# U.S. Government Printing Office Style Manual/Numerals

Most rules for the use of numerals are based on the general principle that the reader comprehends numerals more readily than numerical word expressions, particularly in technical, scientific, or statistical matter. However, for special reasons, numbers are spelled out in certain instances, except in FIC & punc. and Fol. Lit. matter.
The following rules cover the most common conditions that require a choice between the use of numerals and words. Some of them, however, are based on typographic appearance rather than on the general principle stated above.
Arabic numerals are preferable to Roman numerals.
A figure is used for a single number of 10 or more with the exception of the first word of the sentence. (See also rules 12.9 and 12.23.)
    50 ballots
    24 horses
    nearly 13 buckets
    10 guns
    about 40 men
    10 times as large
    Each of 15 major commodities (9 metal and 6 nonmetal) was in supply.
but Each of nine major commodities (five metal and four nonmetal) was in supply.
    Petroleum came from 16 fields, of which 8 were discovered in 1956.
but Petroleum came from nine fields, of which eight were discovered in 1956.
    That man has 3 suits, 2 pairs of shoes, and 12 pairs of socks.
but That man has three suits, two pairs of shoes, and four hats.
    Of the 13 engine producers, 6 were farm equipment manufacturers, 6 were principally engaged in the production of other types of machinery, and 1 was not classified in the machinery industry.
but Only nine of these were among the large manufacturing companies, and only three were among the largest concerns.
    There were three 6-room houses, five 4-room houses, and three 2-room cottages, and they were built by 20 carpenters. (See rule 12.21.)
    There were three six-room houses, five four-room houses, and three two-room cottages, and they were built by nine carpenters.
but If two columns of sums of money add or subtract one into the other and one carries points and ciphers, the other should also carry points and ciphers.
    At the hearing, only one Senator and one Congressman testified.
    There are four or five things which can be done.
A unit of measurement, time, or money (as defined in rule 12.9), which is always expressed in figures, does not affect the use of figures for other numerical expressions within a sentence.
    Each of the five girls earned 75 cents an hour.
    Each of the 15 girls earned 75 cents an hour.
    A team of four men ran the 1-mile relay in 3 minutes 20 seconds.
    This usually requires from two to five washes and a total time of 2 to 4 hours.
    This usually requires 9 to 12 washes and a total time of 2 to 4 hours.
    The contractor, one engineer, and one surveyor inspected the 1-mile road.
but There were two six-room houses, three four-room houses, and four two-room cottages, and they were built by nine workers in thirty 5-day weeks. (See rule 12.21.)
Figures are used for serial numbers.
    Bulletin 725
    290 U.S. 325
    Document 71
    Genesis 39:20
    pages 352-357
    202-512-0724 (telephone number)
    lines 5 and 6
    the year 2001
    paragraph 1
    1721-1727 St. Clair Avenue
    chapter 2
but Letters Patent No. 2,189,463
A colon preceding figures does not affect their use.
    The result was as follows: 12 voted yea, 4 dissented.
    The result was as follows: nine voted yea, seven dissented.
a. Age:
    6 years old
    a 3-year-old
    52 years 10 months 6 days
    at the age of 3 (years implied)
​b. Clock time (see also Time):
    4:30 p.m.; half past 4
    10 o'clock or 10 p.m. (not 10 o'clock p.m.; 2 p.m. in the afternoon; 10:00 p.m.)
    12 p.m. (12 noon)
    12 a.m. (12 midnight)
    4ʰ30ᵐ or 4.5ʰ in scientific work, if so written in copy
    0025, 2359 (astronomical and military time)
    08:31:04 (stopwatch reading)
c. Dates:
    9/11 (referring to the attack on the United States that occurred on September 11,2001)
    June 1985 (not June, 1985); June 29, 1985 (not June 29th, 1985)
    March 6 to April 15, 1990 (not March 6, 1990, to April 15, 1990)
    May, June, and July 1965 (but June and July 1965)
    15 April 1951; 15-17 April 1951 (military)
    4th of July (but Fourth of July, meaning the holiday)
    the 1st [day] of the month (but the last of April or the first [part] of May, not referring to specific days)
    in the year 2000 (not 2,000)
In referring to a fiscal year, consecutive years, or a continuous period of 2 years or more, when contracted, the forms 1900–11, 1906–38, 1931–32, 1801–2, 1875–79 are used (but upon change of century, 1895–1914 and to avoid multiple ciphers together, 2000–2001). For two or more separate years not representing a continuous period, a comma is used instead of a dash (1875, 1879); if the word from precedes the year or the word inclusive follows it, the second year is not shortened and the word to is used in lieu of the dash (from 1933 to 1936; 1935 to 1936, inclusive).
