Capitalization After a Colon
The Colon
Rulebase Summary
Capitalize the word after a colon if it begins a grammatically complete sentence. Do not capitalize the word after a colon if it begins a fragment. The colon introduces what follows; whether that material is a full sentence or a fragment determines the capitalization.
Examples
A. There was one problem: the contract had already expired.
A. There was one problem: The contract had already expired.
Full sentence after colon — capitalize.
A. She needed two things: A pen and a notepad.
A. She needed two things: a pen and a notepad.
Fragment after colon — lowercase.
Transcript Notes
In transcript work, pay attention to whether the material after the colon could stand alone as a sentence. If the witness says something like 'He had one concern: the deadline was approaching,' capitalize 'the' because it starts a full clause. If the witness says 'He had one concern: the deadline,' keep it lowercase because it is a fragment.
In court reporting with monofont (where every character occupies the same width), two spaces after a colon remains the standard practice. If you switch to a proportional font and use typesetter-style formatting — for instance, italicizing titles — the double-spacing convention may no longer apply.
Style Guide References (2)
BGGP
BGGP