How to End an Email Professionally: 20 Closing Examples

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Why Your Email Closing Matters More Than You Think

Most professionals spend time crafting the body of an email and then tack on a sign-off as an afterthought. But the closing is the last thing the recipient reads — it shapes the final impression and, crucially, signals what the reader is expected to do next.

A weak closing creates ambiguity: does the recipient know whether you need a reply, a decision, or just an acknowledgement? A mismatched closing — a formal body followed by 'Cheers' — creates a tonal inconsistency that feels careless. A missing closing entirely reads as abrupt.

The right closing reinforces the purpose of your email. It can restate a deadline, express appreciation, or invite a response. Combined with the correct sign-off for your relationship and context, it leaves the recipient with a clear sense of what a good email interaction feels like — and who sent it.

20 Professional Email Closings You Can Use Today

Formal closings: 1. Yours sincerely — Use when you know the recipient's name. The traditional British and Irish English rule: 'sincerely' when you know the name, 'faithfully' when you do not. 2. Yours faithfully — Use in formal letters or emails where you do not know the recipient's name (rare in email). 3. Respectfully — More common in American professional English; appropriate for formal correspondence to senior officials. 4. With kind regards — A formal but warm option; works well for official correspondence where 'Kind regards' alone feels too brief.

Standard business closings: 5. Kind regards — The safest all-purpose professional closing. Widely used in Irish and British business English. Warm but professional. 6. Best regards — Equally professional, slightly less warm than 'Kind regards.' Standard in international business contexts. 7. Many thanks — Appropriate when the email involves a request or when you want to acknowledge effort. More personal than 'regards.' 8. Thank you — Clean and direct. Use after a request or when expressing genuine appreciation. 9. With thanks — Slightly more formal version of 'Thank you.' Works well in client-facing emails.

Friendly professional closings: 10. Best — Modern, concise, and widely accepted in established professional relationships. Common in tech, media, and startup environments. 11. Thanks — Appropriate for colleagues and familiar contacts. Too casual for first-contact or formal external emails. 12. Cheers — Common in Irish, British, and Australian workplaces for internal email and established contacts. Avoid for first contact or senior external audiences. 13. Warm regards — Warmer than 'Kind regards.' Works well when congratulating someone or following up after a positive meeting.

Action-oriented and contextual closings: 14. Looking forward to hearing from you — Signals that you expect a reply. Appropriate when you have made a request or asked a question. 15. I look forward to your response — More formal version of the above. 16. Please do not hesitate to reach out — Invites the recipient to contact you. Works well for client-facing emails or support contexts. 17. I will follow up on [date] — Useful when you are setting an expectation about your own next action. 18. Speak soon — For established contacts where a call or follow-on conversation is expected. 19. Until then — Bridges a closing to a scheduled next meeting or call. Use only when a future interaction has already been agreed. 20. Have a great weekend — Contextual, friendly, and appropriate for Fridays with colleagues or familiar external contacts.

How to Choose the Right Email Sign-Off for Every Situation

First contact with a new external contact: 'Kind regards' or 'Best regards.' Warm but professional. Reserve 'Yours sincerely' for formal written correspondence like cover letters or official complaints.

Ongoing thread with a client: 'Best regards' or 'Many thanks' depending on whether the email involves a request. As the relationship develops, 'Best' or 'Thanks' may become appropriate.

Internal team emails: 'Thanks,' 'Best,' or 'Cheers' are all fine depending on company culture. In a fast-moving thread, even a simple 'Thanks' on its own is sufficient.

Emailing a senior executive you do not know well: 'Kind regards.' Keep the sign-off as professional as the rest of the message. Avoid 'Best' or 'Cheers' until you have a more established relationship.

Following up on a complaint or escalation: 'Kind regards' or 'Best regards.' Neutral and professional — avoid anything too warm, which can create tonal dissonance with the seriousness of the content.

Cover letters and job applications: 'Yours sincerely' (if you know the name) or 'Yours faithfully' (if you do not). These are the conventional British and Irish English choices for formal written correspondence.

Effective Closing Lines to Write Before Your Sign-Off

The sentence immediately before your sign-off is often overlooked, but it does important work. It bridges the body of your email to the close and gives the recipient a final, clear instruction or expression of goodwill.

Restating the next step: 'I will send the draft over by Thursday and look forward to your feedback.' This confirms what happens next and who owns the action.

