Addressing Business Letters - Salutations for Officials

Take the time to use the correct salutation when addressing business letters to government, military, and religious leaders. Such consideration will help your letter to get the attention you deserve.

Also, be sure to follow the advice on Writing Business Letter Essentials and use the correct Business Letter Format. For addressing a letter to a normal person or advice on the address field, please see Business Letter Format.

The correct salutations when addressing business letters to officials are listed below:

POSITION
INSIDE ADDRESS
SALUTATION

Lieutenant Governor	POSITION
The Honorable (name)	INSIDE ADDRESS
Lieutenant Governor of (state)	INSIDE ADDRESS (Line 2)
Dear Mr./Ms. (name):	SALUTATION

Addressing Business Letters - Salutations for ARMED SERVICES | CLERGY | DIPLOMATS | EDUCATION GOVERNMENT | PROFESSIONS

Addressing Business Letters - Salutations for Armed Services

Military, Naval Officers
(Full rank) (name), USA (for Army),
USN (for Navy), USCG (for Coast Guard),
USAF (for Air Force), USMC (for Marine Corps)
Dear (full rank) (name):

Addressing Business Letters - Salutation for Clergy

Abbot
The Right Reverend (name)
Abbot of (name of abbey) Abbey
Dear Father Abbot:

Archbishop or Bishop
Eastern Orthodox or Roman Catholic
The Most Reverend (name)
Archbishop or Bishop of (name of city)
Dear (Archbishop or Bishop) (name):

Archdeacon, Episcopal
The Venerable (name)
Archdeacon of (name of city)
Dear Archdeacon (name):

Bishop, Episcopal
The Right Reverend (name)
Bishop of (name of city)
Dear Bishop (name):

Bishop, Other Protestant
The Reverend (name) (denomination) Bishop
Dear Bishop (name):

Brotherhood, Roman Catholic
Brother (name of brother)
Dear Brother (first name):

Brotherhood, Superior of
The Very Reverend (name of superior)
Dear Father Superior:

Cardinal, Roman Catholic
His Eminence (first name) Cardinal (last name)
Archbishop of (name of city)
Dear Cardinal (name):

Clergyman/woman, Protestant
The Reverend (name) (name of church)
Dear Mr./Ms. (name):

Dean of a Cathedral, Episcopal
The Very Reverend (name)
Dean of (name of cathedral)
Dear Dean (name):

Monsignor, Roman Catholic
The Right Reverend Monsignor (name)
Dear Monsignor (name):

Patriarch, Greek Orthodox
His All Holiness Patriarch (first name)
Your All Holiness:

Patriarch, Russian Orthodox
His Holiness the Patriarch of (name of place)
Your Holiness:

Pope, Roman Catholic
His Holiness The Pope
Vatican City
Your Holiness:

Priest, Roman Catholic
The Reverend (name), S.J.
(name of church)
Dear Father (name):

Rabbi, Man or Woman
Rabbi (name)
Dear Rabbi (name):

Sisterhood, Roman Catholic
Sister (name)
Dear Sister (first name):

Sisterhood, Superior of
The Reverend Mother Superior (name of convent)
Dear Reverend Mother:

Addressing Business Letters - Salutations for Diplomats

Ambassador, U.S.
The Honorable (name)
American Ambassador to (name of country)
Dear Mr./Madam Ambassador:

Ambassador to the United States
His/Her Excellency
(name) Ambassador of (name of country)
Dear Mr./Madam Ambassador:

Charge d'Affaires, United States
The Honorable (name)
United States Charge d'Affaires
Dear. Mr./Ms. (name):

Consul, U.S.
(name), Esq.
United States Consul
Dear Mr./Ms. (name):

Minister, U.S.
The Honorable (name)
American Minister to (name of country)
Dear Mr./Madam Minister:

Foreign Minister to the United States
The Honorable (name)
Minister of (name of country)
Dear Mr./Madam Minister:

Secretary General of the United Nations
His/Her Excellency
(name) Secretary General of the United Nations
Dear Mr./Madam Secretary General:

U.N. Representative, foreign
His/Her Excellency (name)
Representative of (name of country) to the United Nations
Dear Mr./Madam (name):

U.N. Representative
The Honorable (name)
United States Representative to the United Nations
Dear Mr./Ms. (name):

