§6.5

Numbered Section Headings

"3. Scope"—a heading or a list item?

✅ NormativeSettled. The requirement holds as written.📄 Page ruleCan be applied from the page alone.Read §6.5 in the RFC ↗

The requirement

A numbered line that stands alone as a title with body text beneath it MUST be rendered as a heading, one level deeper per level of numbering. A numbered line that is itself the content — including a bare number printed above its paragraph — MUST be rendered as a list item carrying that content. The printed number MUST be kept exactly as printed, on the same line as its text.

When it applies

Legal and technical documents number their sections — 1., 1.1., 2.3. — and set each on its own line, often underlined or bold, with a paragraph beneath. On the page this is a heading; in the text layer it is indistinguishable from an ordered list.

Sketch of the printed page — layout, not output

1.    AFFIDAVIT

1.1.  COMPLETION AND SIGNATURE
      The Commissioner of Oaths must print his full name …
1.2.  SECURITY
      If security is claimed, then the amount …

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.

Heading or list item

The page prints	Rendering
A numbered title on its own line, with body text beneath (`1. AFFIDAVIT`)	heading, depth from the numbering: `## 1. AFFIDAVIT`, `### 1.1. COMPLETION AND SIGNATURE`
A numbered line that is itself the content	list item: `3. The Registrar will set the matter down …`
A bare number on a line of its own, above its paragraph (`29.`)	list item: the number joins its paragraph's line, `29. As a direct and proximate result …`

The test is the one Recognising Ambiguous Headings (§6.7) applies: a title organises the block beneath it; a numbered paragraph is an item of an enumeration. Heading depth follows the printed numbering, as Heading Depth Across Pages (§4.5) requires.

A bare number is moved onto its paragraph's line because it labels that paragraph ("paragraph 29"). Left on a line of its own it would read as an empty list item followed by an unrelated paragraph. Only the centring is lost, and centring is layout.

Numbers are written verbatim

The printed number MUST be written as printed — 29., 1.1., (a), IV. — and MUST NOT be renumbered, normalised or escaped to prevent list parsing. A number that is a valid Markdown list marker (29.) then renders as a list item; one that is not (1.1., (a)) renders as a paragraph beginning with the number. Both carry the printed numbering exactly in the source, which is what the output is judged on; a renderer that shows skipped numbers (29, 31) as consecutive is a display artefact, not a change to the output.

The one exception is a line that Markdown would turn into a list although the page prints no list, such as a sentence that begins 1995. was a record year. Its marker MUST be escaped (1995\.) — see Escaping Printed Marks (§7.2.4).

✅ SampleThe rule applies

two-level numbered notes

"1. AFFIDAVIT" over "1.1. COMPLETION AND SIGNATURE", "1.2. SECURITY", each sub-heading underlined with a paragraph beneath it. Four top-level numbers on the page, sub-numbered under two of them. Each numbered line is a heading, one level deeper per level of numbering; the depths shown assume this page opens the document, under its title.

Source page

Expected output

NOTES ON WINDING-UP PROCEDURE

1. AFFIDAVIT

1.1. COMPLETION AND SIGNATURE

The Liquidator must print his full name, capacity and date of appointment on the affidavit before signing it in the presence of a Commissioner of Oaths. An unsigned or undated affidavit will be returned without further consideration.

1.2. SECURITY

If security is claimed on any asset listed in the affidavit, the amount claimed and the name of the secured party must be stated in full. Where no security is claimed, the affidavit must say so expressly rather than leaving the field blank.

2. FILING

The completed affidavit, together with the annexed schedule of assets, must be filed with the Registrar within fourteen days of the Liquidator's appointment. A copy is retained on the estate file for the duration of the winding-up.

3. OBJECTIONS

3.1. NOTICE PERIOD

Any creditor wishing to object to an item in the schedule must lodge a written objection with the Registrar within twenty-one days of the affidavit being filed, stating the item objected to and the grounds.

3.2. HEARING

Where an objection is lodged in time, the Registrar will set the matter down for hearing and notify the Liquidator and the objecting creditor of the date.

4. COSTS

The costs of preparing and filing the affidavit are a first charge on the estate and are payable before any distribution to creditors.

✅ SampleThe rule applies

a paragraph number on its own line

29. to 34. each centred on a line of their own, the paragraph beneath. The number is neither a heading with text nor a list marker on the paragraph's line. The numbered paragraph is the text, so each number opens a list item carrying its paragraph. The depth of DAMAGES is relative: the page does not show the outline above it.