When should one sign a letter with "Yours faithfully" or "Yours sincerely"?
Learn English – Is it “Yours faithfully” or “Yours sincerely”
adverbsletter-writingvaledictionword-choicewriting-style
Related Topic
- Learn English – Why is it “yours faithfully” and not “your faithfully”
- Learn English – Is usage of “Yours sincerely” still appropriate
- Learn English – Is ‘Yours hopefully’ formal or informal
- Learn English – The origin of Yours Sincerely and Yours Faithfully
- Learn English – The usage of ‘Yours sincerely’ and ‘Yours faithfully’
- Learn English – use ‘Yours sincerely’ when I write ‘Dear Parent’
Best Answer
This is called "complimentary close".
As reported by Oxford Handbook of Commercial Correspondence:
If the letter begins with Dear Sir, Dear Sirs, Dear Madam, or Dear Sir/Madam, the COMPLIMENTARY CLOSE should be "Yours faithfully".
If the letter begins with a personal name, e.g. Dear Mr James, Dear Mrs Robinson, or Dear Ms Jasmin, it should be "Yours sincerely".
A letter to someone you know well may close with the more informal "Best wishes".