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This guidance is in development. You can find current content and publishing guidance on GOV.UK.

Text formatting

Acronyms

Add acronym code so that when a user hovers over an abbreviation they see the full name as ‘alt text’.

You should:

  • go to the end of the body copy to add the code, leaving one empty line space above it
  • type an asterisk, square brackets around the acronym, a colon and then the full name - for example: *[DWP]: Department for Work and Pensions
  • make sure there is no space between the asterisk and the square bracket

When you have more than one acronym, list:

  • each one on a new line
  • both plurals and singulars, but not possessives – for example, do not list ‘DfT’s’ if you already have ‘DfT’
  • plurals ahead of singulars – for example, ‘HGVs’ before ‘HGV’

See the ‘Abbreviations and acronyms’ section of the style guide A to Z for more information on using acronyms.