How to Address an Unmarried Woman in Correspondence

Many professional women prefer the title "Ms."

Knowing how to address a woman in the salutation of a letter is a tricky business. Even if you know that she is unmarried, adult women may use "Mrs." if they are divorced or widowed. Other women prefer to use "Ms." in front of their last name no matter what their marital status is, and some women still use "Miss" if they are unmarried or divorced. With all of the possibilities, many letter writers feel confused and that they will offend the letter recipient no matter which title they use.

Instructions

1. Make an educated guess at the woman's age. If you can be reasonably sure that she is over 18, she is less likely to use "Miss" in front of her name. Girls under the age of 18 are most likely to use "Miss" so if she is younger than 18, write "Dear Miss (Last name)" followed by a colon.

2. Research her professional background. If you are writing to a medical center or a university, the woman might have an M.D. or a Ph.D., in which case you would call her "Dr. (Last name)" whether she is married or not.

3. Ask the woman which she prefers, if you have contact with her. Alternately, you could ask someone who knows her if she prefers "Miss" or "Ms."

4. Type "Dear Ms. (Last name)" followed by a colon if you are still unsure of which title she prefers. Some women will be offended if you call them "Miss" but few will be offended if you use the title "Ms."

References

• American Association of Retired Persons; "AARP The Magazine"; Peggy Post's Guide to Modern Manners: Should a New Divorcée Use "Mrs." or "Ms."?; Peggy Post; January 2010
• BusinessKnowledgeSource.com: An Explanation of The Proper Business Letter Format

Resources

• Purdue Online Writing Lab: Writing the Basic Business Letter