To format text in the iPhone Notes app, select the text and tap the Aa button above the keyboard. From there you can make text a Title, Heading or Subheading, apply bold, italic, underline or strikethrough, create bulleted, dashed or numbered lists, indent text, and on iOS 18 and later, highlight text in one of five colors. You can also tap Aa before you start typing to set the style for what comes next.
Below is every formatting option in Notes, how to highlight text, and how to add checklists, tables and collapsible sections.
- Open a note in the Notes app.
- Double-tap a word to select it, then drag the handles to select more text. Or tap where you want to start typing.
- Tap the Aa button in the toolbar above the keyboard.
- Choose the formatting you want. Tap the X to close the menu.
You can also select text and tap Format in the pop-up menu (tap the arrow to see more options if it’s hidden).
Text styles
| Style | What it does |
|---|---|
| Title | Large bold text, usually for the first line |
| Heading | Section headings |
| Subheading | Smaller headings within a section |
| Body | Normal text |
| Monostyled | Fixed-width text, handy for code or lining up columns |
| B / I / U / S | Bold, italic, underline and strikethrough |
How to highlight text in iPhone Notes
On iOS 18 and later, Notes has five highlight colors: pink, purple, orange, mint and blue.
- Select the text you want to highlight.
- Tap Aa.
- Tap one of the color circles. If you only see one circle, tap it to see all five.
The colors change the text color rather than adding a marker-style background. To remove it, select the text, tap Aa and tap the same color again.
On older versions of iOS, there’s no text highlighter. A workaround is to use bold or underline, or to highlight with the Markup tools (below).
Highlight with the Markup tool
For a hand-drawn highlighter effect, such as on a scanned document or a sketch in a note:
- Tap the pen icon (Markup) in the toolbar.
- Choose the highlighter from the drawing tools and pick a color.
- Draw over the area you want to highlight, then tap Done.
Lists and indentation
- Bulleted, dashed and numbered lists: Tap Aa and choose a list style. Press Return to add the next item, and Return twice to end the list.
- Indent: Tap the indent buttons in the Aa menu, or swipe right on a list item to indent it and left to outdent it.
- Block quote: Tap the quote button in the Aa menu to indent a paragraph with a line beside it.
- Checklists: Tap the checklist button (a circle with a check mark) in the toolbar. Tap a circle to check an item off.
Tables and collapsible sections
- Table: Tap the table button in the toolbar. Tap the three dots above a row or column to add, delete or move it.
- Collapsible sections: On iOS 18 and later, any Heading or Subheading can be collapsed. Tap the heading and then the arrow that appears beside it to hide or show the text below.
Set the default style for new notes
- Go to Settings > Apps > Notes (or Settings > Notes on iOS 17 and earlier).
- Tap New Notes Start With.
- Choose Title, Heading, Subheading or Body for the first line of every new note.
If formatting options are missing
- The note is in a Gmail or other email account: Notes stored in those accounts only support plain text. Move the note to an iCloud or On My iPhone folder to get full formatting.
- Your notes haven’t been upgraded: If you see a banner to upgrade your notes, tap it. Older notes don’t support newer features.
- Highlight colors missing: They need iOS 18 or later. Check Settings > General > Software Update.
Keyboard shortcuts with a hardware keyboard
If you use a keyboard with your iPhone or iPad, Command + B, Command + I and Command + U apply bold, italic and underline. Hold the Command key to see more shortcuts available in Notes.
Related: upgrade notes on an iPhone.
Related: turn on the On My iPhone account in Notes.
Related: transfer notes from a Huawei phone to an iPhone.
The first line of a note also becomes its title, which matters when you sort your notes by title instead of date.
Frequently asked questions
Can I change the font in iPhone Notes?
No. Notes uses the system font. You can change styles, but not the font itself. To make text bigger everywhere, adjust Settings > Display & Brightness > Text Size.
Does formatting sync to my Mac and iPad?
Yes, for notes stored in iCloud. Highlight colors and collapsible sections need recent software on every device.
Can I copy formatted text from Notes into another app?
Yes. Bold, italic and lists usually carry over to apps that support rich text, such as Mail and Pages.
Kermit Matthews runs Live2Tech from just outside Philadelphia. He is an IT specialist with over 20 years of experience, from a university help desk to small-business IT, IT management and his own consulting practice, and has written tech guides full time since 2020. Steps are checked against the current software on a real device or the maker’s official documentation. More about Kermit.