How to Add Captions and Subtitles in Premiere Pro | 101 Guide

Key takeaways:

• Automatically transcribe with Premiere Pro: Premiere Pro version 15.4 or later includes Speech to Text to automatically transcribe and add captions to videos.
• Transcribing your captions by hand is possible: You can import caption files (like SRT) or create and edit captions manually for more control.
• Customizable captions and presets: You can customize fonts, size, position, and backgrounds, and save presets to keep a consistent, professional look.
• Riverside is a more intuitive alternative: Riverside automatically transcribes your video content instantly, so you get transcripts and captions without extra steps.

Subtitles and captions aren’t a nice-to-have, they’re essential. They help people watch longer, improve accessibility, and make your videos easier to find.

Want to know how to add captions and subtitles in Premiere Pro? We’ll show you how in this step-by-step guide, so your videos look polished, engaging, and professional.

How to automatically add subtitles or captions in Premiere Pro

You don’t need to waste time manually typing captions. Premiere Pro’s built-in Speech to Text makes it simple to auto-generate and style captions. 

Follow these steps:

Step 1: Open the transcript menu

With your timeline open, select the entire audio track, or only the section that needs captions.

Next, go to “Window” and select “Text” from the menu to open the “Transcript” panel.

Step 2: Transcribe your audio

With the panel open, select “Transcribe” and Premiere Pro will automatically generate a transcript. It should only take a few minutes, depending on how large your audio file is.

Step 3: Format your captions

Once the transcript is ready, select the “Closed Captions” (CC) icon.

Set your captioning preferences, such as formatting, character length, duration, and whether to display single or double lines.

When you’re happy, click “Create Captions”.

Step 4: Edit your captions

Check your captions for spelling and grammar mistakes. Premiere is quite accurate but it’s not perfect.

If you spot an error, highlight the caption to open the “Captions” window. Select the text you wish to edit, hit the “Pencil” icon and make your changes.

Step 5: Customize your captions

To change how your captions appear on the screen, highlight the captions in the timeline and open “Properties” in the left-hand panel.

If you can’t see “Properties”, head to “Window” to make sure it’s selected.

Choose your preferred font, text size, alignment, and background to match your style.

Save your look as a preset for future projects. Go to “Track Style”, “Create Style,” name it, and hit “OK”.

How to import captions or subtitles into Premiere Pro

Premiere Pro supports external caption files, but they need to be saved as an SRT file before you can import them. 

Once you’ve got them ready, here’s how to import them into Premiere Pro:

Step 1: Import your captions

You have two options to import your captions.

Option 1 - Import through the text panel

With your timeline open, select the “Text” tab at the top left. If you don’t see this, just to “Window” and make sure “Text” is selected.

In the text panel, choose “Import captions from file.” Locate your SRT file and click “Open.” 

You can also use “Cmd + I” (Mac) or “Ctrl + I” (Windows) to open your file library.

The “Caption Track” panel will open. Select the start point for your captions and click “OK.”

Option 2 - Import through drag and drop

Drag and drop your SRT file directly into the “Project” panel. If you don’t see this, just to “Window” and make sure “Project” is selected.

From the “Project” panel, drag the SRT file onto your timeline. Select the starting point (source timescale, playhead position, or timeline start) and click “OK.”

Your captions will appear on their own track. If they’re out of sync, just drag them along the timeline to adjust.

Step 2: Edit your captions

It’s important to proofread for typos or sync errors, and make the necessary caption edits. Highlight your subtitles and click on the “Captions” tab in the top left.

Select the “Pencil” icon just above your transcript to edit the text directly.

Step 3: Customize your captions

You can customize how your captions appear on the screen.

Head to “Properties.” If you can’t see it, make sure it's selected in the “Window” menu at the top of the screen.

Here, you can customize the font, text size, alignment, background color, and more.

Remember, you can save your look as a preset. Go to “Track Style”, “Create Style”, give it a name and hit “OK.”‍

Read more: Closed Captions vs Subtitles: The Difference & When to Use Each 

How to add subtitles or captions to a video in Premiere Pro manually

This is the slowest method and not usually recommended, but if you want complete control over your captions, here’s how to add them manually:

Step 1: Create a new caption track

Head to the “Text” tab. If you don’t see this, go to “Window” and make sure “Text” is enabled.

Select “Create new caption track.” 

Next, select “Subtitle” and then hit “OK.” A new caption track will appear at the top of your timeline.

Step 2: Create your captions

In the “Text” tab, click the “+” icon to add a new caption line.

Play the video, listen to the audio, and type your text. Repeat this process until the video is fully captioned.

To adjust timing, drag and resize the caption blocks directly in the timeline.

Step 3: Check for mistakes

Once you have transcribed your audio, check for spelling mistakes, typos, and sync errors.

You can edit text anytime in the “Captions” panel. For long projects, take regular breaks. Fatigue makes it easier to miss mistakes.

How to automatically add subtitles with Riverside

Premiere Pro does have a steep learning curve when it comes to adding captions. With Riverside, the process is much simpler.

Captions are auto-generated as soon as you upload, so you can go straight to editing. Plus, you can record and edit in one place, streamlining your entire workflow.

Here’s how to add subtitles with Riverside:

Step 1: Open the editor

Login to your Riverside account. From your dashboard, click the “Edit” button then select the video you want to add the captions to.

Step 2: Trim and edit your transcript

Once inside the editor, your video will appear on the right, and Riverside’s automatic transcript will appear on the left. 

In the text-based editor, trim or cut parts of the transcript, and your video updates instantly to match.

