Add Captions to YouTube Video

This free guide teaches you how to add captions to any YouTube video. Together, we’ll study how to:

1. Use automatic captions provided by YouTube
2. Add custom captions to your own YouTube videos
3. Request to add captions to videos that aren’t yours

Steps in this guide are the same for Desktop + Mobile.

Want to add captions to Shorts? We’ve got a separate guide for that.

---

How to Add Subtitles/Captions to YouTube Videos

1. Go to YouTube Studio
2. Click “Content” → Select a video
3. Go to “Subtitles” on the left
4. Select “Add Language” → Select your language
5. Add your captions: Type, Import, or Sync
6. Publish changes

Above is what you’ll see up until Step 4.

Next up, start typing your subtitles/captions. To do that, you should click “Add” like in the image above — then you’ll see this:

For this example, we chose the “Type Subtitles” feature.

Pro Tip: You can either type them yourself, import a file with automatic subtitles, leave it up to YouTube’s Auto-Captions feature, or automatically translate them to another language.

Choose whichever option’s best for your video.

---

How to Add Subtitles to a YouTube Video that IS NOT yours

Answer: To add contribute with subtitles to someone else’s video, create a SRT/TXT file with the subtitles + timestamps. Then, contact the video’s creator and sed them the file.

This is what your file would look like when finished:

Step-by-step process:

1. Create a new Text File
2. Type in the subtitles, along with their timestamps
3. Save the document
4. Contact the video’s maker and send them the file

All of this is rather up to the creator. You do the work, but they have to approve it.

---

FAQ

1. Can I add subtitles to a YouTube video that is not mine?

No, you can’t directly add subtitles to a YouTube video you don’t own. However, you can request the creator’s approval to create a text file with the subtitles, then send it over to the creator.

2. Can you automatically add subtitles to YouTube videos?

Yes, YouTube can automatically generate subtitles using its speech recognition technology. The accuracy may vary depending on the video’s audio quality and language.

3. Why can’t I add subtitles to my YouTube video?

You might not be able to add subtitles to your YouTube video if the feature is disabled in your account settings, if you’re using an account type that doesn’t support it, or if there’s a technical issue.

To re-enable subtitles for your YouTube video:

1. Sign in to YouTube Studio: Go to studio.youtube.com and sign in.
2. Select the video: From the left menu, select ‘Content’ and click on the video you want to edit.
3. Subtitles: In the left menu, click ‘Subtitles.’
4. Add subtitles: Click ‘Add language,’ select your language, and then click ‘Add’ under ‘Subtitles.’

If subtitles were previously disabled, make sure you have the proper permissions and account type that allows subtitle editing.

---

Thanks a lot for reading this,
David Ch
Head of the Editing Team at SendShort