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Netflix DTT (Direct Timed Text): what the program is, who the partners are, and how subtitles actually reach Netflix

By the Fonti Studio post-production team · 31 August 2026

DTT stands for Direct Timed Text. It is the program through which Netflix commissions and manages the subtitle localization of its own content: a closed network of localization partners who recruit, vet, train and pay the translators, working in Netflix's own subtitling tool, to Netflix's own style guide. If you searched "Netflix DTT" you are probably trying to answer one of three questions: what the letters mean, how to get subtitle work through it, or how your film's subtitles reach Netflix at all. All three are answered below, and the third one has a different answer than most people expect.

What DTT actually is

When Netflix orders subtitles for a title it controls, it does not post the job publicly and it does not, for most languages, hire translators directly. The work goes through Direct Timed Text, a vendor program: a set of trusted localization partners who each take responsibility for the whole linguist side of the operation. In Netflix's own framing, DTT partners directly employ the translators and oversee the projects, which means recruitment, vetting, training, quality management and compensation all sit with the partner rather than with Netflix.

The output side is standardized twice over. Translators work in Originator, Netflix's proprietary subtitling tool, which includes a self-assignment system (SASS) that lets a vetted linguist pick up available work directly. And every file is measured against the Netflix Timed Text Style Guide, the public specification covering line length, reading speed, timing, positioning and per-language conventions. We keep a practical breakdown of those limits and a free validator that checks a file against them.

Who the DTT partners are

The partner list is published on the DTT partners page and features large localization houses, among them Iyuno, Deluxe, Imagica EMS and AC Create, each covering a portfolio of target languages. The list is not static: languages and partners are added and removed as Netflix's needs shift, so treat the live page as the source of truth rather than any article, this one included.

What matters about the structure: DTT is deliberately a vendor model. Netflix's guidance for translators who want in is to approach the partners, not Netflix. There is no public individual application to Netflix itself for subtitle work.

How to get subtitle work through DTT

If you are a subtitler: pick the DTT partners that cover your language pair and apply to them directly. Expect a test governed by the Timed Text Style Guide, and expect the partner, not Netflix, to be your contractual counterparty. Rates are shaped by Netflix's global rate card for the language pair, but the employment relationship, the vetting and the project assignment all live with the partner.

Two honest notes from the delivery side of the industry. First, the style guide is not a formality: files are machine-checked against it, and the limits (42 characters per line, reading speed caps, timing rules) are the difference between acceptance and rejection. Learning to work inside them before the test is the highest-return preparation there is. Second, template quality matters more than most newcomers expect: much DTT work is translation against an English timing template, so reading a subtitle template fluently is part of the job.

The part most people get wrong: licensed films do not go through DTT

DTT covers content Netflix commissions localization for. A very large share of what appears on Netflix is licensed: an independent film or series sold to Netflix by a distributor or sales agent for a territory. For licensed content, the delivery obligations commonly sit with the licensor, and that includes subtitle files, delivered to Netflix's specifications alongside the picture and audio materials.

Which means: if you are a producer, distributor or sales agent with a film going to Netflix, DTT is not your route and you cannot use it. Your subtitles come from wherever you commission them, and they must pass the same Timed Text Style Guide checks the DTT pipeline is built around. A rejected subtitle file delays the title's launch as surely as a rejected picture master. That is the work we do: broadcast-grade subtitle files for independent features, validated against the published limits before delivery, at a flat rate per language. The full requirements guide covers what your files will be checked for.

Common questions

What does DTT stand for at Netflix?

DTT stands for Direct Timed Text. It is Netflix's program for the subtitle (timed text) localization it commissions itself, run through a network of localization partners who employ and manage the translators. It is a program name, not a file format.

Who are the Netflix DTT partners?

The current list is published on Netflix's DTT partners page and includes large localization vendors such as Iyuno, Deluxe, Imagica EMS and AC Create, each covering specific target languages. The list changes over time, so check the live page for the languages you need.

How do I become a Netflix subtitle translator?

Through a DTT partner, not through Netflix directly. Apply to the partners covering your language pair; they handle vetting, testing, training and payment. Work is done in Netflix's Originator tool and measured against the public Timed Text Style Guide, so knowing that guide before the test is the best preparation.

Is DTT the same as the Netflix subtitle specification?

No. The specification is the Timed Text Style Guide, which is public and applies to every subtitle file Netflix ingests, whoever made it. DTT is the commissioning program for content Netflix localizes itself. A licensed film's subtitles never touch DTT but must still pass the same style guide checks.

My film was licensed to Netflix. Who makes the subtitles?

Usually you do, or rather whoever you commission: for licensed content the subtitle files are commonly part of the licensor's delivery package, made to Netflix's specifications. That is exactly the gap independent subtitle studios exist to fill.

If you have a feature heading to Netflix and the delivery schedule asks for subtitle files, send us the brief and we will tell you what the spec requires for your languages and what it costs, flat, before you commit.

Fonti Studio is a subtitle and dubbing studio run by post-production engineers, for film distributors and sales agents. Broadcast-grade output validated on feature-length deliveries against the published platform limits. €400 per language for a feature, flat. EUR.