Burning subtitles into video in DaVinci Resolve is one dropdown on the Deliver page — but that dropdown burns one subtitle track, not all of them. That single qualifier is where most burn-in attempts go wrong, and it is written plainly in Blackmagic's own reference manual.
This walkthrough covers the exact path, the four Format options the manual lists, and the container limits that decide whether you get burned-in pixels or embedded captions. Everything below is quoted from the DaVinci Resolve 21 Reference Manual unless noted. You need Resolve installed, a timeline, and a subtitle track that already holds your captions.
Before you start
You need the subtitles inside Resolve first. The manual describes the import side like this:
"Currently, DaVinci Resolve supports subtitle files in multiple formats such as .srt, .srtx, .vtt, .xml, and .ttml."
Note the wording: "such as", not a closed whitelist. If your format is not in that list, it may still import — but the manual does not promise it, so check the official documentation before planning a workflow around it.
If your captions came from Resolve's own transcription instead of a file, the manual is equally specific: "Transcription text can be imported and exported using standard .srt files."
One warning that saves an hour of confusion, quoted directly:
"It's important that the timecode of the clip you're importing subtitles to, matches the timecode in the .srt file for accurate results."
If your captions land offset from the dialogue, that timecode mismatch is the documented cause — fix it before you render, because once burned in, the offset is baked into the pixels.
Step 1 — Put the captions on a subtitle track
Import your .srt or .vtt file so it lands on a subtitle track in the timeline. Style the text there, not later: burn-in renders whatever the track looks like on the timeline, and there is no undo once the file is written.
Result: a subtitle track in the timeline showing your captions over the video.
Step 2 — Select the track you want burned in
This is the step nobody mentions. The manual's description of the burn-in option is exact:
"Burn into video: Renders all video with the currently selected subtitle track burned into the video."
Read it twice. It renders all video, but it burns the currently selected subtitle track — singular. If your timeline carries an English track and a Spanish track, Resolve does not stack both into one render. Select the track you actually want before you touch the render settings.
Result: exactly one subtitle track is active and selected, and you know which one.
Step 3 — Turn on subtitle output in the Deliver page
Open the Deliver page and find the subtitle section of the render settings. Two controls matter, both quoted:
"Export Subtitle checkbox: Lets you enable or disable subtitle/closed caption output."
"Format pop-up: Provides four options for outputting subtitles/closed captions."
Tick the checkbox, then open the Format pop-up. The manual says four options; the entries it spells out by name are these three:
"As a separate file: Outputs each subtitle track you select as a separate file using the format specified by the Export As pop-up. A set of checkboxes lets you choose which subtitle tracks you want to output."
"Burn into video: Renders all video with the currently selected subtitle track burned into the video."
"As embedded captions: Outputs the currently selected subtitle track as an embedded metadata layer within supported media formats. There is currently support for CEA-608 closed captions within MXF OP1A and QuickTime files. You can choose the subtitle format from the Codec pop-up that appears."
For the fourth entry in that pop-up, check the official documentation. Notice the contrast the manual draws on its own: "As a separate file" is the only one that takes a set of checkboxes for multiple tracks. Both of the other two say "the currently selected subtitle track."
Choose Burn into video.
Result: the Export As and Codec dropdowns disappear, because the manual scopes each of them to a different mode: "Export As: (Only available when Format is set to "As a separate file.")" and "Codec: (Only available when Format is set to "As embedded captions.")".
Step 4 — Pick a format and render
The manual places no container restriction on Burn into video — the only container limits it spells out are the ones for embedded captions. Two things are worth knowing before you choose a format.
Embedded captions are far pickier than burn-in. If you were hoping to ship a soft, toggleable caption track inside an MP4, the manual rules it out: embedded support is "CEA-608 closed captions within MXF OP1A and QuickTime files" — MP4 is not on that list. The manual also adds this note about hardware output paths:
"NOTE: Neither analog (Line 21) nor digital (CEA-708) closed caption output via Decklink or UltraStudio is supported at this time."
A burn-in render is a full encode. In the Supported Formats and Codecs document (July 2025), the Codec Passthrough column is – for H.264, H.265, AV1 and VP9 across every platform and container. That column is defined as whether "codec renders can be sped up by reusing the original source video essence if there are no effects or color changes to the clip" — so expect a real encode pass, not a fast copy.
If you do not want to install a full color grading suite just to stamp an SRT onto one clip, do it in the browser instead:
Try it right here
Runs in your browser. Your file is not uploaded anywhere.
This runs locally in your tab — the video and the subtitle file are read from disk and re-encoded on your machine, never uploaded. It is the right tool when burn-in is the whole job; Resolve is the right tool when burn-in is the last step of an edit you are already doing there. The full set lives at all Clapr tools, and the standalone page is burn subtitles to video.
Common mistakes
- Expecting every subtitle track to burn in. It burns "the currently selected subtitle track." Multiple languages means multiple renders.
- Exporting from the File menu and expecting burned-in text.
File > Export Subtitlewrites a sidecar file — the manual says "You can export subtitles in the .srt and .vtt formats" — and does not touch the video. - Assuming the two export paths offer the same formats. They do not. The File menu gives .srt and .vtt; the Deliver page's Export As dropdown lists "IMSC1, DFXP, SRT, and WebVTT."
- Reaching for embedded captions in MP4. Documented support is CEA-608 in MXF OP1A and QuickTime only.
- Burning a 4K timeline on the free version. The Supported Formats and Codecs NOTES say "Encoding video resolutions
>= 4Kis only supported with DaVinci Resolve Studio," while the product page says the free version lets you "edit and finish up to 60 fps in resolutions as high as Ultra HD 3840 x 2160." Blackmagic does not define whether UHD counts as>= 4K, so check the official documentation before committing to a 4K burn-in deadline.
FAQ
Does DaVinci Resolve burn all subtitle tracks at once? No. The manual's wording is "Renders all video with the currently selected subtitle track burned into the video." One selected track per render. For a second language, select that track and render again.
Where is the burn-in setting in DaVinci Resolve? In the Deliver page render settings: tick the Export Subtitle checkbox, then set the Format pop-up to Burn into video. The manual describes that checkbox as letting you "enable or disable subtitle/closed caption output."
Can I burn subtitles into an MP4 in DaVinci Resolve? The manual states no container restriction for Burn into video; the restriction it does document applies to embedded captions — CEA-608 embedding is limited to MXF OP1A and QuickTime files, and MP4 is not on that list.
What is the difference between burning in and exporting an SRT?
Burned-in captions are painted into the frames and cannot be turned off. An exported .srt is a separate sidecar file the player loads. Resolve's Deliver page can output IMSC1, DFXP, SRT and WebVTT as separate files; File > Export Subtitle offers .srt and .vtt. See how subtitle formats compare if you are choosing between them.
Can I burn subtitles without opening Resolve at all? Yes — if the edit is already finished and you only need the captions stamped on, a browser encoder does it in one pass. More walkthroughs like this one are in the how-to hub.
Quotations are from the DaVinci Resolve 21 Reference Manual and Blackmagic's Supported Formats and Codecs document (July 2025), checked 16 September 2026. Blackmagic revises both without notice — the codec document itself states that specifications are "subject to change without notice," so verify against the current files before relying on them.
