Tamil Language

Tamil Typing and Unicode: Keyboards, Free Fonts, Converters

Tamil Nadu made Unicode the standard in 2010. How to set up Tamil 99 or phonetic typing, get free government fonts and convert old Vaanavil documents.

19 October 2026

Chennai FalconMr. Parthasarathy aka Chennai Falcon is passionate about…

Updated 2026-10-29, 2:05 AM

If you type Tamil on a computer in Chennai, use Unicode and nothing else. The Tamil Nadu government told all departments to stop using 8-bit encodings such as TAB and TAM and move to Unicode in G.O. (Ms) No. 29 of 23 June 2010, and a 2021 Chief Secretary’s letter barred departments from spending any more money on proprietary fonts.

For ordinary users the upshot is simple. Text typed in Unicode shows correctly on any phone, in any email and in any government portal. Text typed in an old font like Vaanavil turns to gibberish the moment someone without that font opens it. This guide covers keyboards, free fonts, and how to rescue old files.

Pick a keyboard layout

There are three common ways to type Tamil:

Tamil 99. Standardised and approved by the Tamil Nadu government in 1999, Microsoft notes. It follows a consonant-vowel pattern, so you press a consonant then a vowel to get the combined letter. It is the fastest once learnt.
Phonetic (transliteration). You type the sound in English letters, such as “thottam”, and pick the Tamil word from suggestions. Easiest for beginners.
InScript. India’s national standard layout, approved in 1986 and on Windows since 2010. Common in central government offices.

The 2010 order also directed that the Tamil 99 layout be extended to cover every Tamil character and symbol.

Set it up on Windows

Tamil 99 has been built into Windows since the April 2018 update. Microsoft’s instructions are:

Open Settings, then Time and language, then Language and region.
Choose Add a language, select Tamil, and install. You do not need to change your display language.
Tamil 99 is added by default. For phonetic typing, open Language options next to Tamil and add Tamil Phonetic.
Switch between English and Tamil with the Windows key plus Spacebar. The taskbar shows ENG or த.

As an example, on Tamil 99 the word தோட்டம் is typed with the keys l, x, o, f, o, k, f.

On Android and iPhone, the main keyboard apps offer Tamil layouts, including Tamil 99 and transliteration, in their language settings.

Free fonts from the state

The Tamil Virtual Academy in Kotturpuram offers keyboard drivers for Windows, Linux and Mac, and 20 font families on its fonts page: 15 Unicode fonts with the TAU prefix, including Marutham, Valluvar, Kambar, Kaveri and Mullai, and 5 TACE16 fonts with the TAC prefix. A single zip download covers all of them.

A 2013 government order launched these fonts and drivers free of charge, according to the 2021 letter, which recommended TAU-Marutham at 12, 14 or 16 point for official work. If you need to submit a Tamil document to a state office, Marutham is a safe choice.

What is TACE16? It is a second 16-bit standard the 2010 order allowed only where Unicode support is partial or missing, for example in some printing, mobile and language-processing uses. For everyday typing, stick with Unicode.

Converting old files

Many Chennai offices, schools and printers still have years of documents typed in Vaanavil-Avvaiyar and similar fonts. The 2021 letter says departments kept using them because they lacked conversion tools. The academy now provides:

a general Tamil Unicode converter,
an “all Tamil encodings” converter,
a Vaanavil-Avvaiyar to Unicode converter, and
a Bharathi AzhaguThamizh to Unicode converter.

Several are marked as beta, so check the converted text before you delete the original. The academy’s Unicode page also lists a newer Keeladi keyboard and the Thamizhi converter, each with a manual and demo video.

Why this matters for government forms

Unicode is an objective of the state’s e-Governance Policy 2017, and the 2021 letter says all departments must follow it for e-governance projects. In practice, that means Tamil text you paste into a state portal, such as a grievance form or an application, should be in Unicode. Legacy-font text may be rejected or stored as meaningless symbols.

Common problems

Letters break apart in a PDF. Embed the font when exporting. The 2010 order required state-standard fonts to allow embedding.
Text looks fine on your PC but not on others’. You are probably using a legacy font. Convert to Unicode.
Search does not find Tamil words. Again, a legacy encoding. Unicode text is searchable.

Quick answers

Which Tamil keyboard does the government use?

Tamil 99, approved by the state in 1999, with Unicode as the encoding standard since the 2010 order.

Where can I download free Tamil Unicode fonts?

From the Tamil Virtual Academy’s fonts page at tamilvu.org. It offers 15 Unicode and 5 TACE16 font families.

How do I convert Vaanavil text to Unicode?

Use the academy’s Vaanavil-Avvaiyar to Unicode converter, then proofread the result.

Does Windows have Tamil typing built in?

Yes. Add Tamil in Language settings; Tamil 99 comes by default and Tamil Phonetic can be added.

Information checked against official sources on 18 October 2026. Fees, dates and rules can change; confirm on the linked official pages before acting.