In typography, a reference relating to the main body of text, positioned at the bottom of the page. Footnotes are referenced by certain symbols (*, †, ‡, etc.), letters, or numbers, most often in superior or superscript form.
A footnote begins on the same page as its reference call, but it may be carried over to the bottom of successive pages. A short rule or additional space should separate the footnote from the text. The first line of each footnote is normally slightly indented.
Point sizes for footnotes are usually 7- or 8-point. By law, footnotes in financial forms, annual reports, prospectuses, and other SEC documents must be no smaller than the text size, which is 10-point.
The most common sequence of footnote reference marks is: 1. asterisk (*), 2. dagger (†), 3. double dagger (††), 4. paragraph symbol (¶), 5. section mark (§), 6. parallel rules (||), 7. number sign (#). If more are required, they can be doubled up: double asterisks (**), double single daggers (††), double double daggers (††††), etc. However, when many footnotes are used, it is more practical to use consecutive numbers to identify each footnote.