§10.4.4

Fill-Ins

A blank field—preserve it or omit it?

✅ NormativeSettled. The requirement holds as written.📄 Page ruleCan be applied from the page alone.Read §10.4.4 in the RFC ↗

The requirement

Each printed entry field MUST be rendered as one line. An empty field MUST be rendered as [blank] and MUST NOT be omitted.

When it applies

The blank is the word marker [blank], like the protocol's other markers ([signature], [seal], [stamp]). It replaces the older [___], whose underscores pair up as emphasis whenever two blanks share a line (from [___] to [___]) and vanish when the Markdown is rendered. A printed bracketed word [blank] on the page is escaped, \[blank\] — see Escaping Printed Marks (§7.2.4).

- \[1\] **Wages, tips, other compensation**: 29,513
- \[7\] **Social security tips**: [blank]
- \[9\]: [blank]

Reading the examples. Each one pairs a source page with the output the rule expects. ✅ Sample: the rule applies. ❌ Counter-sample: it looks like it applies and does not, or a rendering got it wrong. A non-conforming output, in red, is shown only for contrast. … marks content left out of an excerpt.

The shapes

The page prints	Output
id + label + value	`- \[1\] Label: value`
id, no label (shaded or unused boxes)	`- \[9\]: [blank]`
neither id nor label, filled	the bare value
neither id nor label, empty	a bare `[blank]`

An empty field is content

An empty field says this was asked and not answered. Dropping it loses that, and the field count no longer matches the form — on a W-2 that is boxes 7–11, on a 1040 page 2 most of lines 17–31.

Adjacent boxes are separate fields

Two entry boxes printed side by side under one id are two fields and MUST NOT be fused into one value. W-2 box 15 prints State and Employer's state ID number side by side:

- \[15\]
  - **State**: SC
  - **Employer's state ID number**: 00-0000056

A currency glyph before a blank

A currency glyph printed before an empty field MUST be kept immediately before the blank — $[blank] — with any printed spacing preserved. The field's label MUST stay unchanged: the glyph is not folded into it.

✅ SampleThe rule applies

$ in empty cells

Every value cell in the Part III grids prints a $ and nothing else; two print N/A. Each $ cell is an empty field with its glyph kept: $[blank].

Source page

Expected output · excerpt, Part III asset grids

…

Type of Asset	(A) Cash Value*	(B) Annual Income
Cash on Hand	$[blank]	N/A
Pre-paid Debit Card (including Govt. Benefits)	$[blank]	N/A
Checking/Savings	$[blank]	$[blank]
Checking/Savings	$[blank]	$[blank]
Savings	$[blank]	$[blank]
Internet based assets (Cash App, Venmo, PayPal, Crowdfunding, etc.)	$[blank]	$[blank]

Type of Asset	(A) Cash Value*	(B) Annual Income
Whole Life Insurance	$[blank]	$[blank]
Cryptocurrency	$[blank]	$[blank]
Money Market/ CD	$[blank]	$[blank]
Annuities	$[blank]	$[blank]
Brokerage Account	$[blank]	$[blank]
Stocks/Bonds	$[blank]	$[blank]
Other:	$[blank]	$[blank]

…

✅ SampleThe rule applies

$ before a dotted fee line

The bottom of a notarial form: $ then a dotted blank captioned FEE beneath the line. The same page is the sample for Blanks Inside Sentences (§10.4.1).

Source page

Expected output · excerpt, fee line

…

FEE $[blank]
PERSON TO WHOM FEE CHARGED [blank]
PERSON PAYING FEE, IF PAID [blank]

…

Markdown

<!-- … -->


FEE $[blank]
PERSON TO WHOM FEE CHARGED [blank]
PERSON PAYING FEE, IF PAID [blank]

<!-- … -->

A field printed as several ruled lines

One answer field MUST be rendered as one [blank], however many ruled writing lines it offers. Separate blanks MUST be emitted only for fields that are separately labelled or independently answerable.

