Eight Kinds of Business Letter Salutations

Letters to the pope should begin "Your Holiness" or "Most Holy Father."

Using proper business salutations in professional letters is important if you want to convey the proper image. Clumsy, inaccurate or informal salutations mark the writer as an amateur and may insult the reader. Making such mistakes at the beginning of a letter can turn a reader away from the writer's points, whether or not they are valid. Choosing the proper salutation, of which there are eight basic types, depends on what you know about the recipient.

Recipient's Name and Gender Known

Never use the recipient's first name alone unless you already have a familiar relationship in which you typically use first names. Otherwise, the salutation should include the person's title and name, followed by a colon. If the recipient has a special title, use it, as in "Dear Dr. John Smith." If the recipient does not have a title, address male recipients as "Mr." and use the form, "Dear Mr. John Smith." If the recipient is a woman, use her preferred form of address, if known. Modern grammar uses the title "Ms." for unmarried females and those of unknown marital status. Only use "Mrs." if you are certain the addressee is a married woman and she has not expressed a preference for a different title.

Name of Recipient Known, Gender Uncertain

You may find that you cannot determine the recipient's gender on the basis of name alone. For example, Terry, Chris, Pat and Tracy could be the given name of either a man or woman. Never guess or assume that the recipient is male or female. Instead, use the person's full name without a title, such as "Dear Pat Smith."

Recipient Name Unknown

Although you should make every effort to determine the recipient's name, if you must send a letter to an unknown person or organization, you may use a generic salutation. Examples include "To Whom It May Concern" or "Dear Sir or Madam." If you are sending the letter to an organization rather than an individual, you may use "Ladies and Gentlemen." You may address an all-male organization as "Gentlemen" and an all-female organization as "Ladies" or, more formally, as "Mesdames."

Addressing Multiple Recipients

When you know the names of all recipients, list them in alphabetical order with their appropriate titles. For example, the salutation "Dear Dr. Anderson, Ms. Barrington, Mrs. Caulfield and Mr. Danforth" would be proper if you are sending one letter to the four people listed. You may also use a collective term, such as "Dear Colleagues" or "Dear Friends" if it is more appropriate.

Recipient Is Government Official

Salutations to a government official should include the recipient's position. Presidential appointees, city mayors and elected officials at both the federal and state level should be addressed by title, such as "Dear Justice Doe," "Dear Mayor Smith," or "Dear Mr. Chairman." Replace the title "Mr." with "Madam" for positions held by a female, as in "Dear Madam Chairman."

Recipient Is a Member of the Clergy

There are different rules of letter salutations for clergymen. In Protestant correspondence, a salutation to Pastor or Father, depending on denomination, followed by the surname is sufficient. Catholicism is more complex, especially at the higher echelons. For example, use the salutation "Most Eminent Cardinal" or "Your Eminence" for cardinals and "Your Excellency" for archbishops. Address priests as simply "Dear Father." The salutation for a mother superior is "Dear Reverend Mother."

Recipients in the Armed Services

Include the person's full rank and name in the salutation for members of the American armed forces. Examples include "Dear Major John Doe" and "Dear Petty Officer John Smith."

Recipient Is an Educational Professional

Refer to a university dean or president as such in the salutation, i.e., "Dear Dean Johnson" or "Dear President Smith." Professors may be addressed as "Dear Professor Smith" until they achieve a doctorate, at which time they should be referred to as "Dear Dr. Smith."

References

• United States Geological Survey: USGS Correspondence Handbook
• Catholic Tradition: Catholic Forms of Address
• English Grammar Online: Salutation in a Business Letter
• The Mayfield Handbook of Technical and Scientific Writing: Section 2.5 -- Letters
• Writing-Business-Letters.com: Use the Correct Business Letter Format
• Ask the Pastor; Addressing the Clergy; Pastor Walter Snyder; October 2006

Resources

• Purdue Online Writing Lab: Writing the Basic Business Letter