Ampersands in Titles
An ampersand is meaningful text, not merely decorative punctuation. Chicago normally limits ampersands in edited prose but preserves them in established terms, corporate names, verbatim quotations, and work titles that use the symbol.
If a title or protected name genuinely contains “&,” preserve it. Do not silently rewrite an ampersand to “and” merely to run a capitalization rule.
Key details
Important caveats
Automation boundary
Known names and verbatim titles take precedence over normalization.
Further guidance
Capitalization
The words on either side still follow the relevant title-case rules; the ampersand itself is passed through unchanged.
Preservation
Chicago allows an ampersand when mentioning a work title that contains one and preserves it in established company or brand names.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- Headlines and Titles of Works — Chicago Q&A (opens in a new tab)The Chicago Manual of Style / University of Chicago Press · Chicago title-case rules and current-edition updates
- Title case capitalization (opens in a new tab)American Psychological Association · APA title-case rules
- How should I capitalize the title of a handout? (opens in a new tab)MLA Style Center / Modern Language Association · MLA title-style capitalization
- Chicago guidance on ampersands (opens in a new tab)The Chicago Manual of Style · Ampersands in names, quotations, and titles