✅ SampleThe rule applies

numbered answer areas of four lines each

Items 24, 25 and 26 each print four ruled lines, then three checkbox lines, the last with a blank inside its sentence (OBJECTION# ______ listed above). Each item's four lines are one field.

Source page

Expected output · excerpt, items 24–26

…

[24]: [blank]
- [ ] Not Applicable
- [ ] Refer to attached list, chart, table or timeline
- [ ] Refer to document provided in response to Defendant’s Notice to Produce
- [ ] OBJECTION# [blank] listed above applies to this request
[25]: [blank]
- [ ] Not Applicable
- [ ] Refer to attached list, chart, table or timeline
- [ ] Refer to document provided in response to Defendant’s Notice to Produce
- [ ] OBJECTION# [blank] listed above applies to this request
[26]: [blank]
- [ ] Not Applicable
- [ ] Refer to attached list, chart, table or timeline
- [ ] Refer to document provided in response to Defendant’s Notice to Produce
- [ ] OBJECTION# [blank] listed above applies to this request

Plaintiff’s Response to Request for Interrogatories – Rev. February 2026

Page 9 of 15

Provided by Ashgrove Legal Aid and the Camberly Law Library

Values printed before anyone fills the form

A preprinted or computed value MUST be transcribed exactly as printed, including 0 % and 0.00. A visible value MUST NOT be replaced with a blank.

✅ SampleThe rule applies

computed zeros in an unfilled invoice

Yellow input cells sit empty; every item row prints 0 % under % Total Budget and % Spent To Date, and the total rows print 0.00. A [A] reference tag sits beside the first total.

Source page

Expected output · excerpt, Award Amount grid

…

Award Amount
	Budget	% Total Budget	Spent this Period	% Spent To Date	Spent To Date
A. Key Personnel		0 %		0 %
B. Other Personnel		0 %		0 %
C. Equipment Rental		0 %		0 %
Special Equipment		0 %		0 %
D. Materials & Supplies		0 %		0 %
E. Travel		0 %		0 %
F. Subcontracts		0 %		0 %
G. Other Direct Costs		0 %		0 %
H. Indirect Costs		0 %		0 %
I. Fee		0 %		0 %
J. Surveys		0 %		0 %
*Total Allowable Expense*	*0.00*	*0.0 %*	*0.00*	*0 %*	*0.00 [A]*

…

✅ SampleThe rule applies

a totals block under an empty grid

Six empty item rows, then Subtotal, Sales Tax, Shipping/Handling, TOTAL continuing the frame's two right-hand columns, each printing 0.00; the last with a $. The totals stay in the table, and every empty row is kept.

Source page

Expected output · excerpt

…

I CERTIFY THAT THE FOLLOWING ITEMS WERE ORDERED FROM:

[blank] (Name of Vendor) AND RECEIVED ON [blank] (Date)

Item No.	Qty	Description	Unit Price	Extension






			Subtotal	0.00
			Sales Tax	0.00
			Shipping/Handling	0.00
			TOTAL	$ 0.00

Reason(s) itemized invoice/receipt was not obtained for this order: [blank]
Cardholder Signature [blank]
Date [blank]
Approving Official Signature [blank]
Date [blank]

Rev. 03/2021

A label with no blank after it

An empty entry label such as Signed: or Date: MUST be followed by [blank] when the surrounding form clearly asks for that value, even though no line, box or space is drawn. A field MUST NOT be inferred from a colon in ordinary prose.

✅ SampleThe rule applies

signature lines with no line

Corresponding Author: with Signed: and Date: nested beneath it, each followed by a run of dashes and no ruled line or box. Each is an empty field.

Source page

Expected output · excerpt

…

9.3 By signing below, the Corresponding Author accepts the terms of this Agreement on behalf of all co-authors.

Corresponding Author: [blank]
- Signed: [blank]
- Date: [blank]

A signed copy of this Agreement must be returned to the Editorial Office before the manuscript can proceed to production.

