# Typography overview

## Font Families

**Theme: core only**

Core uses Open Sans as the base font for the site.

The full Open Sans type family consists of a variety of weights including light, regular, semibold, bold, and extrabold which allows for a wide range of type treatments and hierarchies within a page while still maintaining a unified look and feel.

- Open Sans font is used for headings and body content.

**Theme: cmsgov only**

CMS.gov uses Lexend for headings and Public Sans for all other text.

**Theme: healthcare only**

Healthcare.gov uses Open Sans as the base font for the site.

The full Open Sans type family consists of a variety of weights including light, regular, semibold, bold, and extrabold which allows for a wide range of type treatments and hierarchies within a page while still maintaining a unified look and feel.

- Open Sans font is used for headings and body content.

**Theme: medicare only**

Medicare.gov uses Montserrat for headings and Rubik for all other text.

## Web font stack

**Theme: core only**

**Web font stack:** Open Sans > Helvetica > Arial > Verdana > Sans-Serif

**Theme: cmsgov only**

**Headings font stack:** Lexend > Inter > Roboto > Helvetica Neue > Arial Nova > Nimbus Sans > Arial > sans-serif

**Body copy font stack:** Public Sans > Inter > Roboto > Helvetica Neue > Arial Nova > Nimbus Sans > Arial > sans-serif

**Theme: healthcare only**

**Web font stack:** Open Sans > Helvetica > Arial > Verdana > Sans-Serif

**Theme: medicare only**

**Headings font stack:** Montserrat > Avenir > Corbel > URW Gothic > source-sans-pro > sans-serif

**Body copy font stack:** Rubik > Seravek > Gill Sans Nova > Ubuntu > Calibri > DejaVu Sans > source-sans-pro > sans-serif

## Working with these fonts

The design system provides guidance for [headings](/foundation/typography/headings/), [body copy](/foundation/typography/body/), [links](/foundation/typography/links/), and [lists](/foundation/typography/lists/).

### The `ds-content` class

For pages that are mainly about written content or places where you want to use a standard mapping of heading-level styles to semantic heading levels, consider using the [`ds-content` class](/foundation/typography/content/).

### Responsive typography

To apply responsive typography elsewhere, use the [font size utility class](/utilities/font/font-size/#responsive-font-sizes). Since the base typography margins and line height is measured in em units, they'll automatically adjust as you change the font size.

### Accessibility

**Theme: core only**

Sans-serifs have been proven to be easier to read on-screen and are incredibly adaptable when resized and displayed across different platforms and browsers. Accordingly, Open Sans is used for body type, secondary and tertiary headlines, and instructional text.

- Standard body text is Open Sans Regular, 16px, #333, 24px line-height, 32px bottom-margin on paragraphs.

- Smallest paragraph text for legibility reasons is Open Sans Regular, 14px, #333, 20px line-height, 28px bottom-margin on paragraphs (except for legal/caption text).

- Uppercase font should not be used.

**Theme: cmsgov only**

Sans-serifs have been proven to be easier to read on-screen and are incredibly adaptable when resized and displayed across different platforms and browsers. Accordingly, Public Sans is used for body type, secondary and tertiary headlines, and instructional text.

- Standard body text is Public Sans Regular, 16px, #333, 24px line-height, 32px bottom-margin on paragraphs.

- Smallest paragraph text for legibility reasons is Public Sans Regular, 14px, #333, 20px line-height, 28px bottom-margin on paragraphs (except for legal/caption text).

- Uppercase font should not be used.

**Theme: healthcare only**

Sans-serifs have been proven to be easier to read on-screen and are incredibly adaptable when resized and displayed across different platforms and browsers. Accordingly, Open Sans is used for body type, secondary and tertiary headlines, and instructional text.

- Standard body text is Open Sans Regular, 16px, #333, 24px line-height, 32px bottom-margin on paragraphs.

- Smallest paragraph text for legibility reasons is Open Sans Regular, 14px, #333, 20px line-height, 28px bottom-margin on paragraphs (except for legal/caption text).

- Uppercase font should not be used.

**Theme: medicare only**

Sans-serifs have been proven to be easier to read on-screen and are incredibly adaptable when resized and displayed across different platforms and browsers. Accordingly, Rubik is used for body type, secondary and tertiary headlines, and instructional text.

- Standard body text is Rubik Regular, 16px, #333, 24px line-height, 32px bottom-margin on paragraphs.

- Smallest paragraph text for legibility reasons is Rubik Regular, 14px, #333, 20px line-height, 28px bottom-margin on paragraphs (except for legal/caption text).

- Uppercase font should not be used.