Section sign

Two interlocking S shapes, used to cite a numbered section of a text.

Also known as: Silcrow, Legal section symbol, Double S

Keyboard & punctuationEveryday & digitalStandard profile

Meanings

The section sign cites a numbered section, most often of legislation or a contract. Doubled, it refers to more than one section at once.

Common modern usageVerified fact
Cites a numbered section of a statute, contract or other structured document, as in § 4.
Contexts: Software
Common modern usageVerified fact
Is doubled (§§) to cite a range or several sections at once.
Contexts: Software
Common modern usageCommon usage
Is frequently confused with the pilcrow, which marks a paragraph rather than a section.
Contexts: Software

Two S-shaped curves stacked and overlapping vertically, the upper one offset slightly from the lower.

Commonly confused with: Pilcrow
Section against paragraph; both are reference marks in legal and editorial text.

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is defined by a current official standard.
Historical originLow confidence: Low confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is defined by a current official standard.

Section sign
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-30
Tertiary reference. Used for widely-agreed identity and origin summary, not for contested detail or exact dates.
Unicode Code Chart: Latin-1 Supplement (U+0080–U+00FF)
The Unicode Consortium · retrieved 2026-07-30
Authoritative for the character's code point, name and block only. Unicode assigns identity; it does not define what a symbol means in use.

Last reviewed 2026-07-30

Meanings

The section sign cites a numbered section, most often of legislation or a contract. Doubled, it refers to more than one section at once.

Common modern usageVerified fact

Cites a numbered section of a statute, contract or other structured document, as in § 4.

Contexts: Software

Common modern usageVerified fact

Is doubled (§§) to cite a range or several sections at once.

Contexts: Software

Common modern usageCommon usage

Is frequently confused with the pilcrow, which marks a paragraph rather than a section.

Contexts: Software

Confidence

IdentityHigh confidence: High confidence because the identity is defined by a current official standard.
Historical originLow confidence: Low confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Visual matchHigh confidence: High confidence because the visual match is defined by a current official standard.

Sources

Section sign
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-07-30
Tertiary reference. Used for widely-agreed identity and origin summary, not for contested detail or exact dates.
Unicode Code Chart: Latin-1 Supplement (U+0080–U+00FF)
The Unicode Consortium · retrieved 2026-07-30
Authoritative for the character's code point, name and block only. Unicode assigns identity; it does not define what a symbol means in use.

Last reviewed 2026-07-30