In dates, A.D. precedes the year (A.D. 937); B.C. follows the year (254 B.C.); C.E. and B.C.E. follow the year.
d. Decimals: In text a cipher should be supplied before a decimal point if there is no whole unit, and ciphers should be omitted after a decimal point unless they indicate exact measurement.
    0.25 inch; 1.25 inches
    silver 0.900 fine
    specific gravity 0.9547
    gauge height 10.0 feet
but .30 caliber (meaning 0.30 inch, bore of small arms); 30 calibers (length)
​e. Use spaces to separate groups of three digits in a decimal fraction. (See rule 12.27.)
    0.123 456 789; but 0.1234
f. Degrees, etc. (spaces omitted):
    longitude 77°04'06" E.
    35°30'; 35°30' N.
    a polariscopic test of 85°
    an angle of 57°
    strike N. 16° E.
    dip 47° W. or 47° N. 31° W.
    25.5' (preferred) also 25'.5
    but
    two degrees of justice; 12 degrees of freedom
    32d degree Mason
    150 million degrees Fahrenheit
    30 Fahrenheit degrees
g. Game scores:
    1 up (golf)
    3 to 2 (baseball)
    7 to 6 (football), etc.
    2 all (tie)
h. Market quotations:
    4½ percent bonds
    Treasury bonds sell at 95
    Metropolitan Railroad, 109
    Dow Jones average of 10500.76
    gold is 109
    wheat at 2.30
    sugar, .03; not 0.03
i. Mathematical expressions:
    multiplied by 3
    divided by 6
    a factor of 2
    square root of 4
j. Measurements:
    7 meters
    about 10 yards
    8 by 12 inches
    8- by 12-inch page
    2 feet by 1 foot 8 inches by 1 foot 3 inches
    2 by 4 (lumber) (not 2 x 4 or 2×4)
    1½ miles
    6 acres
    9 bushels
    1 gallon
    3 ems
    20/20 (vision)
    30/30 (rifle)
    12-gauge shotgun
    2,500 horsepower
    15 cubic yards
    6-pounder
    80 foot-pounds
    10s (for yarns and threads)
    fl2.5 (lens aperture)
    but
    tenpenny nail
    fourfold
    three-ply
    five votes
    six bales
    two dozen
    one gross
    zero miles
    seven-story building
k. Money:
    $3.65; $0.75; 75 cents; 0.5 cent
    $3 (not $3.00) per 200 pounds
    75 cents apiece
    Rs32,25,644 (Indian rupees)
    2.5 francs or fr2. 5
    65 yen
    ₽265
    but
    two pennies
    three quarters
    one half
    six bits, etc.
1. Percentage:
    12 percent; 25.5 percent; 0.5 percent (or one-half of 1 percent)
    thirty-four one hundredths of 1 percent
    3.65 bonds; 3.65s; 5-20 bonds; 5-20s; 4½s; 3s
    50-50 (colloquial expression)
    5 percentage points
    a 1,100-percent increase, or an 1100-percent increase
m. Proportion:
    1 to 4
    1-3-5
    1:62,500
n. Time (see also Clock time):
    6 hours 8 minutes 20 seconds
    10 years 3 months 29 days
    7 minutes
    8 days
    4 weeks
    1 month
    3 fiscal years; third fiscal year
    1 calendar year
    millennium
but
    four centuries
    three decades
    three quarters (9 months)
    statistics of any one year
    in a year or two
    four afternoons
    one-half hour
    the eleventh hour
​o. Unit modifiers:
    5-day week
    8-year-old wine
    8-hour day
    10-foot pole
    ½-inch pipe
    5-foot-wide entrance
    10-million-peso loan
    a 5-percent increase
    20th-century progress
but
    two-story house
    five-member board
    $20 million airfield
p. Vitamins:
B$_{12}$, B$_T$, A₁, etc.
Except as indicated in rules 12.11 and 12.19, and also for day preceding month, figures are used in text and footnotes to text for serial ordinal numbers beginning with 10th. In tables, leaderwork, footnotes to tables and leaderwork, and in sidenotes, figures are used at all times. Military units are expressed in figures at all times when not the beginning of a sentence, except Corps. (For ordinals in addresses, see rule 12.13.)
    29th of May, but May 29
    First Congress; 102d Congress
    ninth century; 21st century
    Second Congressional District; 20th Congressional District
    seventh region; 17th region
    323d Fighter Wing
    12th Regiment
    9th Naval District
    7th Fleet
    7th Air Force
    7th Task Force
    eighth parallel; 38th parallel
    fifth ward; 12th ward
    ninth birthday; 66th birthday
    first grade; 11th grade
    1st Army
    1st Cavalry Division
    but
    XII Corps (Army usage)
    Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
    Seventeenth Decennial Census (title)
    This legislation was passed in the 1st session of the 102d Congress.
