YouTube Captions for Video Editing: SRT Workflows for Premiere, DaVinci, and Final Cut

If you’re a video editor, captions are usually the last thing on your mind — until they’re the first thing the client asks about. Burning subtitles onto a clip, exporting a captioned master, or replacing auto-generated YouTube captions with a polished version all require the same upstream step: getting the caption track out of YouTube and into your editor. This guide walks through the download → edit → re-upload workflow for the three non-linear editors (NLEs) that cover the bulk of professional YouTube work.

For the underlying download mechanics, see our complete guide. For format choice (and why SRT is usually right for editing), see SRT vs VTT vs TXT.

Why captions matter for editors

Three reasons captions aren’t optional in modern video work:

• Accessibility compliance. Many jurisdictions require captions on published video. The W3C WCAG 2.2 standard requires them at AA level for most institutional use.
• Platform delivery requirements. YouTube’s algorithm favors videos with manual captions for ranking in search and recommended feeds.
• Repurposing. The same captions become blog posts, social clips, show notes, and search-indexed transcripts.

All three require a caption file that lives outside the timeline — typically SRT or VTT — and can be edited independently of the video. YouTube’s auto-generated captions are a starting point, not a finished product. Editors almost always need to clean them up.

The download → edit → re-upload workflow

The pattern is the same in every NLE. The mechanics differ.

Step 1: Download the YouTube caption track

Use a no-signup tool like YouTube Caption Downloader to save the track you want as SRT. SRT is the de facto standard across all three major editors; VTT works in newer versions but with quirks.

Pick the manual track if one exists. Otherwise download the auto-generated track — you’ll edit it. For accuracy considerations, see auto-generated captions explained.

Step 2: Edit the SRT in a text editor

Before importing to the NLE, scrub the SRT in a text editor to fix obvious errors. Three quick checks:

• Speaker labels — [John]: or John: should be consistent.
• Timing drift — long videos often have cues that run early or late by a second or two.
• Spelling and punctuation — ASR errors are most common on names, jargon, and punctuation.

Save the cleaned SRT.

Step 3: Import to the NLE

Each editor has its own import path. See below for the specific steps.

Step 4: Edit captions against the timeline

Now scrub the timeline and refine cue-by-cue. Match timing to speaker changes, fix any remaining errors, and adjust line breaks.

Step 5: Export or burn

Three options:

• Export as a separate caption file (SRT or VTT) for re-upload to YouTube or delivery to the client.
• Burn captions into the video for deliverables that need embedded text (social media clips, GIFs, broadcast masters).
• Export a captioned master as a sidecar or embedded track depending on the deliverable.

Premiere Pro (2022 and later)

Premiere’s caption handling was overhauled in version 22 (April 2022). Current versions support SRT and VTT natively with good import fidelity.

Importing an SRT

1. Create a new sequence matching your video, or open your existing sequence.
2. Go to Window → Captions and Graphics (or Window → Essential Graphics in older builds).
3. In the Captions panel, click the menu (three dots) and select Import captions from file.
4. Choose your .srt file. Premiere creates a new caption track in the timeline.

Editing

• The Captions panel shows each cue as a block. Click to edit the text.
• Drag cue edges in the timeline to adjust timing.
• Use Captions → Caption Style to set font, size, color, position.

Exporting

• For YouTube re-upload: Export as Sidecar File → Captions (.srt) from File → Export → Captions.
• For burned-in captions: Render the timeline with captions visible. Use Effect Controls → Captions → Burn Captions Into Output for export.
• For broadcast: Export as SCC, MCC, or STL via third-party plugins. Premiere’s native caption export is best for YouTube and web delivery.

Common gotchas

• Premiere’s caption export uses CR LF line endings on Windows; some parsers prefer LF only. Run dos2unix on the exported SRT if a downstream tool rejects it.
• Older Premiere versions (pre-22) handled captions through a separate “Caption” workflow that’s now deprecated. If you’re on an older version, the legacy workflow still works but is less reliable for SRT round-tripping.

DaVinci Resolve (18 and later)

DaVinci Resolve’s caption handling has matured significantly in recent versions. The free version supports captions; you don’t need the Studio version for basic workflows.

Importing an SRT

1. Open your timeline in the Edit page.
2. Go to Timeline → Import → Subtitle (.srt, .vtt) (in Resolve 18+).
3. Choose your .srt file. Resolve creates a new subtitle track in the timeline.

Editing

• The Edit page shows subtitles on the timeline as text blocks.
• Click any subtitle to edit text in the Inspector.
• Drag block edges to adjust timing.
• Deliver page → Subtitle tab handles export.

Exporting

• For YouTube re-upload: Deliver page → Subtitles tab → Export as SubRip (SRT) or WebVTT.
• For burned-in captions: Use the Fusion page or the Subtitle Burn-In effect in the Deliver page.
• For broadcast: Resolve exports SCC, MCC, and other broadcast formats natively.

Common gotchas

• Resolve’s default subtitle import expects UTF-8. If you have a non-UTF-8 SRT (older files sometimes are), open it in a text editor and re-save as UTF-8 first.
• Subtitle positioning on the Cut page is different from the Edit page. If you move between pages, expect to re-position.