Markdown

<!-- … -->

9.3 By signing below, the Corresponding Author accepts the terms of this Agreement on behalf of all co-authors.

Corresponding Author: [blank]
Signed: [blank]
Date: [blank]



A signed copy of this Agreement must be returned to the Editorial Office before the manuscript can proceed to production.

✅ SampleThe rule applies

dotted lines as answer areas

Six full-width dotted lines continue a statement from the previous page; Answer …… after each of three questions; Dated at …… this …… day of …… 20…… with four blanks in one sentence. The six lines are one field, and each Answer word stays beside its blank.

Source page

Expected output · excerpt

F-204

[blank]

(Any documentation acquired which may be used to identify or trace the respondent must be attached as an annexure to this form.)

Signature of Deponent [blank]
Date [blank]

I certify that before administering the *oath / taking the affirmation I asked the Deponent the following questions and noted *her/his answers in *her/his presence as indicated below:-

[a] Do you know and understand the contents of the above declaration? Answer [blank]
[b] Do you have any objection to taking the prescribed oath? Answer [blank]
[c] Do you consider the prescribed oath to be binding on your conscience? Answer [blank]

I certify that the Deponent has acknowledged that *she/he knows and understands the contents of this declaration which was *sworn to / affirmed before me, and the Deponent's signature was placed thereon in my presence.

Dated at [blank] this [blank] day of [blank] 20[blank]

…

✅ SampleThe rule applies

spreadsheet errors as printed values

A rotated-header pro-forma grid whose Utility Rebate column prints #DIV/0! in every row and whose totals print $0, under a SAMPLE watermark; a [enter contract # ] placeholder in the title and a <<State Institution>> placeholder in the corner header. The error strings are printed values and are kept; the Simple Payback (Years) column has a header and no body cells.

Source page

Expected output

[watermark: SAMPLE]

Work Order Contract [enter contract # ]

Exhibit D

Project Pro Forma

(This is a Contractor deliverable that will be included in the Work Order Amendment).

Local Energy Efficiency Program – Financial Summary <<State Institution>>	Facility	Option	ECM Code	Energy Conservation Measures	Energy Savings	O&M Savings	Total Savings	Project Cost	Utility Rebate
Borvika Hall	1	1							#DIV/0!
		2							#DIV/0!
		3							#DIV/0!
		4							#DIV/0!
		5							#DIV/0!
		6							#DIV/0!
		7							#DIV/0!
		8							#DIV/0!
Borvika Hall			TOTAL – Option 1	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0	#DIV/0!
			TOTAL – Option 2	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0	#DIV/0!
			TOTAL – Option 3	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0	#DIV/0!
			TOTAL – Option 4	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0	#DIV/0!

WOC – State Institution – Contractor LEEP Work Order Contract, Exhibit D #### Amendment No. 1 (rev 20250601)

Look-alike

Two similar pages that call for different decisions. Synthetic, for teaching the boundary.

A short line or box before each item. A checkbox, or a blank to write in?

A blank line used as a check mark

___ Transmittal information

___ Certification (EC-1)

___ Rate filing checklist

The convention

[ ] or [x]. It is a checkbox by function.

A blank that takes a value

24. Describe the incident:

______________________

The convention

[blank]. One per answer field, however many ruled lines.

Look at the structure. What evidence changes the answer?

Rule id forms-fill-ins · forms

When it applies

The shapes

An empty field is content

Adjacent boxes are separate fields

A currency glyph before a blank

A field printed as several ruled lines

Values printed before anyone fills the form

A label with no blank after it

Work Order Contract [enter contract # ]

Exhibit D

Look-alike

A short line or box before each item. A checkbox, or a blank to write in?

A blank line used as a check mark

A blank that takes a value

Neighbouring rules, and how they differ

More