    He served in the 9th and 10th Congresses.
    From the 1st to the 92d Congress.
    Their children were in 1st, 2d, 3d, and 10th grades.
    We read the 8th and 12th chapters.
but The district comprised the first and second precincts.
    He represented the first, third, and fourth regions.
    The report was the sixth in a series of 14.
Ordinals and numerals appearing in a sentence are treated according to the separate rules dealing with ordinals and numerals standing alone or in a group. (See rules 12.4, 12.5, and 12.24.)
    The fourth group contained three items.
    The fourth group contained 12 items.
    The 8th and 10th groups contained three and four items, respectively.
    The eighth and ninth groups contained 9 and 12 items, respectively.
Beginning with 10th, figures are used in text matter for numbered streets, avenues, etc. However, figures are used at all times and street, avenue, etc. are abbreviated in sidenotes, tables, leaderwork, and footnotes to tables and leaderwork.
    First Street NW.; also in parentheses: (Fifth Street) (13th Street); 810 West 12th Street; North First Street; 1021 121st Street; 2031 18th Street North; 711 Fifth Avenue; 518 10th Avenue; 51-35 61st Avenue
The comma is used in a number containing four or more digits, except in serial numbers, common and decimal fractions, astronomical and military time, and kilocycles and meters of not more than four figures pertaining to radio.
In chemical formulas full-sized figures are used before the symbol or group of symbols to which they relate, and inferior figures are used after the symbol.
6PbS·(Ag,Cu)₂S·2As₂S₃O₄
Spell out numbers at the beginning of a sentence or head. Rephrase a sentence or head to avoid beginning with figures. (See rule 12.25 for related numbers.)
    Five years ago * * *; not 5 years ago * * *
    Five hundred fifty men hired * * *; not 550 men hired * * *
    "Five-Year Plan Announced"; not "5-Year Plan Announced" (head)
    The year 2065 seems far off * * *; not 2065 seems far off * * *
    Workers numbering 207,843 * * *; not 207,843 workers * * *
    Benefits of $69,603,566 * * *; not $69,603,566 worth of benefits * * *
    1958 report change to the 1958 report
    $3,000 budgeted change to the sum of $3,000 budgeted
    4 million jobless change to jobless number 4 million
In verbatim testimony, hearings, transcripts, and question and answer matter, figures are used immediately following Q. and A. or name of interrogator or witness for years (e.g., 2008), sums of money, decimals, street numbers, and for numerical expressions beginning with 101.
    Mr. Birch, Junior. 2008 was a good year.
    Mr. Bell. $1 per share was the return. Two dollars in 1956 was the alltime high. Two thousand ten may be another story.
    Colonel Davis. 92 cents.
    Mr. Smith. 12.8 people.
    Mr. Jones. 1240 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004.
    Mr. Smith. Ninety-eight persons.
    Q. 101 years? But Q. One hundred years?
    A. 200 years.
    Mr. Smith. Ten-year average would be how much?
A spelled-out number should not be repeated in figures, except in legal documents. In such instances use these forms:
    five (5) dollars, not five dollars (5)
    ten dollars ($10), not ten ($10) dollars
Numbers appearing as part of proper names, used in a hypothetical or inexact sense, or mentioned in connection with serious and dignified subjects such as Executive orders, legal proclamations, and in formal writing are spelled out.
    Three Rivers, PA, Fifteenmile Creek, etc.
    three score years and ten
    Ten Commandments
    the Thirteen Original States
    Air Force One (Presidential plane)
    in the year two thousand eight
    the One Hundred Tenth Congress
    back to square one
    millions for defense but not one cent for tribute
    behind the eight ball
    our policy since day one
If spelled out, whole numbers should be set in the following form:
    two thousand twenty
    one thousand eight hundred fifty
    one hundred fifty-two thousand three hundred five
    eighteen hundred fifty (serial number)
When spelled out, any number containing a fraction or piece of a whole should use the word "and" when stating the fraction or piece:
    sixty-two dollars and four cents
    ninety-nine and three-tenths degrees
    thirty-three and seventy-five one-hundredths shares
Numbers of less than 100 preceding a compound modifier containing a figure are spelled out.
    two ¾-inch boards
    twelve 6-inch guns
    two 5-percent discounts
    but
    120 8-inch boards
    three four-room houses
    the seventies; the early seventies; but the early 1870s or 1970s
    in his eighties, not his '80's nor 80's
    between two and three hundred horses (better between 200 and 300 horses)
    twelvefold; thirteenfold; fortyfold; hundredfold; twentyfold to thirtyfold
    midthirties (age, years, money)
    a thousand and one reasons
    but
    1 to 3 million
    mid-1971; mid-1970s
    40-odd people; nine-odd people
    40-plus people
    100-odd people
    3½-fold; 250-fold; 2.5-fold; 41-fold
    The bass weighed about 6 pounds.
