Is "Their" Capitalized in a Title?

Yes. "Their" is a possessive pronoun (sometimes called a possessive determiner), and every major style guide capitalizes it in a title. It sits in front of a noun the way "the" does, which is why people hesitate, but it is a pronoun, not an article.

"Their" by Style Guide

Style guide	"Their" mid-title	Why
AP	Capitalize	Pronouns, including possessives, are major words
APA	Capitalize	Pronouns, including possessives, are major words
Chicago	Capitalize	Pronouns, including possessives, are major words
MLA	Capitalize	Pronouns, including possessives, are major words
AMA	Capitalize	Pronouns, including possessives, are major words
Bluebook	Capitalize	Pronouns, including possessives, are major words

Examples in Chicago Style

• Why Customers Change Their Minds
• Artists and Their Studios
• How Teams Set Their Priorities
• Kids and Their Phones

"Their," "There," and "They're"

All three are capitalized in titles, for three different reasons:

• Their is a possessive pronoun: "Writers and Their Tools."
• There is an adverb or a pronoun-like subject: "There Will Be Blood."
• They're is a contraction of "they" and "are," both major words: "They're Back."

So the spelling mistake is the one to watch for. Capitalization is the same for all three.

Other Possessives

"His", "her", "its", "our", "my", and "your" follow the same rule. Short or long, possessive pronouns are capitalized in title case.

Real Titles With "Their"

• Their Eyes Were Watching God (Zora Neale Hurston)

"Their" in Sentence Case

APA reference lists, many news sites, and most UI text use sentence case instead of title case. There, only the first word and proper nouns get capitals, so "their" is lowercase unless it starts the title: "Why customers change their minds." Pick one of the two styles for a whole set of headings rather than mixing them.

Quick Answers

Should "their" be capitalized in a title?

Yes. "Their" is a possessive pronoun, and every style guide capitalizes it in title case.

Is "their" capitalized in APA style?

Yes. APA capitalizes major words, and possessive pronouns count as major words.

Is "theirs" capitalized in a title?

Yes. "Theirs" is a pronoun too, so it is capitalized in every position.