How to add SRT subtitles in DaVinci Resolve

To add SRT subtitles in DaVinci Resolve, go to the Edit page, choose File > Import > Subtitle (or right-click the Media Pool and choose Import Subtitle), add a subtitle track above your video tracks, and drag the subtitle clip onto it or insert it by timecode. DaVinci Resolve reads SRT subtitles natively in every version, including the free one, so no conversion is needed. This guide covers that path step by step, the timing gotcha that puts subtitles an hour off, and the alternative route for when you want subtitles as fully styleable Text+ titles rather than a caption track.

Starting from a transcript instead of an SRT? Convert it first with the free TXT to SRT converter (Rev, Otter, Word-style exports) or JSON to SRT for Whisper output, then import the result exactly as below.

Import SRT into Resolve, step by step

1. On the Edit page, choose File > Import > Subtitle and select your .srt, or right-click in the Media Pool and choose Import Subtitle. The SRT appears in the Media Pool as a subtitle clip.
2. Right-click in the track header area above your video tracks and choose Add Subtitle Track.
3. Drag the subtitle clip from the Media Pool onto the subtitle track. For exact placement, right-click the subtitle clip instead and choose Insert Selected Subtitles to Timeline Using Timecode, which breaks it into individual cues aligned to the timeline's timecode.
4. Style the track in the Inspector: font, size, color, background, and position apply per-track, so the whole subtitle run stays consistent.

Shortcut worth knowing: dragging an SRT from the Media Pool into the empty gray area above your video tracks creates the subtitle track automatically.

The timing gotcha: timeline start timecode

"Insert using timecode" places cues at their absolute times. If your SRT is zero-based (YouTube-style, first cue near 00:00:01) but your timeline starts at 01:00:00:00, the subtitles land an hour early and seem to vanish. Two fixes: set the timeline start timecode to zero for the subtitle pass, or retime the SRT. The reverse also happens. An SRT exported from an hour-start timeline carries the offset with it, the same trap covered in Avid captions to SRT.

When you want titles, not captions

Resolve's subtitle track is built for captions: consistent styling, caption-style rendering, easy export. If you instead want each subtitle as an editable title, with free positioning, per-cue styling, animation, and guaranteed burn-in, convert the SRT to an FCPXML of titles with the SRT to FCPXML converter and import it via File > Import > Timeline. The cues arrive as individual title clips at the right timecodes, and you restyle them like any other title.

Burning subtitles into the picture

On the Deliver page, open Subtitle Settings, tick Export subtitle, and choose Burn into video to hard-code the styled subtitle track into the render. The same menu offers As a separate file (SRT sidecar) and As embedded captions, depending on the delivery spec.

Finishing in Avid instead? Media Composer can't read SRT at all. Convert the file with SRT to Avid TXT and import it via the SubCap effect.

FAQ

Does DaVinci Resolve support SRT files directly? Yes. SRT imports natively via File > Import > Subtitle (or right-click the Media Pool > Import Subtitle) in every current version, including the free one. No conversion is needed for the caption-track workflow.

Why don't my subtitles line up with the video? Almost always the timeline start timecode. Zero-based SRTs inserted by timecode onto an hour-start timeline land an hour early; check the timeline's start timecode against the SRT's first cue.

How do I make each subtitle independently styleable? Use the FCPXML route: convert the SRT to FCPXML titles and import as a timeline. The subtitle track styles per-track; titles style per-cue.

Can Resolve's free version do all of this? Yes. Subtitle import, subtitle tracks, styling, burn-in, and FCPXML import all work in the free version.

How do I get a Rev or Otter transcript into Resolve? Export it with timestamps, convert with the TXT to SRT converter, then import the SRT as above. Speaker labels survive as part of the cue text.

How do I get subtitles back out of Resolve as an SRT? Export the subtitle track. The companion guide on exporting SRT from DaVinci Resolve covers it step by step.

Why don't my subtitles show up after importing the SRT? Three usual causes. The SRT is in the Media Pool but not on a subtitle track yet: add a track and drag the clip onto it. The cues were inserted by timecode onto a timeline that starts at 01:00:00:00, so zero-based subtitles landed an hour before the first frame: scroll back or re-insert after matching the start timecode. Or the subtitle track is there but toggled off in the track header: enable it and the cues appear.

How do I move imported subtitles to the right timecode? Right-click the subtitle clip in the Media Pool and choose Insert Selected Subtitles to Timeline Using Timecode, which places every cue at its absolute time. If the whole run is offset by a fixed amount, usually an hour, either set the timeline start timecode to match the SRT before inserting, or shift the SRT by that amount with the free SRT shifter and import again.