Handbook of Style Forms of Address

Documentation of Sources Index

Since the relationship between correspondents affects the form of address used in letters, no rigid guidelines can be set down  for all occasions. It is to be understood in the following examples of generally accepted form that when two salutations are shown, the formal styling precedes the informal; that if the formal address shown for a man is ``Sir,'' the formal address for a woman is ``Madam,'' and vice versa; and that if the informal address shown for a man is ``Mr.,'' the informal address for a woman is ``Mrs.,'' ``Miss,'' or ``Ms.,'' and vice versa.

Addressee

Form of Address

Salutation

clerical and religious orders

abbot

The Right Reverend John R. Smith, O.S.B.   Right Reverend and dear Father: Abbot of  --

archbishop	The Most Reverend Archbishop of  --	Your Excellency:
	or
	The Most Reverend John R. Smith	Dear Archbishop Smith:
	Archbishop of  --
archdeacon	The Venerable the Archdeacon of  --	Venerable Sir:
bishop, Catholic	The Most Reverend John R. Smith	Your Excellency:
	Bishop of  --	Dear Bishop Smith:
bishop, Episcopal	The Right Reverend John R. Smith	Right Reverend Sir:
	Bishop of  --	Dear Bishop Smith:
bishop, other	The Reverend John R. Smith	Reverend Sir:
denomination(s)		Dear Bishop Smith:
brotherhood,	Brother James, S.J.	Dear Brother James:
Catholic, member of
brotherhood,	Brother Michael, S.J., Superior	Dear Brother Michael:
Catholic, superior of
cardinal	His Eminence	Your Eminence:
	John Cardinal Smith	Dear Cardinal Smith:
clergyman,	The Reverend John R. Smith	Dear Sir:
Protestant	or	Dear Mr. Smith:
	The Reverend Dr. John R. Smith	or
	(if having a doctor's degree)	Dear Dr. Smith:
dean (of a cathedral)	The Very Reverend John R. Smith	Very Reverend Sir:
	or
	Dean John R. Smith	Dear Dean Smith:
monsignor	The Right Reverend Monsignor	Dear Monsignor Smith:
	John R. Smith
patriarch (of an	His Beatitude the Patriarch of  --	Most Reverend Lord:
Eastern church)
pope	His Holiness Pope  --	Your Holiness:
	or	or
	His Holiness the Pope	Most Holy Father:
priest	The Reverend Father Smith	Dear Father Smith:
	or
	The Reverend John R. Smith	Dear Father:
rabbi	Rabbi John R. Smith	Dear Rabbi Smith:
	or	or
	Rabbi John R. Smith, D.D.	Dear Dr. Smith:
	(if having a doctor's degree)
sisterhood, member of	Sister Mary Angelica, S.C.	Dear Sister Mary Angelica: Dear Sister:
sisterhood, superior of	The Reverend Mother Superior, S.C.	Reverend Mother: Dear Reverend Mother:

college and university officials

chancellor	Dr. Amelia R. Smith	Dear Dr. Smith:
of a university	Chancellor
dean of a college	Dean John R. Smith	Dear Dean Smith:
or university

president of a college	President Amelia R. Smith	Dear President Smith:
or university	or	or
	Dr. Amelia R. Smith	Dear Dr. Smith:
professor, assistant	Mr. John R. Smith	Dear Mr. Smith:
or associate	or	or
	Dr. John R. Smith	Dear Dr. Smith:
	Assistant/Associate Professor of  --	or Dear Professor  Smith:
professor, full	Professor Amelia R. Smith	Dear Professor Smith:
	or	or
	Dr. Amelia R. Smith	Dear Dr. Smith:
	Professor of  --

diplomats

ambassador, American

The Honorable John R. Smith

Sir:

	American Ambassador	Dear Mr. Ambassador:
	or if in Central or South America
	The Ambassador of the United States of
	America

ambassador, foreign

Her  Excellency Amelia R. Smith

Ambassador of  --

Excellency:

	or if from Great Britain	Dear Madame Ambassador:
	Her Excellency The Right Honorable
	Amelia R. Smith
	British Ambassador

charge´ d'affaires,

John R. Smith, Esq.

