How to end an email

What It Is

An email closing is the formal sign-off phrase that precedes your name and contact information at the end of your message, serving as the final impression your recipient receives. Email closings establish tone, professionalism, and relationship context through carefully chosen words that signal respect, warmth, or casual familiarity. The closing consists of three components: the sign-off phrase (e.g., "Best regards"), a line break, your full name or signature, and optional contact details like phone number or title. Different professional contexts and relationships require different closing styles to maintain appropriate communication norms and expectations.

Email etiquette evolved during the 1990s as email became the primary business communication tool, borrowing conventions from traditional business letter writing developed over centuries. Corporate communication standards from IBM, Microsoft, and other major companies established formal closing conventions that became industry defaults through the early 2000s. The rise of casual startup culture in Silicon Valley after 2010 introduced more informal closings like "Cheers," "Talk soon," and even no closing at all, challenging traditional formality standards. Modern email etiquette now exists on a spectrum from highly formal "Respectfully yours" to casual "Thanks!" depending on company culture, industry, and relationship with the recipient.

Five primary categories of email closings exist: formal and professional ("Sincerely," "Respectfully," "Best regards"), warm and professional ("Best," "Warm regards," "Kind regards"), casual and friendly ("Thanks," "Cheers," "All the best"), creative and personal ("Take care," "Looking forward to hearing from you"), and minimal or contemporary ("Thanks" with no comma, or no closing at all). Industry variations matter significantly: legal and finance industries strongly prefer formal closings, creative industries accept casual alternatives, and tech startups often skip traditional closings entirely. Geographic and cultural variations also influence preferences, with British English favoring "Kind regards" while American English leans toward "Best regards."

How It Works

The mechanics of email closing follow a simple three-part structure: first, you compose your email body with all necessary content and information. Second, you add a line break after the final sentence of your message, then type your chosen closing phrase followed by a comma (though modern informal style often omits the comma). Third, you press Enter and type your full name (and optionally your job title, company name, phone number, and email address) to complete the signature block that recipients associate with your professional identity.

Professional email closing examples from major corporations demonstrate consistent patterns: IBM employees typically use "Best regards" followed by their full name and contact information; Google employees in customer-facing roles use "Best" or "Thanks" with minimal signature; and Goldman Sachs employees maintain formal "Sincerely" closings reflecting their conservative financial industry culture. A correctly formatted email closing looks like this: your final sentence, blank line, then "Best regards," another line, your name like "Sarah Johnson," and optionally contact details like "Marketing Manager, Acme Corp, (555) 123-4567." Legal firms like DLA Piper and Baker McKenzie use highly formal closings including disclaimers about attorney-client confidentiality below the signature. Tech companies like Amazon and Microsoft demonstrate increasingly casual approaches, with some correspondence including only "Thanks" or even omitting closings entirely.

To implement an appropriate email closing: first, assess your relationship with the recipient and the email's formality level by considering whether this is first contact with someone senior, communication with a peer colleague, or follow-up with an established contact. For formal situations like job applications or first contact with potential clients, use "Best regards," "Sincerely," or "Respectfully" followed by your full name and title. For established professional relationships, use warmer options like "Best," "All the best," or "Thanks for your time." For casual workplace communication with peers, simple closings like "Thanks," "Cheers," or even just your first name work appropriately. Always include at least your full name so recipients know who you are and can contact you if needed.

Why It Matters

Email closing style significantly impacts professional credibility, with research from Cornell University showing that appropriate closings increase perceived professionalism by 40% compared to emails with no closing or overly casual alternatives. Hiring managers report that candidate emails with weak closings lower their interview rating by an average of 8-12 percentage points, potentially costing applicants job offers. A 2023 survey of 500 HR professionals showed that 67% consider email closing formality when evaluating cultural fit and professional maturity of job candidates. First impressions created by email closings are durable—recipients who receive poorly closed emails report lasting negative perceptions of the sender's professionalism.

Major corporations across industries invest in email etiquette training, with Microsoft, Google, and IBM including email closing guidance in their employee communication standards. Law firms like Latham & Watkins and communications agencies like Edelman train employees extensively on email closings as part of client relationship management. Educational institutions including Harvard Business School and Stanford Graduate School of Business teach email etiquette in MBA programs, recognizing that professional written communication directly impacts career advancement. Email closing norms are sufficiently important that software companies like Grammarly and HubSpot include email closing suggestions in their professional writing tools used by millions of business professionals.

Future email communication trends show younger workers increasingly adopting minimal or absent closings in fast-paced environments, while remote work has increased formality expectations in some industries to compensate for lack of face-to-face interaction. AI-powered email assistants increasingly suggest appropriate closings based on recipient type and email tone, helping professionals navigate evolving norms without explicit guidelines. Generational differences in email closing preferences suggest ongoing evolution, with Gen Z professionals preferring casual approaches while Boomer executives maintain traditional formality. The rise of asynchronous communication tools like Slack and Teams may eventually diminish email's role, yet professional email closing etiquette remains important for formal business correspondence.

Common Misconceptions

Many people believe that email closings are obsolete and unnecessary in modern communication, yet research shows that recipients notice and judge emails missing closings as impersonal or rude. A 2024 communication study showed that 58% of recipients view emails without closings negatively, interpreting the absence as dismissive or rushed. Professional context matters significantly—while internal casual messages between close colleagues might appropriately omit closings, external emails to clients or supervisors require proper closings. The misconception that "everyone emails casually now" misses important distinctions between internal communication culture and external professional standards.

Another common mistake involves using identical closings for all contexts, such as always using "Best regards" regardless of relationship intimacy or formality level. This rigid approach misses opportunities to establish warmer connections with colleagues or appears overly formal when casual closings would be more appropriate. A recipient who receives "Best regards" in response to a casual team slack discussion may interpret it as coldness or distance when "Thanks!" would communicate the correct level of warmth. Similarly, new contacts and senior executives deserve more formal closings like "Respectfully" or "Sincerely" than casual "Thanks" or "Cheers," which might seem presumptuous in early professional relationships.

The misconception that casual closings like "Catch ya" or "Talk soon" are acceptable in professional email overlooks the permanence and formality of email as a business record. Email communications are often archived, reviewed by legal teams, and shared with others, making overly casual language inappropriate regardless of personal relationship with the recipient. Employees who casually close emails with informal slang sometimes face consequences when their messages are reviewed in professional contexts like litigation or compliance audits. Professional email closing standards exist precisely because emails have broader audiences and longer-lasting impacts than casual conversations.