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How to Add a Footnote in LaTeX

Write \footnote{The note text.} directly after the word, with no space before it. LaTeX numbers the note, puts a superscript mark in the text and prints the note at the bottom of the page. In tables, use \footnotemark in the cell and \footnotetext{…} after the table.

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Footnote commands

  • word\footnote{Note text.}
    Text mode, no math preview

    Numbered footnote at the bottom of the page.

  • \footnote[7]{Note text.}
    Text mode, no math preview

    Footnote with a chosen number.

  • \footnotemark ... \footnotetext{Text}
    Text mode, no math preview

    Mark and text separately (tables, captions, titles).

  • \renewcommand{\thefootnote}{\fnsymbol{footnote}}
    Text mode, no math preview

    Symbols * † ‡ instead of numbers.

  • \thanks{Funding ...}
    Text mode, no math preview

    Footnote on the title or author in \maketitle.

  • \marginpar{Note}
    Text mode, no math preview

    A note in the margin instead of the foot of the page.

Try it live

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Templates

Footnotes examples

Each result below is drawn from the LaTeX under it. Copy the code, edit it on this page, or open it in the full editor.

  • Footnote symbols in order

    ∗ † ‡
    LaTeX
    {}^{*}\quad {}^{\dagger}\quad {}^{\ddagger}

    The first marks \fnsymbol uses: *, †, ‡, then §, ¶ and doubled marks.

    Edit hereOpen in editor

  • Marked formula

    E = m c 2 †
    LaTeX
    E = mc^{2}\,{}^{\dagger}
    Edit hereOpen in editor

In a LaTeX document

These commands work in the text of a .tex document (Overleaf, TeX Live, MiKTeX), not inside math. The box on the right shows what the compiled PDF looks like.

  • A footnote in text

    LaTeX
    LaTeX was created by Leslie Lamport.\footnote{Building on Donald Knuth's TeX.}
    Compiled result

    LaTeX was created by Leslie Lamport.¹

    ¹ Building on Donald Knuth's TeX.

  • Footnote in a table

    LaTeX
    \begin{tabular}{ll}
Method & Error \\
Ours\footnotemark & 0.12 \\
\end{tabular}
\footnotetext{Trained on the full dataset.}

  • Footnote after a displayed equation

    LaTeX
    \begin{equation}
  E = mc^2
\end{equation}
where $c$ is the speed of light.\footnote{In vacuum.}

Placement and numbering

Put \footnote right after the word or punctuation it belongs to; a space before it leaves a gap before the mark. Numbering restarts at each chapter in book and report classes and runs through the document in article.

To use symbols, redefine \thefootnote with \fnsymbol. With more than nine notes symbols repeat, so they suit title pages and short documents.

Where \footnote does not work

Inside tabular, section titles and captions the note is lost or causes errors. Use \footnotemark at the spot and \footnotetext{…} outside, or the threeparttable package for notes printed under a table. Inside math, end the equation first and place the footnote in the following text.

Common mistakes

  • The space before the command shows up as a gap before the mark.

    Instead of
    word \footnote{Note}
    Write
    word\footnote{Note}

  • Footnotes in moving arguments need \protect, and they also land in the table of contents.

    Instead of
    \section{Title\footnote{Note}}
    Write
    \section{Title\protect\footnote{Note}}

  • \footnote is a text command and cannot be used inside math mode.

    Instead of
    $E = mc^2\footnote{…}$
    Write
    $E = mc^2$\footnote{…}

In Overleaf, MathJax and Word

  • Overleaf and pdfLaTeX

    All commands work in standard classes; threeparttable and tablefootnote are available for tables.

  • MathJax and KaTeX

    Web renderers have no footnotes; in Markdown use the [^1] footnote syntax if your platform supports it.

  • Microsoft Word

    In Word use References › Insert Footnote (Ctrl+Alt+F on Windows, Cmd+Option+F on Mac).

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Footnotes in LaTeX: questions

How do I add a footnote in LaTeX?
Write \footnote{text} directly after the word.
How do I put a footnote in a table?
Use \footnotemark in the cell and \footnotetext{text} after the table.
How do I use * and † instead of numbers?
\renewcommand{\thefootnote}{\fnsymbol{footnote}}.

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