Workiva Support Center

XBRL footnote requirements

Use XBRL footnotes to tag text at the bottom of face financial pages preceded by distinct superscripts as required by the SEC. While you are required to tag XBRL footnotes on the face statements, they are optional within the notes to the financial statements (see SEC Staff Interpretations and FAQs Question F.3).

Tag XBRL footnotes

To tag text below a table as a footnote:

1

Open the document and make sure Show XBRL is on.

2

Choose an XBRL profile if one is not already applied.

3

Select the footnote text. Do not include the footnote identifier, such as (1).

4

Click Attributes on the XBRL toolbar, then highlight XBRL Footnotes and choose Create.

5

Name the footnote and click Apply. 

XBRL footnotes appear in yellow.

Apply footnotes to related facts

To apply an XBRL footnote to the related XBRL Fact in the table:

1

Select the table cell(s) that is related to the XBRL footnote.

2

In the Fact Details panel, click Apply New under XBRL Footnotes.

3

Select the footnote and click Apply.

Footnotes applied to a fact are listed under XBRL Footnote in the Fact Details panel.

Manage XBRL footnotes

To make changes to an XBRL footnote:

• Edit text in a footnote: Changing the text of a footnote within the document will automatically update the XBRL footnote applied to that text. When adding text to the beginning or end of an existing footnote, it may be necessary to recreate the footnote to ensure that the new text is properly included.
• Change an XBRL footnote name: Click Attributes on the XBRL toolbar, highlight XBRL Footnotes, and choose Manage. Find the footnote you want to rename and double-click the footnote name to make changes.
• Remove an XBRL footnote from a fact: Select the fact and open the Fact Details panel. Under XBRL Footnotes, use the dropdown next to the footnote and click Remove.
  
• Moving or resizing a footnote: When you need to move a footnote, first remove it from the current text selection and apply it to another selection of text.
• Delete an XBRL footnote from the document: Click Attributes on the XBRL toolbar, highlight XBRL Footnotes, and choose Manage. Click on the footnote and click Delete.