Step 3: Customize your captions

Riverside supports 100+ languages, so you can create captions and subtitles for global audiences in seconds.

Click the “Captions” icon in the right toolbar.

Choose the style of your captions. You can also adjust font, size, case, color, and alignment.

Drag captions around the screen to change their placement.

To save your style as a preset, click on the three dots icon “...” and select “Add to my brand.”

When you’re happy with your edit, click “Export” at the top right of the screen.

How to export captions in Premiere Pro

You can export your captions in Premiere Pro either as a separate SRT file or burned into your video.

Let’s run through the steps.

Option 1: Separate SRT file

Select the subtitles in the timeline, click “File”, “Export”, “Captions” and then finally, “OK”. Choose where to save the SRT file on your device and click “Save.”

Alternatively, open “Export Settings”, go to “Captions,” and select “Create Sidecar File” to generate a separate caption file (such as an SRT or XML file).

Option 2: Burned into the video

Open the “Export Settings” window by going to “File,” “Export,” and then “Media” (or use “Cmd + M” on Mac and “Ctrl + M” on Windows).

In “Export Settings,” find the “Captions” tab on the left hand side. In “Export Options,” select “Burn Captions Into Video”.

How to export captions in Riverside

Riverside gives you a few more options when it comes to exporting captions.

Option 1:Download or copy

In the editor, open the transcript on the left. Click the three dots “…” and choose: 

• “Download transcript” as a text document.
• “Download subtitles” as a SRT or VTT file. 
• “Copy transcript” to your clipboard for pasting anywhere.

Option 2: Burned into the video

To export your video with captions burned in, click “Export” and select your preferred video quality (1080p or higher recommended). 

You can also use Riverside’s AI features to normalize audio levels and remove any unwanted background noise.

Troubleshooting tips for adding captions and subtitles in Premiere Pro

Running into issues is frustrating, but most caption problems in Premiere Pro come down to settings or version mismatches. Try these fixes before you throw your device out of the window:

Captions not exporting

Under “Export Settings” make sure the “Burn Captions Into Video” or “Create Sidecar File” settings are turned on. If they’re not, captions won’t appear in the exported file.

Captions out of sync

This often happens if you’ve changed the frame rate after importing your captions. Make sure that the caption track accurately lines up with the audio waveform. Drag the captions directly on the timeline or use the “Text” panel to adjust timing of the transcript.

Captions not visible in playback

This is another timeline issue. Confirm the “Caption track” is enabled in the timeline. If it’s not, look for the eyeball toggle for visibility. Also make sure that the “CC” icon is switched on.

Can’t edit captions

You can freely edit the “Open Captions” and “Subtitle Tracks,” but the “Closed Captions”  have some limitations. Also, make sure that the caption track on your timeline isn’t locked.

Caption import issues

This could be down to the file format. Make sure you’re importing a file that is supported by Premiere such as SRT (must be UTF-8 without formatting errors). 

Sometimes importing just doesn’t work, no matter what. If you can’t import through the “Text” panel, try dragging and dropping the file into your “Projects” panel, or vice versa.

If you’re still running into issues with any of the above, update to the latest Premiere Pro version. Older builds sometimes have bugs with caption handling.

FAQs about how to add captions and subtitles in Premiere Pro

What shortcut options are available for captions in Premiere Pro?

There are a few caption shortcuts in Premiere Pro, here are the most commonly used ones:

• “Cmd + I” (Mac) or “Ctrl+I” (Windows): Opens the window to import your SRT captions file.
• “Alt + Cmd + C” (Mac) or “Alt + Ctrl + C” (Windows): Adds a new caption segment when the caption track is active.
• “Cmd + Opt + K (Mac) or “Ctrl + Alt + K” (Windows): Toggles the captions display in the program monitor.

What is an SRT file and how do I make one?

SRT stands for SubRip Subtitle and is one of the most widely used formats for captions and subtitles. It’s a simple plain-text file that contains text and timecodes to tell the video player when the text should appear and disappear on screen. Platforms like Premiere Pro or Riverside typically export captions and subtitles as SRT files by default.

How to add subtitles to a video for free?

It’s super easy to add subtitles for free in Riverside. Simply record within the platform or upload a video, and Riverside will instantly transcribe the audio automatically. 

In the built-in editor, edit and trim both your captions and video, and customize the style. Once you’re happy, export your creation and Riverside will burn the captions directly into your video.

Which subtitle formats does Premiere Pro support?

Premiere Pro only supports SRT files when uploading video captions. SRT stands for SubRip Subtitle, the most common file format for captions and subtitles. 

What version of Premiere Pro has auto-captions?

Auto-captions were first introduced by Premiere Pro in 2021, with their 15.4 version of the software. With the Speech to Text software, users can automatically generate captions for their videos without using an external tool.

Can you create dynamic captions in Premiere Pro? 

You can apply dynamic caption effects in Premiere Pro in a few ways:

• Navigate to the “Effects” panel to access the text animation presets. Choose a preset and drag it onto your timeline's text layer.
• Apply animation by right-clicking and selecting “Upgrade Caption to Graphic” in the captions editor. Then, use keyframes to animate text properties.
• Use plugins like SubMachine and Captioner, which have extensive customization options for captions, including Motion Graphic Templates.

How do you create your own captions preset on Premiere Pro?

To create captions presets in Premiere Pro, double-click the subtitle track on your timeline to open “Essential Graphics”. Choose how you want your captions to display, such as font, text size, alignment, and color.

Save your design under “Track Style”, “Create Style”, and name it. Hit “OK” to save your preset.

The next time you generate a transcript and captions, you can automatically apply that style for faster, more consistent editing.