Email Capitalization Rules for Professional Messages
Content owner: | Content reviewed: August 8, 2026 | Review standards
Professional email does not need special capitalization everywhere. The clearest approach is to treat most email text like ordinary prose and reserve capital letters for the beginning of a sentence, proper nouns, brands, and formal names.
Subject lines: sentence case or title case?
There is no universal rule that forces every email subject into one style. Sentence case is a useful modern default because it reads like a concise sentence. Title case can still work for formal announcements or an organization that consistently treats subject lines as headings.
Sentence case
Quarterly forecast ready for review
Title case
Quarterly Forecast Ready for Review
Harder to scan
QUARTERLY FORECAST READY FOR REVIEW
Too informal for many contexts
quarterly forecast ready for review
Choose one pattern for the team and use it consistently. A specific house style or client requirement takes priority over a general recommendation.
Normalize a draft in secondsConvert a subject line or message to sentence case, then restore brand names and acronyms.
Greetings and names
Capitalize the first word of the greeting and every proper name. Generic descriptions normally remain lowercase.
| Use | Example | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Named recipient | Hi Maya, | The greeting begins with a capital and Maya is a proper name. |
| Formal recipient | Dear Dr. Chen: | The title is attached to the person's name. |
| Team greeting | Good morning, team, | Only the first word and proper nouns need capitals. |
| Generic role | Dear hiring manager, | The role is descriptive rather than a person's formal name. |
Sign-offs: capitalize the first word
A multiword closing normally uses sentence-style capitalization. Capitalize the first word, then lowercase the remaining common words.
| Recommended | Avoid |
|---|---|
| Best regards, | Best Regards, |
| Kind regards, | Kind Regards, |
| Warm regards, | Warm Regards, |
| Thank you, | Thank You, |
| Sincerely yours, | Sincerely Yours, |
Job titles in the message and signature
Capitalize a formal title when it directly precedes a person's name. Lowercase a title used as a general description or placed after the name in running prose. Signature blocks often capitalize a formal role as a label.
Before a name
I spoke with Vice President Alicia Chen.
After a name
Alicia Chen, vice president of marketing, will join.
Signature label
Alicia Chen
Vice President, Marketing
Generic role
Do not write: I am meeting our Vice President later.
Are email addresses case sensitive?
The domain after the at sign is not case sensitive, so Example.com and example.com identify the same domain. The local part before the at sign can technically be case sensitive, although most major email services treat it as case insensitive in practice.
For a new address, lowercase is the clearest convention. When copying an address supplied by someone else, preserve it exactly instead of changing its capitalization.
Brands, acronyms, and departments
- Keep the official capitalization of brands such as LinkedIn, YouTube, and iPhone.
- Keep established acronyms uppercase: Q3, CPA, API, and PDF.
- Lowercase a generic department reference: send this to marketing.
- Follow the organization's own form when the department has an official name.
- Do not add capitals to common nouns merely for emphasis.
- Use one capitalization style in the subject.
- Check names, brands, product names, and acronyms.
- Lowercase generic job titles and department names.
- Use sentence-style capitalization in a multiword sign-off.
- Read the final message once on a narrow mobile-sized window.
Frequently asked questions
Should email subject lines use title case or sentence case?
Both can work. Sentence case is a clear default for everyday business email. Use title case when your organization consistently treats subject lines like formal headings.
Is "Best regards" capitalized?
Capitalize only the first word: Best regards. The same pattern applies to Kind regards, Warm regards, and Thank you.
Should "Dear" be capitalized?
Yes. It is the first word of the greeting. Also capitalize the recipient's proper name and a formal title attached to that name.
Editorial references
- Microsoft Style Guide capitalization checklist - a current example of sentence-style capitalization guidance.
- Microsoft guidance for common text elements - includes capitalization conventions for URLs, product names, and UI text.
- Purdue OWL email etiquette guide - general professional-email context.