Sir:

American	American Charge´ d'Affaires	Dear Mr. Smith:
	or if in Central or South America

The United States Charge´ d'Affaires

charge´ d'affaires,	Ms. Amelia R. Smith	Madame:
foreign	Charge´ d'Affaires of  --	Dear Ms. Smith:
consul, American	The American Consul	Sir:
	or if in Central or South America
	The Consul of the United States of America
	or if individual name is known
	John R. Smith, Esq.	Sir:
	American Consul	Dear Mr. Smith:
	or if in Central or South America
	Consul of the United States of America

consul, foreign	The Consul of  --	Sir:
	or if individual name is known
	The Honorable Amelia R. Smith	Madam:
	--  Consul	Dear Ms. Smith:
	or
	Consul of  --

minister, American	The Honorable John R. Smith	Sir:
	American Minister	Dear Mr. Minister:
	or if in Central or South America

Minister of the United States of America

minister, foreign	The Honorable Amelia R. Smith	Madame:
	Minister of  --	Dear Madame Minister:

secretary-general, U.N.

His Excellency John R. Smith

Excellency:

Secretary General of the United Nations       Dear Mr. Secretary-General:
or
Dear Mr. Smith:

foreign heads of state

premier	Her Excellency Amelia R. Smith	Excellency:
	Premier of  --	Dear Madame Premier:

president of a republic	His Excellency John R. Smith	Excellency:
	President of  --	Dear Mr. President:
prime minister	Her Excellency Amelia R. Smith	Excellency:

Dear Madame Prime Minister:

government officials, federal

attorney general	The Honorable John R. Smith	Sir:
	The Attorney General	Dear Mr. Attorney General:

cabinet officer	The Honorable Amelia R. Smith	Madam:
addressed as	Secretary of  --	Dear Madam Secretary:
``Secretary''	or
	The Secretary of  --

chairman of a	The Honorable John R. Smith	Dear Mr. Chairman:
(sub)committee,	Chairman
U.S. Congress	Committee on  --
(stylings shown apply	United States Senate	Dear Senator Smith:
to House of
Representatives
and Senate)
commissioner	if appointed	Dear Madam Commissioner:

	The Honorable Amelia R. Smith	Dear Ms. Smith:
	Commissioner
	if career
	Ms. Amelia R. Smith
	Commissioner

director (as of	The Honorable John R. Smith	Dear Mr. Smith:
an independent	--  Agency
federal agency)
former elected	The Honorable Amelia R. Smith	Madam:
government official		Dear Ms. Smith:

judge	The Honorable John R. Smith	Sir:
	Judge of the United States District	Dear Judge Smith:
	Court for  --  District of  --

president

The President The White House or

The Honorable Amelia R. Smith

Madam President:

	President of the United States	Dear Madam President:
	The White House

representative,	The Honorable John R. Smith	Dear Sir:
United States Congress	United States House of Representatives

or for local address

	The Honorable John R. Smith	Dear Representative Smith:
	Representative in Congress	Dear Mr. Smith:

senator, United States	The Honorable Amelia R. Smith	Madam:
Senate	United States Senate	Dear Senator Smith:

speaker,	The Honorable Speaker of the House of Representatives
United States House	or

of Representatives

The Honorable John R. Smith

Sir:

Speaker of the House of Representatives

Dear Mr. Speaker:

Dear Mr. Smith:

supreme court,

Madam Justice Smith

Madam:

associate justice

The Supreme Court of the United States       Dear Madam Justice:

Dear Madam Justice Smith:

supreme court,

The Chief Justice of the United States

Sir:

chief justice	The Supreme Court of the United States	Dear Mr. Chief Justice:
	or
	The Chief Justice
	The Supreme Court
special assistant	Ms. Amelia R. Smith	Dear Ms. Smith:
to the President

undersecretary	The Honorable John R. Smith	Dear Mr. Smith:
of a department	Undersecretary of  --

vice president

The Vice President of the United States

Madam:

United States Senate
or

	The Honorable Amelia R. Smith	Dear Madam Vice President:
	Vice President of the United States

government officials, state and local

alderman	The Honorable John R. Smith	Dear Mr. Smith:
	Alderman
	or
	Alderman John R. Smith	Dear Alderman Smith:

assemblyman

--  see REPRESENTATIVE, STATE

city attorney

The Honorable Amelia R. Smith

Dear Ms. Smith:

