Linux and ChromeOS | Press Ctrl+Shift+U, type 00a3, then press Enter or the space bar. This works in GTK applications and with IBus. |
| Microsoft Word | Type 00A3 in the document, then press Alt and X together with the cursor immediately after the last digit. Word replaces the digits with £. |
| Google Docs | Insert, then Special characters, then paste U+00A3 or type pound sign in the search box. You can also draw the shape in the sketch pad on the right. |
| Excel and Google Sheets | Use the formula UNICHAR(163) in a cell. Copy the cell and paste it as a value if you want the character rather than the formula. |
| HTML | Write £, or the numeric reference £, or £. On a page served as UTF-8 the character itself also works. |
| CSS | Use content: "\00A3" inside a ::before or ::after rule. Terminate the escape with a space if the next character is also a hexadecimal digit. |
| JavaScript | The escape \u00A3 produces this character inside a string literal, and the same escape is valid in JSON. |
More detail per platform: Windows alt codes, special characters on a Mac, special characters in Word and HTML entities.
Frequently asked questions
How do I copy the pound sign symbol?
Click the £ above or the copy button and it is placed on your clipboard. Paste it anywhere with Ctrl+V or Cmd+V. It is a real text character, so it works in documents, chats and code.
What is the Unicode code point for pound sign?
The pound sign has the Unicode code point U+00A3. In HTML you can write it as £ or £, or with the named entity £.
What is the alt code for the pound sign symbol?
On Windows, hold the Alt key and type Alt 0163 on the numeric keypad, then release Alt. Copying the £ from this page is quicker and works on any device.
Can I use the pound sign symbol in HTML and CSS?
Yes. In HTML write £ or the named entity £, and in CSS use content: "\00A3" inside a ::before or ::after rule. The code table on this page has copy buttons for both.
Related symbols
Browse the full currency symbols hub, or return to the searchable symbol grid.