Capitalization

Nouns

Creating trustworthy and approachable content relies largely on consistency. Inconsistent spellings and capitalizations undermine authority. USAC follows these capitalization guidelines:

• Do capitalize proper nouns, including names of individuals, places, and agencies.
• Don’t capitalize general nouns like the filer, the applicant, the provider, or the entity.

When you are deciding whether to capitalize noun phrases, keep in mind that title case often creates formality. Using it judiciously can help clarify that you are speaking about a specific, official thing (such as a form, office, or person). Overuse can imply formality or officialness where it doesn’t exist. For instance:

• It makes sense to capitalize the phrase, "FCC Form 481, Carrier Annual Reporting Data Collection Form," because you want users to know the exact, official title of that specific form.
• It could confuse users to capitalize contribution adjustments or the program’s forms because those phrases could refer to any number of possible adjustments or forms.

See additional capitalization rules in the Common USAC language section.

Personal titles

Don’t capitalize personal titles unless they precede a name. For example, the director got approval or Director Lopez got approval. Whenever possible, keep titles gender-neutral. For example, chairperson instead of chairman.

Headings

Headlines, page titles, subheadings, and similar content should be written in title case and should not include a trailing colon.

For example:

• Filing Window Closing