Dear Legal Writer: Capitalization after a Colon (“:”)

Today I write about a writing question I just faced: Should you capitalize the word that comes after a colon (“:”)?

In other words, should the “should” in the preceding sentence be capitalized?

Answer: I’ve found no legal-writing style guide on the topic. Under non-legal, writing-style guides, the answer is inconsistent.

Here’s the rule of thumb I use:

🔷 1: If the colon introduces a list, do not capitalize (unless the first item in is a proper noun or a quote that starts with a capitalized word).

Eg-

Correct: “He bought these items: bread, milk, and OJ.” ✔️

Correct: “He bought these items: OJ, bread, and milk.”

Incorrect: “He bought these items: Bread, milk, and OJ.” ❌

🔷 2: If the colon introduces a single word or a fragment, do not capitalize (same exception for proper nouns & quotes).

Correct: “He decided what he wanted: justice.”

🔷 3: If the colon introduces a complete sentence, you have a choice.

The non-legal style guides disagree, but most say capitalizing is either preferable or acceptable.

In my experience, most writers, including legal writers, never capitalize. You thus are safe sticking with lowercase throughout.

That said, I will sometimes capitalize for emphasis. I see it primarily as a matter of personal style.

Eg-

Correct: “He went shopping: he bought bread, milk, and OJ.” ✔️

Correct: “He went shopping: He bought bread, milk, and OJ.” ✔️

👉 Note that one style guide says you should only capitalize the first word of a full sentence after a colon if TWO or more explanatory sentences follow the colon.

Eg-

Correct: “Fresh milk has two qualities: It is liquid. It is also white.”

—I don’t know that I’ve ever consciously written 2 sentences explaining a colon, so I haven’t worried about this wrinkle before, but now I’ll be aware of it!

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🗳️ Do you capitalize the first word after a colon when it introduces a complete sentence in your legal writing?

Fondly,
💌 Amanda