# What is epub:type?

Source: https://epubcc.com/glossary/epub-type/ (updated 2026-11-04)

epub:type is an attribute that adds meaning to an element in an EPUB 3 document, using terms from the EPUB Structural Semantics Vocabulary, such as "footnote", "noteref", "chapter" or "pagebreak". Reading apps use it, for example, to show a footnote as a pop-up.

## Why it matters when you convert a PDF to EPUB

It is how a footnote recovered from a PDF becomes a pop-up note instead of a paragraph stuck in the middle of the text: the reference gets epub:type="noteref" and the note epub:type="footnote" or "endnote". EPUBCheck warns about unknown or deprecated values.

How EpubCC handles it: each chapter is a section with epub:type="chapter", each footnote recognised in the PDF is an aside with epub:type="footnote" in a footnotes section at the end of the chapter, and each call to it is a link with epub:type="noteref". The table of contents is a nav with epub:type="toc". No page-break markers are written yet.