# Scene number > A scene number identifies a scene in a shooting script. Once numbers are locked, Scene 42 keeps its number so schedules, sides, and crew notes agree. ## In practice Spec scripts usually omit scene numbers. Shooting scripts add them when the draft becomes a production document that departments must cite in boards and sides. Scene 42 should mean the same unit for wardrobe, locations, and the AD even after nearby pages gain revisions overnight. After lock, an inserted scene can receive a lettered number such as 42A. A removed scene keeps its existing number with an OMITTED marker. These preserve the references in sides, lined scripts, and schedules without renumbering the scenes that follow. Writers sometimes number a spec to look "more professional." Readers often read that as a shooting-draft costume on a sales draft. Add numbers when production, a classroom assignment, or a specific submission guideline asks for them — not as decorative seriousness on the first page. ## See it formatted - [How to number screenplay scenes for production](https://www.inkwell.software/resources/screenplay-formatting/scene-numbers-production-drafts): When to add scene numbers, how locked pages and A/B scenes work, and why spec scripts usually omit them. Includes screenplay examples and revision guidance. ## Try it in a free tool - [Free script breakdown tool](https://www.inkwell.software/tools/script-breakdown): Break down a Fountain or Final Draft screenplay privately in your browser: scene sheets, eighths, cast, locations, day/night, and exportable CSVs. - [Free Final Draft FDX inspector](https://www.inkwell.software/tools/fdx-inspector): Open an FDX file privately in your browser to inventory revision sets, locked pages, scene numbers, and portability risks before you import or convert. [Add, preserve, and hide scene numbers](https://www.inkwell.software/resources/screenplay-formatting/scene-numbers-production-drafts) ## Common questions ### How do I add scene numbers in Final Draft? Choose Scene Numbers from the Production menu, select Scene Heading, and choose Number/Renumber. For an already issued draft, use Keep Existing Numbers so new scenes receive lettered numbers without changing the published references. ### Should my spec script have scene numbers? Generally no — readers treat numbered specs as trying to look like shooting drafts. Add numbers when production or a classroom assignment asks for them. ### What does a lettered scene number like 12A mean? It usually marks a scene inserted after lock without renumbering the whole script. Scene 12 stays 12; the new unit between 12 and 13 becomes 12A so schedules do not break. ### Who assigns scene numbers in production? Typically the production office or AD team issues numbered drafts. Writers should not freestyle renumber mid-prep once sides and boards already depend on the published scheme. ### Do scene numbers belong in the slugline? In shooting scripts they sit with the scene heading as the shared reference. In specs, leave them off and let the heading's location and time do the orientation work alone. ## Related terms - [Scene heading (slugline)](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/scene-heading): The line that opens a scene: interior or exterior, location, and time of day — for example, INT. KITCHEN - NIGHT. It orients the reader and anchors production breakdowns. - [Locked script](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/locked-script): A shooting draft whose page and scene numbers are frozen so every department shares one numbering scheme. After lock, changes become marked revisions instead of silently reshuffling the whole script. - [Shooting script](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/shooting-script): The production draft: scene numbers, locks, and revision marks — the document departments schedule and shoot from, not the clean selling draft. - [Omitted scene](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/omitted-scene): OMITTED marks a scene removed from a locked shooting script. Its number stays in place so later scenes keep the numbers used by schedules and sides. --- Canonical page: