The registered trademark sign (®) indicates that a trademark is officially registered with a trademark office, such as the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP) or the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). Unlike the regular trademark symbol (™), which anyone can use, the ® symbol may only be used for trademarks that are actually registered. Improper use of the ® sign can have legal consequences, including fines and liability for misleading use.

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Typing the registered trademark sign on Windows

Method 1: Alt code (works everywhere)

  1. Make sure Num Lock is on
  2. Hold down the Alt key
  3. Type 0174 on the numeric keypad
  4. Release Alt, and the ® appears

Method 2: Windows emoji panel

  1. Press Windows + . (period) or Windows + ; (semicolon)
  2. Click the Ω Symbols tab
  3. Look for the registered sign or type "registered"
  4. Click ® to insert it

Typing the registered trademark sign on Mac

On a Mac you type the registered trademark sign with a simple key combination:

  • Press Option + R at the same time

This works in all standard Mac apps such as Safari, Mail, Pages and Numbers.

Typing the registered trademark sign on Linux

On Linux you can enter the ® sign in several ways:

Unicode input

  1. Press Ctrl + Shift + U
  2. Type AE (the Unicode hex code)
  3. Press Enter or Space

Compose key (if configured)

  1. Press the Compose key
  2. Type o and then r
  3. The ® symbol appears

Typing the registered trademark sign on iPhone and iPad

With the emoji keyboard

  1. Tap the emoji icon (smiley) on your keyboard
  2. Use the search field to search for "registered" or "trademark"
  3. Select the ® sign

With text replacement

  1. Go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Text Replacement
  2. Tap +
  3. Under "Shortcut", enter for example: regtr
  4. Under "Phrase", enter: ®
  5. Now ® appears automatically when you type "regtr"

Typing the registered trademark sign on Android

With the symbols keyboard

  1. Open your keyboard and tap ?123 or the symbols icon
  2. Tap =< again for more symbols
  3. Find the ® sign among the special characters

With Gboard (Google keyboard)

  1. Press and hold the text cursor
  2. Select More > Special characters
  3. Choose the registered trademark sign

Typing the registered trademark sign in Word, Excel and PowerPoint

Microsoft Office offers quick ways to get the ® sign:

AutoCorrect

Type (r) and Office automatically converts it to ®

Keyboard shortcut

Press Ctrl + Alt + R to get the ® sign directly

Inserting symbols

  1. Go to Insert > Symbol > More Symbols
  2. Find ® in the list (Latin-1 Supplement)
  3. Click Insert

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

What is the difference between ® and ™? The ® symbol (registered trademark) may only be used for officially registered trademarks. The ™ symbol (trademark) can be used by anyone to indicate that they consider a name or logo a brand, even without registration. The ® offers stronger legal protection.

Can I just use the ® sign? No, you may only use the ® symbol if your trademark is actually registered with a recognized trademark office. Improper use is misleading and can lead to legal consequences, including fines. If your trademark is not registered, use the ™ symbol instead.

How do I type the registered trademark sign in HTML? Use the HTML entity &reg; or the Unicode code &#174;. Both produce the ® symbol on your web page.

Shortcut overview

Platform Method Shortcut/Code
Windows Alt code Alt + 0174
Mac Key combination Option + R
Linux Unicode Ctrl + Shift + U, AE
Word/Office AutoCorrect (r)
Word/Office Keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Alt + R
HTML Entity &reg;
Unicode Hex code U+00AE