Final Cut Pro (10.6 and later)

Final Cut Pro’s caption support has been steadily improving. The current workflow uses the Captions sidebar.

Importing an SRT

1. Open your project in the browser.
2. Select your timeline.
3. Open Window → Captions to show the Captions sidebar.
4. Click Import in the sidebar and choose your .srt file.

Editing

• Captions appear in the Captions sidebar as a list. Click to edit text.
• Drag caption blocks on the timeline to adjust timing.
• Use the Captions inspector for style, position, and font.

Exporting

• For YouTube re-upload: File → Export → Export Captions → SubRip (SRT) or WebVTT.
• For burned-in captions: Use Share → Export File with the caption track burned in (requires the Apple Pro Video Formats plugin for some workflows).
• For broadcast: Final Cut exports IMSC, SCC, and other broadcast formats natively.

Common gotchas

• Final Cut’s default caption import prefers IMSC1.1. SRT import works but may flatten some styling. If your source is IMSC, prefer that.
• macOS-only workflow. If you need cross-platform handoff, use SCC or VTT as the export format.

Round-trip integrity

One concern editors have: do caption cues survive an export → re-import cycle?

For SRT, the round-trip is lossless for plain text and timing. The cues come back identical. For VTT, SRT round-trip can drop styling cues (color, position) — but those don’t survive SRT anyway.

For burned-in captions, the round-trip is irrelevant — the text is part of the video. The downside is that you can’t easily edit burned captions later; you’d have to re-render.

For the cleanest editorial workflow:

1. Edit the SRT in a text editor (clean obvious errors).
2. Import to the NLE (refine timing and text against the timeline).
3. Export an SRT from the NLE (this is your master caption file).
4. Upload that SRT to YouTube (the track now shows up as “Manual” and supersedes auto-generated).

The master SRT lives outside the project file. It’s a deliverable.

Common caption errors that affect editing

These are the patterns editors see most often when importing YouTube captions:

• Long cues. Auto-generated captions sometimes produce single cues with multiple sentences. Break them up for readability.
• Out-of-order cues. Rare but possible when ASR loses sync. Re-time the affected cue.
• Inconsistent timecode formats. SRT files should use HH:MM:SS,mmm with comma. Some legacy files use periods or other formats. Normalize before import.
• Speaker confusion. With multiple speakers, ASR may merge or split cues incorrectly. Manually re-segment.
• Cue overlaps. SRT and VTT both reject overlapping cues. Players handle them inconsistently.

All of these are easier to fix at the SRT stage than inside the NLE. Do a quick text-editor pass first.

FAQ

How do I get captions into Premiere Pro? Create a sequence, open Window → Captions and Graphics, and import your SRT file from the panel menu. Premiere creates a caption track in the timeline. See the full steps above.

How do I import SRT into DaVinci Resolve? In the Edit page, go to Timeline → Import → Subtitle (.srt, .vtt). The free version supports this. Resolve creates a subtitle track.

Does Final Cut Pro support SRT? Yes, in version 10.6 and later. Open Window → Captions, click Import, and select your SRT.

Can I burn captions into the video permanently? Yes. All three editors support burning captions into the output. Premiere has a “Burn Captions Into Output” option in export, DaVinci has the Subtitle Burn-In effect in the Deliver page, and Final Cut has the option in the export dialog.

Should I export SRT or VTT from my editor? For YouTube re-upload, SRT. For web embedding, VTT. For broadcast delivery, the format your broadcaster specifies (SCC, MCC, IMSC). See SRT vs VTT vs TXT.

Can I edit the captions in the editor without burning them in? Yes. Captions live on a separate track that can be toggled on or off in the output. Most broadcast and streaming delivery uses sidecar captions, not burned-in.

How do I download YouTube captions for editing? Use a no-signup tool like YouTube Caption Downloader to save the manual track as SRT. Edit in a text editor, then import to your NLE.

Methodology

This article draws on the official documentation for Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, and Final Cut Pro, plus our own testing of caption import/export workflows across current versions. WER ranges and accuracy considerations reference the Berthiaume et al. (2022) study and our internal testing of 30 videos using YouTube Caption Downloader.

Conclusion

The download → edit → re-upload cycle is the same in every NLE. The mechanics differ, but the pattern doesn’t. Master the SRT workflow once, and it transfers across editors and projects.

For the underlying download mechanics, see our complete download guide. For format choice, see SRT vs VTT vs TXT. For auto-caption accuracy considerations when starting from a YouTube-sourced track, see auto-generated captions explained.

About the author: The YouTube Caption Downloader Team includes editors who work daily with Premiere, DaVinci, and Final Cut. The team’s free caption-download tool is at youtube-caption-downloader.com.

Last updated: 2026-10-09

Sources: - Adobe: Premiere Pro documentation - Blackmagic Design: DaVinci Resolve documentation - Apple: Final Cut Pro documentation - W3C: WebVTT 1.1 spec - YouTube Help: Subtitles and captions