clerk of a court	John R. Smith, Esq.	Dear Mr. Smith:
	Clerk of the Court of  --
councilman	--  see ALDERMAN
county clerk	The Honorable Amelia R. Smith	Dear Ms. Smith:
	Clerk of  --  County
county treasurer	--  see COUNTY CLERK
delegate	--  see REPRESENTATIVE, STATE
governor	The Honorable Amelia R. Smith
	or
	The Honorable John R. Smith	Sir:
	Governor of  --	Dear Governor
Smith:
judge, local	The Honorable Amelia R. Smith	Dear Judge Smith:
	Judge of the  --  Court of  --

judge, state	The Honorable John R. Smith	Dear Judge Smith:
	Judge of the  --  Court
lieutenant governor	The Honorable Lieutenant Governor	Madam:
	of  --
	or
	The Honorable Amelia R. Smith	Dear Ms. Smith:
	Lieutenant Governor of  --
mayor	The Honorable John R. Smith	Sir:
	Mayor of  --	Dear Mayor Smith:

representative,	The Honorable Amelia R. Smith	Madam:
state	House of Representatives	Dear Ms. Smith:

secretary of state	The Honorable Secretary of State of  --	Sir:
	or	Dear
Mr. Secretary:
	The Honorable John R. Smith
	Secretary of State of  --
selectman	--  see ALDERMAN
senate, state,	The Honorable Amelia R. Smith	Madam:
president of	President of the Senate of the State (or	Dear Ms. Smith:
	Commonwealth) of  --	Dear Senator Smith:

senator, state	The Honorable John R. Smith	Sir:
	The Senate of  --	Dear Senator Smith:
speaker, state	The Honorable Amelia R. Smith	Madam:
assembly, house of	Speaker of  --	Dear Ms. Smith:
delegates, or house
of representatives
supreme court, state,	The Honorable John R. Smith	Sir:

associate justice	Associate Justice of the Supreme Court	Dear Justice Smith:
	of  --

supreme court, state,	The Honorable Amelia R. Smith	Madam:
chief justice	Chief Justice of the Supreme Court	Dear Madam Chief Justice:
	of  --

military ranks - a typical but not exhaustive list

admiral	(full rank + full name + comma +	Sir:
vice admiral	abbreviation of branch of service)	Dear Admiral Smith:
rear admiral
airman	(same as above)	Dear Airman Smith:
cadet	Cadet John R. Smith	Dear Mr. Smith:
	United States Military Academy
captain (air force,	(full rank + full name + comma +	Dear Captain Smith:
army, coast guard,	abbreviation of branch of service)
marine corps, or navy)
colonel	(same as above)	Dear Colonel Smith:
lieutenant colonel
(air force, army, or
marine corps)
commander	(same as above)	Dear Commander Smith:
(coast guard
or navy)
corporal	(same as above)	Dear Corporal Smith:

first lieutenant	(same as above)	Dear Lieutenant Smith:
second lieutenant
(air force, army, or
marine corps)
general	(same as above)	Sir:
lieutenant general		Dear General Smith:
major general
brigadier general
(air force, army, or
marine corps)
lieutenant commander	(same as above)	Dear Mr. Smith:
lieutenant
lieutenant (jg)
ensign
(coast guard or navy)
major (air force, army,	(same as above)	Dear Major Smith:
or marine corps)
master sergeant	(same as above)	Dear Sergeant Smith:
[a typical example for
other enlisted ranks
having compound titles
not shown here]

midshipman	Midshipman Amelia R. Smith	Dear Midshipman Smith:
	United States Naval Academy
petty officer	(full rank + full name + comma +	Dear Mr. Smith:

and	abbreviation of branch of service)	or
chief petty officer		Dear Chief Smith:
ranks

private	(same as above)	Dear Private Smith:
seaman	(same as above)	Dear Seaman Smith:
specialist	(same as above)	Dear Specialist Smith:

warrant officer	(same as above)	Dear Mr. Smith:
other ranks not here	(same as above)	Dear + rank + surname:
listed

miscellaneous professional ranks and titles

attorney	Mr. John R. Smith	Dear Mr. Smith:
	Attorney-at-Law	or if having JD
degree
	or
	John Smith, Esq.	Dear Dr. Smith:

dentist	Amelia R. Smith, D.D.S.	Dear Dr. Smith:
	(office address)
	or
	Dr. Amelia R. Smith
	(home address)
physician	John R. Smith, M.D.	Dear Dr. Smith:
	(office address)
	or
	Dr. John Smith
	(home address)
veterinarian	John Smith, D.V.M.	Dear Dr. Smith
	(office address)
	or
	Dr. John Smith
	(home address)