    She was nearly 8 years old.
Except as indicated in rules 12.5 and 12.9, a number less than 10 is spelled out within a sentence.
    six horses
    five wells
    eight times as large
    but
    3½ cans
    2½ times or 2.5 times
For typographic appearance and easy grasp of large numbers beginning with million, the word million or billion is used.
The following are guides to treatment of figures as submitted in copy. If copy reads—
    $12,000,000, change to $12 million
    2,750,000,000 dollars, change to $2,750 million
    2.7 million dollars, change to $2.7 million
    2⅝ million dollars, change to $2⅝ million
    two and one-half million dollars, change to $2½ million
    a hundred cows, change to 100 cows
    a thousand dollars, change to $1,000
    a million and a half, change to 1½ million
    two thousand million dollars, change to $2,000 million
    less than a million dollars, change to less than $1 million
but $2,700,000, do not convert to $2.7 million
also $10 to $20 million; 10 or 20 million; between 10 and 20 million
    4 million of assets
    amounting to 4 million
    $1,270,000
    $1,270,200,000
    $¾% billion; $2.75 billion; $2,750 million
    $500,000 to $1 million
    300,000; not 300 thousand
    $½ billion to $1¼ billion (note full figure with second fraction); $1¼ to $1½ billion
    three-quarters of a billion dollars
    5 or 10 billion dollars' worth
    Fifty or sixty more miles away is snowclad Mount Everest.
    Sixty and, quite often, seventy listeners responded.
but Fifty or, in some instances, almost 60 applications were filed.
Mixed fractions are always expressed in figures. Fractions standing alone, however, or if followed by of a or of an, are generally spelled out. (See also rule 12.28.)
    three-fourths of an inch; not ¾ inch nor ¾ of an inch
    one-half inch
    one-half of a farm; not ½ of a farm
    one-fourth inch
    seven-tenths of 1 percent
    three-quarters of an inch
    half an inch Vi-inch-diameter pipe
    a quarter of an inch
    one-tenth portion
    one-hundredth
    two one-hundredths
    one-thousandth
    five one-thousandths
    thirty-five one-thousandths
    but
    ½ to 1¾ pages
    ½-inch pipe
    3½ cans
    2½ times
Fractions (¼, ½, ¾, ⅜, ⅝, ⅞, $^1$⁄$_{2954}$) or full-sized figures with the shilling mark (1/4, 1/2954) may be used only when either is specifically requested. A comma should not be used in any part of a built-up fraction of four or more digits or in decimals. (See rule 12.9e.)
Fractions are used in a unit modifier.
    ½-inch pipe; not one-half-inch pipe
    ¼-mile run
    ⅞-point rise
Numerals :
| I | 1 | XXV | 25 | LXX | 70 | D | 500 |
| II | 2 | XXIX | 29 | LXXV | 75 | DC | 600 |
| III | 3 | XXX | 30 | LXXIX | 79 | DCC | 700 |
| IV | 4 | XXXV | 35 | LXXX | 80 | DCCC | 800 |
| V | 5 | XXXIX | 39 | LXXXV | 85 | CM | 900 |
| VI | 6 | XL | 40 | LXXXIX | 89 | M | 1,000 |
| VII | 7 | XLV | 45 | XC | 90 | MD | 1,500 |
| VIII | 8 | XLLX | 49 | XCV | 95 | MM | 2,000 |
| IX | 9 | L | 50 | C | 99 | MMM | 3,000 |
| X | 10 | LV | 55 | C | 100 | MMMM or MV | 4,000 |
| XV | 15 | LIX | 59 | CL | 150 | MMMM or MV |
| XIX | 19 | LX | 60 | CC | 200 | V | 5,000 |
| XX | 20 | LXV | 65 | CCC | 300 | M | 1,000,000 |
| | | LXLX | 69 | CD | 400 | | |
Dates :
| MDC | 1600 | MCMXX | 1920 | MCMLXX | 1970 |
| MDCC | 1700 | MCMXXX | 1930 | MCMLXXX | 1980 |
| MDCCC | 1800 | MCMXL | 1940 | MCMXC | 1990 |
| MCMorMDCCCC | 1900 | MCML | 1950 | MM | 2000 |
| MCMX | 1910 | MCMLX | 1960 | MMX | 2010 |