# How to turn on Zoom captions as host or participant
> Where the host switches on Zoom's automated captions, how participants show or request them, and what to check when the Show captions button is missing.
- URL: https://freelivecaption.com/en/posts/zoom-captions
- Published: 2026-10-11
- Updated: 2026-10-11
- Author: Jonas Weber (https://freelivecaption.com/en/about)
- Topic: Meetings (https://freelivecaption.com/en/topics/meetings)
## Summary
- The host or an admin has to switch on automated captions in the Zoom web portal first. After that, anyone in the meeting can click Show captions.
- If the host limited who can enable captions, you click Request captions and the host approves or declines.
- Zoom says automated captions are on by default for paid accounts, and some accounts don't have the setting at all.
- Since late May 2026 Zoom no longer lets you save captions after a meeting. The host or admin has to turn on meeting transcripts instead.
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## Turning captions on as the host
Zoom's [page on enabling automated captions](https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0058810) puts the switch in the web portal, under In Meeting (Advanced). Zoom says the setting is enabled by default for paid accounts, and that some accounts don't have it. If you don't see it, the page tells you to contact your Account Executive. Free accounts get no mention on that page. A Zoom [blog post from October 2021](https://www.zoom.com/en/blog/zoom-auto-generated-captions/) announced auto-generated captions for free accounts, so a free host should look for the toggle, but if it isn't there, neither page gives a way to switch it on.
1. Sign in to the Zoom web portal and open Settings → Meeting. Admins can instead use Account Management → Account Settings → Meeting, or User Management → Groups, pick the group, then open its Meeting tab.
2. Under In Meeting (Advanced), turn on Automated captions. The pencil icon next to it picks the languages. A lock icon means an admin has locked the setting at a higher level, and only they can change it.
3. To control who can switch captions on, tick "Allow only the following users to enable captions" and choose Host, or Host and Co-host. Participants can then ask for captions instead of starting them.
4. In the meeting, click Show captions in the toolbar. Captions start on their own.
A second toggle, Automated captions on device, lets supported devices process captions locally. Zoom lists Zoom Workplace desktop app 6.5.3 or higher for it, so update the app if you can't find it.
Zoom's [guide for hosts](https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0062813) warns that accuracy depends on background noise, how clearly people speak and their dialects. If you need speech-to-text for compliance or accessibility, it recommends a manual captioner or a service that can guarantee a specific accuracy.
## Showing captions as a participant
On a desktop app, click the Show captions icon in the meeting toolbar. If the icon isn't on the toolbar, click More, then Show captions. On the mobile app, tap More, then Show CC. Zoom's [guide to viewing captions](https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0059762) lists the same steps for the web app, where the icon is in the toolbar.
To change how captions look, open the Accessibility panel during the meeting. It has a Font size slider, and you can also pick colors, a font and whether captions are pinned or floating. To skip the click in future meetings on a desktop app, click your profile picture → Settings → Accessibility, then under Closed captioning turn on "Always show captions in meetings and webinars".
The same guide says the spoken-language setting tells Zoom which language to listen for and caption in. If it doesn't match what people are speaking, the captions come out wrong, so set it before you decide the captions are bad.
## Only for you, or for everyone?
Each person turns captions on from their own toolbar, and clicking the captions icon again hides them for you alone. Zoom says changes to font size, color and layout are visible only to you and don't change what other participants see.
The host decides whether captions exist in the meeting at all. To turn them off for everyone, the host clicks the up arrow next to Show captions, then Host controls → Host caption control settings, and switches off "Allow closed captioning for this meeting". The languages on offer follow the host's automated caption settings, so a language missing from your list is something only the host can fix, with the pencil icon in the web portal.
Translated captions have their own rules and plan limits. See [Zoom translated captions and plans](/en/posts/zoom-translated-captions-plans).
## If Show captions is missing
Try these in order.
1. Open the More menu. On a crowded toolbar, Zoom moves Show captions there.
2. Look for Request captions. When the host has restricted who can enable captions, you can ask instead of starting them. The host and possibly co-hosts get a window with Enable and Decline, and nothing happens until one of them answers, so ask in chat if you're waiting.
3. Check the host's setting. If you're the host and Automated captions is off, you can't start captions in the meeting. If a lock icon shows, an admin set it for your account or group. If the toggle is missing, the account may not have automated captions, and Zoom's page says to contact your Account Executive.
4. Update the Zoom app. Zoom says the desktop or mobile app has to meet the global minimum version, and captions on device need Workplace desktop app 6.5.3 or higher.
5. Check the language. If the one you need isn't offered, the host has to add it in the web portal.
6. Check whether you hid the captions. Click the captions icon again, or turn on "Always show captions in meetings and webinars" in the Accessibility tab.
If the host can't or won't turn captions on, Vocena on a Mac can caption what your Mac plays, including a Zoom meeting. Its live captions are free with no time limit, and it listens to your device's audio without joining the call. It needs macOS 15.5 or later. Vocena also runs on iPhone and iPad (iOS / iPadOS 26 or later), but captioning another app's audio there needs an iOS 27 physical device. For other tools, see [live captions on every device](/en/posts/live-captions-every-device) and [live caption apps for Mac](/en/posts/live-caption-apps-mac).
## Captions after the meeting ends
Zoom's [FAQ on captions and transcripts](https://support.zoom.com/hc/en/article?id=zm_kb&sysparm_article=KB0085668) says captions are a live feature and can't be saved once the meeting ends. The change rolled out between May 24 and 26, 2026. During a meeting you can scroll back through the last 3 minutes of captions.
Saved text now comes from meeting transcripts. They're off by default, and a host or admin has to turn them on, under Meeting → In Meeting (Advanced) → Meeting transcript. Steps for saving and downloading are in [saving a Zoom transcript](/en/posts/zoom-transcript-save).
## Sources and checks
- [Enabling or disabling automated captions (Zoom Support)]() — Checked 2026-10-05
- [Managing automated captions as the host of a meeting or webinar (Zoom Support)]() — Checked 2026-10-05
- [Viewing captions in a meeting or webinar (Zoom Support)]() — Checked 2026-10-05
- [Frequently asked questions about meeting captions and transcript updates (May 2026) (Zoom Support)]() — Checked 2026-10-05
- [Zoom's Auto-Generated Captions Available to All Free Users (Zoom blog, October 25, 2021)]() — Checked 2026-10-05