Confirming availability: 'Please let me know if you have any questions — I am happy to jump on a call.' Reduces friction for the recipient and signals responsiveness.

Expressing appreciation: 'Thank you for your time on this — I appreciate your input.' Works well after a meeting follow-up or when the recipient has done something to help you.

Prompting a decision: 'Could you confirm your preference by Wednesday so I can proceed?' Specific, direct, and makes the required action obvious.

Closings to avoid: 'Please do not hesitate to contact me' is overused and passive. 'I await your soonest response' sounds archaic and pressure-laden. 'Hoping to hear from you soon' is vague. Replace all three with a specific action, question, or timeline.

7 Email Closing Mistakes That Look Unprofessional

1. Using overly casual sign-offs in formal contexts. 'XOXO', 'Thx', 'Laters', and 'Ciao' belong in personal messaging apps, not professional email — regardless of how well you know the recipient.

2. Forgetting to include a full email signature. Your sign-off and your signature are two different things. 'Kind regards' followed by only your first name leaves external contacts without your contact information.

3. Mismatching a formal email body with a casual sign-off. If the email is formally structured and addresses a serious topic, ending with 'Cheers' creates tonal dissonance. Keep the register consistent throughout.

4. Overusing 'Sent from my iPhone' as a closing. This mobile default is widely understood as an excuse for typos rather than a genuine sign-off. Remove or replace it on important emails.

5. Skipping a closing altogether. An email that ends mid-sentence without a sign-off reads as abrupt and incomplete. Even 'Thanks' on its own is better than nothing.

6. Typos in your own name in the signature. It happens. Especially if you use a shared template. Always check.

7. A closing that contradicts the email's purpose. An email delivering critical feedback or a formal complaint should not close with 'Have a wonderful day!' Read the full email as a unit before sending to ensure the close matches the tone of the content.

What To Do In The First 5 Minutes

Use this sequence when you are under pressure and need to send a clear message fast.

1. Define who the reader is and what one action you want from them.
2. Write the key request in one sentence before drafting the full message.
3. Choose channel and tone level based on urgency and stakeholder seniority.
4. Draft quickly, then run one clarity and one tone pass before sending.

Step-by-Step Workflow

Follow these steps in order. They are designed to reduce rework and avoid avoidable tone mistakes.

1. Clarify the business outcome first: State what decision, update, or commitment you need. Outcome-first writing prevents long, low-signal messages.
2. Build around one clear ask: If the reader cannot answer in one pass, the message is usually too broad. Use one primary ask and one optional secondary ask.
3. Calibrate tone to relationship: New stakeholders usually require slightly more formality and context. Trusted teams can move faster with shorter wording.
4. Reduce friction before send: Shorten long lines, replace vague phrases, and remove defensive language. Keep deadlines, owners, and next steps explicit.

Common Mistakes And Fixes

• Mistake: Hiding the ask in background context
  Fix: Move the ask into the opening paragraph and label it clearly.
• Mistake: Over-explaining before making a decision request
  Fix: Lead with the decision needed, then add only essential context.
• Mistake: Using one tone for all audiences
  Fix: Adjust formality and context depth by stakeholder and channel.

Decision Signals

If most of these signals are true, your message is likely ready to send.

• The reader can summarize your ask in one sentence.
• The message contains owner + deadline + desired outcome.
• Tone sounds collaborative, not apologetic or aggressive.
• A second reader can scan it in under one minute.

Completion Checklist

• One clear ask is visible in the top third of the message.
• Deadline and ownership are explicit.
• Tone matches audience and stakes.
• No vague urgency or passive-aggressive phrasing remains.

Apply This Next

Use this sequence to turn this guide into repeatable behavior at work.

• Open the cluster hub: Foundation Guides
• Use the matching tool: Email Tone Analyzer
• Use the matching tool: Slack/Teams Message Polisher
• Next read: Professional Email Sign-offs: Beyond 'Best Regards'
• Next read: Every Email Sign-Off Ranked: From "Best" to "Cheers" to "Regards"
• Next read: How to Start a Professional Email (With Examples)
• Browse all resource collections: Resource Hub

How We Evaluated This

Each guide is reviewed against real workplace drafts and cross-cultural communication scenarios.

• Test each guide with non-native and native-English sample drafts.
• Validate tone outcomes on email, Slack, and meeting recap formats.
• Document edge cases where suggestions sound robotic or culturally off.
• Re-check Grammarly pricing and offer claims monthly before updates.

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