Ballot box with bold check

It marks a choice, completion, or approval.

A checkmark in a checkbox (often called a tick or tick box in British English) means “selected” beside an option, “done” after a task, or “yes” beside an approval request.

The history of the mark predates digital checkboxes: the Oxford English Dictionary records pencil ticks by 1844 and a clear list-checking use by 1861. On ballots, official instructions decide whether a check, a tick, an X, or a strike-out counts as a valid vote.

Is this an emoji or a text symbol?

It is a text symbol, not an emoji.

Your font draws it. If that font lacks the symbol, a fallback font may change the check’s weight or fail to display it.

A 2021 Google Docs discussion describes using it as a static checklist bullet when a live checkbox added unwanted strike-through to completed text.