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Premiere Pro captions not showing: preview and export fixes

If captions are not showing in Premiere Pro, first enable the eye icon on the caption track and move the playhead over a caption clip. If they show in the Program Monitor but disappear from the exported video, set Captions > Export Options > Burn Captions Into Video. A transcript alone does not create visible captions.

These steps use the current Premiere interface. Older tutorials may show Essential Graphics or a Program Monitor CC menu; use the caption track controls and Properties panel in current versions.

1. Enable the caption track's eye icon

Find the caption track above the video tracks in the Timeline. Turn on its eye icon, then park the playhead inside one of its caption clips. If you have several caption tracks, enable the one you want to preview. Expand the track header if the control is hard to see.

Also confirm that you are looking at the Program Monitor for the same sequence, rather than a source clip. Scrub through a few caption clips to see whether the problem affects the whole track or only one caption.

2. Create captions from the transcript

Open Window > Text. Words in the Transcript tab are transcription data, not a visible caption track. In the Captions tab, choose Create captions from transcript, select the appropriate format, and create the captions. For ordinary subtitles, the Subtitle format is a useful starting point.

If there is no transcript yet, transcribe the sequence first. Follow the complete Premiere Pro caption workflow if you need the setup steps.

3. Check the caption's timing and appearance

Select an affected caption clip and open Window > Properties. Check the font size, fill color, background, and position: text can be present but hard to see against the footage or positioned outside the frame. Try a readable white fill with a dark background before restoring your preferred style.

A caption only appears during its clip's duration. Check the in and out points, especially after importing an SRT file or moving the sequence. Use the caption timing guide for offsets, or the caption font guide for styling.

4. Choose how captions should leave Premiere

Open Export mode and expand Captions. The available options depend on the track type and export format:

• None exports the video without captions.
• Burn Captions Into Video makes text part of the picture. Use this when you want it visible in the video itself.
• Create Sidecar File saves a separate caption file, such as SRT. The video does not display that text until a platform or player loads the file.
• Embed In Output File, where supported, stores a selectable caption stream. The player must support and enable it.

If the Captions section is disabled, check whether the source sequence actually contains a caption track. See captions missing after export for the delivery checks.

5. Check the file you are playing

For a sidecar export, upload or load the caption file alongside the video. For embedded closed captions, enable captions in a compatible player. Opening only the MP4 does not load a separate SRT automatically in every player.

To isolate the problem, export a short section with captions burned in. If that file displays the text, return to the sidecar or embedded delivery settings rather than changing the caption wording.

What if the text is a graphic rather than a caption?

Text made with the Type tool, upgraded captions, and Captions Gen output lives on video tracks as graphics. Check the video track's output, the graphic clip's duration and appearance, and any layers covering it. The caption export options do not turn those graphics on or off.

Still missing?

Test a new short sequence with one fresh Subtitle caption and default styling. If that works, compare its track, timing, and export settings with the affected sequence. Save a copy of the project before resetting settings or rebuilding a track.

References: Adobe's caption track visibility controls, caption creation workflow, and caption export options.