Addressing Business Letters - Salutations for Education

Dean, College or University
Dean (name)
(name of college or university)
Dear Dean (name):

President, College or University
Mr. (name)
President (name of college or university)
Dear President (name):

President, College or University (with a Doctorate)
(Name) (Abbreviation for degree)
President (name of college or university)
Dear Dr. (name):

Professor, College or University
Professor (name)
(name of college or university)
Dear Professor (name):

Professor, College or University (with a Doctorate)
(name) (abbreviation for degree)
(name of college or university)
Dear Dr. (name):

Addressing Business Letters - Salutations for Government officials

Assemblyman/woman
The Honorable (name)
Dear Mr./Ms. (Name):

Associate Justice
U.S. Supreme Court
Mr./Madam Justice (name)
The Supreme Court of the United States
Dear Mr./Madam Justice:

Attorney General
The Honorable (name)
Attorney General of the United States
Dear Mr./Madam Attorney General:

Cabinet Officers
The Honorable (name)
Secretary of (department)
Dear Mr./Madam Secretary:

Chief Justice, U.S. Supreme Court
The Chief Justice of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States
Dear Mr./Madam Chief Justice:

Federal Judge
The Honorable (name)
Judge of the United States
District Court for the (area) District of (state)
Dear Judge (name):

Lieutenant Governor
The Honorable (name)
Lieutenant Governor of (state)
Dear Mr./Ms. (name):

Mayor of city or town
The Honorable (name)
Mayor of (name of city or town)
Dear Mayor (name):

President
The President
The White House
Dear Mr. President:

President of Board of Commissioners
The Honorable (name)
President
Board of Commissioners of City or County of (name of city or county)
Dear Mr./Ms. (name):

State Governor
The Honorable (name)
Governor of (state)
Dear Governor (name):

State or local judge
The Honorable (name)
Judge of the Court of (name of state or town)
Dear Judge (name):

State Representative
The Honorable (name)
House of Representatives
Dear Mr./Ms. (name):

U.S. Representative
The Honorable (name)
House of Representatives
Dear. Mr./Ms. (name):

U.S. Senator
The Honorable (name)
United States Senate
Dear Senator (name):

Vice President, U.S.
The Vice President of the United States
Dear Mr. Vice President:

Addressing Business Letters - Salutations for Professions

Attorney
Mr./Ms. (name of attorney), Attorney at Law
Dear Mr./Ms. (name):

Dentist
(name), D.D.S.
Dear Dr. (name):

Physician
(name), M.D.
Dear Dr. (name):

Veterinarian
(name), D.V.M.
Dear Dr. (name):

Addressing Business Letters FAQ

The following is a question from one of my readers. The question is how do you address an official and a non official in the same letter:

Addressing Business Letters for Officials and non Officials

If your letter is to a Pastor and his wife, should I use the following:

Pastor Henry and Mrs. Rita Jones

Pastor & Mrs. Henry and Rita Jones

I have searched the internet but am not finding a response to this specific question. Hope you can help!

------------------------------
Answer:

Pastor Henry and Mrs. Rita Jones is the correct solutions to use.

Regards
Dax

This next question highlights the correct use of slautations and also the complimentary close when writing to officials.

Business mail to Ambassador of Switzerland to India

by Surjeet Makol
(New Delhi INDIA)

Dear Mr. Phillipp Welti:

I enjoyed speaking with you yesterday at the event of (Nestle: The best jobs in Company) Enclosed found a preliminary proposal given to you yesterday during our meeting at your residence in Embassy of Switzerland, New Delhi.

I believe this includes all specifications, options and terms we discussed. If not, please let me know as soon as possible so we may revise the proposal to meet your needs.

If all is in order, let us know how and when you wish to proceed. As noted previously, we shall form our an incorporation of a trading cum consultant GMBH, Company in Switzerland before this event as addressed to our proposal.

Please let me know what more can we aid in this letter to give more compliments to our ambassador.

Sincerely,

-------------------------
Hi Surjeet,

Your letter is well written and there is little I can add to the content. There are however two things you need to change in the letter:

Firstly, when you address the letter to officials, you need to use the correct slautation. In your case, you need to address the Ambassador in the following way:

The Honorable Phillipp WeltiSwitzerland Ambassador to IndiaDear Mr. Phillipp Welti:

Secondly, the complimentary close to a person of high stature should be Respectfully yours.

Regards,
Dax

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