Standard screenplay format follows precise rules: Courier 12pt, 1-inch margins, specific indentation for every element. This guide breaks down each spec and shows you how to apply them in Google Docs in under ten minutes.
Last updated: May 15, 2026
Standard screenplay format is the set of typographic conventions used in the film and TV industry since the 1930s. It standardizes how scripts look on the page so that one correctly formatted page equals roughly one minute of screen time. Every studio reader, producer, and script coordinator expects this format, and a script that doesn't follow it signals an amateur, often before the reader reaches page two.
The format is built around six elements (scene headings, action, character names, dialogue, parentheticals, transitions) governed by a strict typographic spec:
Screenplay format is the only universally accepted way to estimate runtime, calculate budgets, and break a script down for production. A correctly formatted 110-page script will run roughly 110 minutes on screen. A 110-page document that ignores the format could be anywhere from 70 to 180 minutes. Producers, directors, and AD departments rely on this 1-to-1 ratio to plan everything from shoot days to crew calls.
Every line of a screenplay belongs to one of six elements. Each has its own typographic rule and its own indentation. Together they create the visual rhythm that makes a script feel like a script.
Open every scene. Format: INT. or EXT., location, time of day. All uppercase, flush left at the 1.5-inch margin.
Describe what we see and hear. Present tense, third person, no internal thoughts. Flush left, sentence case.
Above dialogue. All uppercase. Indented 3.7 inches from the left page edge, which puts them roughly centered.
What the character says. Sentence case. Indented 2.5 inches from the left page edge. No quote marks.
Optional. Brief direction on delivery, mid-line. Italic, lowercase, in parentheses, indented 3.1 inches. Use sparingly.
Optional. Scene shifts like CUT TO: or FADE OUT:. All uppercase, right-aligned at 7.5 inches. Modern scripts use them sparingly.
Scene heading and action: 0 (flush left at the 1.5-inch left margin). Character name: 3.7. Parenthetical: 3.1. Dialogue: 2.5. Transition: right-aligned at 7.5. These are the values Final Draft, Highland, and Fade In all use, and the values Screenplay Editor applies automatically when you tag a paragraph as a given element.
Configuring correct screenplay format in Google Docs takes about ten minutes the first time. Once your styles are set, save the document as a template and reuse it for every new script.
Open Format > Text > Font. Pick Courier New from the dropdown. If it isn't in your recent fonts, click More fonts at the top of the menu and add it. Set the size to 12 from the toolbar. Courier is mandatory: it's monospaced, so every character takes the same horizontal space, which is what makes the one-page-per-minute ratio work.
Open File > Page setup. Set top, bottom, and right margins to 1 inch. Set the left margin to 1.5 inches. Confirm the page size is Letter (8.5 x 11 in). Click Set as default if you want every new document to start with these margins.
Google Docs has no built-in screenplay styles, so you create your own. Type a sample line for each element, highlight it, set the correct indentation using the ruler (scene heading: 0, dialogue: 2.5 in, parenthetical: 3.1 in, character name: 3.7 in, transition: right-aligned at 7.5 in), then go to Format > Paragraph styles > Normal text > Update Normal text to match. Repeat for Heading 1, Heading 2, etc., binding each style to one element. After that, switching elements is one click.
Every scene starts with INT. (interior) or EXT. (exterior), followed by the location, then a hyphen, then the time of day. All uppercase, on one line. Example: INT. APARTMENT - NIGHT. Use DAY, NIGHT, MORNING, EVENING, CONTINUOUS, or LATER. Avoid creative variants like AFTERNOON-ISH; readers parse the slugline at a glance and expect the standard tokens.
A dialogue block is three paragraphs: the character name (uppercase, indented 3.7 in), an optional parenthetical (italic, indented 3.1 in), and the dialogue itself (indented 2.5 in). Leave a blank line before and after the entire block. If two characters speak back-to-back, put a blank line between their blocks.
When the draft is ready, go to File > Download > PDF Document. PDF locks the format in place: anyone opening the file sees exactly what you wrote, regardless of their font installs, device, or Google Docs version. PDF is also the only format most contests, agents, and managers accept. Do not send a .docx; the format will drift in another reader's Word version.
Most format errors aren't from ignorance, they're from drift. Your script starts clean and slowly degrades as you revise, copy-paste, and collaborate. These are the five that show up most often.
None of these are fatal on their own. But if a reader sees two or three in the first five pages, they'll assume the writer is unfamiliar with the craft and lower their expectations for everything that follows.
If you'd rather skip the setup, start from our free screenplay format template. Every spec on this page is already applied, so you open the document and start writing.
Specialized templates are also available for short films, TV pilots, and horror screenplays, each tuned for the format conventions of its genre.
If you'd rather not configure styles by hand, Screenplay Editor applies every spec on this page automatically. Install it once and your script stays in standard format as you type.
The Chrome extension and Workspace add-on are both free at the base tier. Every formatting feature on this list works free; Pro unlocks advanced exports, character analytics, and AI tools.
Stop fighting the formatting. Install the extension and let it handle the indents while you write.
Recommended, fastest formatting
Works in any browser
Standard screenplay format is the set of typographic conventions used in the film and TV industry: Courier 12pt font, 1-inch margins (1.5 on the left), US Letter paper, and specific indentation values per element (scene heading flush left, character name at 3.7 inches, dialogue at 2.5 inches). One correctly formatted page equals roughly one minute of screen time.
Courier or Courier New, 12 points, regular weight. Courier is the only acceptable industry font because it's monospaced: every character takes the same width, which is what creates the predictable page-to-minute ratio. Modern variants like Courier Prime are sometimes used, but Courier 12 remains the safest default.
1 inch on the top, bottom, and right edges. 1.5 inches on the left to accommodate three-hole binding. US Letter page size (8.5 x 11 inches), even when writing outside the United States. These values produce roughly 55 to 58 lines per page when paired with Courier 12.
No. Google Docs does not ship with a native screenplay template or style preset. You can configure the format manually with paragraph styles and the ruler, start from a template, or install an add-on that applies the format automatically.
Go to File, then Download, then PDF Document. PDF locks the format in place: anyone opening the file sees what you wrote regardless of their font installs or device. Never send a .docx for submission, since the format will drift when the recipient opens it in a different Word version or font setup.
The core typographic spec is identical: Courier 12, same margins, same element indentation. The differences are structural. TV pilots use act breaks (typically four acts plus a teaser for hour-long, two acts for half-hour). Single-camera scripts look like films. Multi-camera scripts use double-spaced dialogue and capitalized stage directions. Feature films use no act breaks at all, since the structure is implicit.