The last two words of your email, your email sign-off, carry more weight than you might expect. Whether you are a professional, job seeker, student, or anyone who communicates via email, your sign-off sets the tone for what comes next: a reply, an action, or simply how the recipient remembers the interaction.
Email sign-offs are the closing words or phrases at the end of your message. They should be concise, ideally one to three words, and are most effective when they are short and clear. Choosing the right email sign-off matters because it signals professionalism, warmth, urgency, and the level of your relationship with the recipient. The choice of sign-off should always be based on your relationship with the recipient and the context of the email: a formal sign-off is best for new or senior contacts, while a casual one may be more appropriate for close colleagues or informal settings.
This guide covers 60+ email sign-offs organized by situation, from formal closes to genuinely funny ones, plus the ones that have stopped working and why.
Why Your Email Closing Matters
Most people spend ninety percent of their email-writing energy on the subject line and the body, then add "Best" without thinking. But how you close an email signals professionalism, warmth, urgency, and relationship level all at once. The wrong sign-off in a formal negotiation reads as too casual. The wrong one in an internal Slack-style email reads as stiff. The right closing lands without the recipient noticing it, it just feels right.
A few principles that apply across all categories:
- Match the relationship: Formal clients get formal closings. Colleagues who text you get something warmer.
- Avoid autopilot: "Best regards" used for every email in every context starts to feel like a form letter.
- The comma matters: "Sincerely," and "Sincerely" are slightly different in feel. The comma is standard; dropping it reads more casual.
- Your name belongs on the next line: Don't close with "Best, [Name]" crammed into a single line.
Formal Email Sign-offs
Use these for job applications, first-time contact with senior stakeholders, legal correspondence, or any situation where the relationship is new and the stakes are real. Professional email sign-offs are safest for new, unknown, or senior contacts because they help maintain professionalism and keep a professional tone without implying a familiarity that has not been established.
- Sincerely,
- Regards,
- Best regards,
- With appreciation,
- Respectfully,
- With respect,
- Yours sincerely,
- Yours faithfully, (use when you do not know the recipient's name)
- Faithfully,
- With kind regards,
In a formal business email, the right email sign-off should stay short and clear, ideally one to three words unless convention requires a longer form like "Yours faithfully."
When to use formal sign-offs: Initial client outreach, board-level correspondence, vendor contracts, formal complaints, anything with a legal dimension. They are among the safest business email sign-offs for new clients or unknown contacts. They communicate seriousness without warmth, which is often exactly right.
Professional but Approachable Sign-offs
These work for most business email: colleagues you have not met, clients you know well, external stakeholders you interact with regularly.
- Best,
- Thanks,
- Thank you,
- Many thanks,
- All the best,
- Warm regards,
- Warmly,
- With gratitude,
- Appreciate it,
- Looking forward to speaking,
- Talk soon,
- Until next time,
- Have a good week,
- Kind regards,
- With thanks,
In business settings, the right sign-off should match the tone of the message. Gratitude-based closings are often good email sign-offs because they express gratitude, and using "Thanks" or "Thank you" helps leave a final impression that feels both courteous and human. Gratitude sign-offs also improve response rates: "Thanks" yields 63%, "Thank you" reaches 57.9%, and gratitude sign-offs overall average 65.7%, meaningfully higher than neutral closings. Sign-offs that imply ongoing communication ("Talk soon," "Looking forward to speaking") also tend to outperform generic closings because they set an expectation for further communication. "Warm regards" makes a positive impression because it reads as professional yet friendly, warmer than "Best regards" without crossing into informality.
A note on "Best": It has become the default professional sign-off in most industries and is completely serviceable. It is warm without being presumptuous, brief without being abrupt. If you are unsure what to use, "Best," is the safe choice. That said, using it in every single email regardless of context is the equivalent of a form signature, it says nothing about the relationship.
Friendly and Casual Sign-offs
For internal email, people you work closely with, teammates, close colleagues, or anyone where professional formality would feel jarring. Casual sign-offs work in informal professional contexts where a casual tone feels more natural than traditional closings.
- Thanks again,
- Cheers,
- Take care,
- Have a great one,
- Catch you later,
- Until then,
- Talk to you soon,
- See you Thursday,
- Stay well,
- Good luck with it,
- Rooting for you,
- More soon,
- Stay awesome,
With Gen Z now making up roughly 27% of the global workforce, informal email sign-offs are increasingly normalized, their preferences have helped shift workplace communication toward a more laid-back, friendly tone. Generational differences in how people read closings are real: what reads as appropriately casual to one colleague may still read as unprofessional to another, so knowing your audience still matters.
When to use casual sign-offs: These work best when the relationship would make a formal closing seem performative. "Sincerely" to a colleague you see every day reads as ironic. Casual closings work for internal project updates, replies within a thread where formality has already relaxed, and any situation where the relationship is warm and established.
Fun and Memorable Sign-offs
Used carefully, a distinctive sign-off becomes part of how people remember you. Used carelessly, it reads as trying too hard. The ones below work best for creative industries, startups, and relationships where personality is welcome.
- Onward,
- Stay curious,
- Go make something,
- To good work,
- In it with you,
- Here to help,
- With enthusiasm,
- Energetically yours,
- To the next thing,
- Ever forward,
- More to come,
- Dream big,
- So long and thanks for all the fish, (Hitchhiker's Guide reference, only if you know your audience)
Even funny email sign-offs can add personality and make a message more memorable when they fit your communication style and the professional context. In creative industries or startup teams, a playful close like "Deuces" or "Toodles" may work internally, but only when the relationship and tone clearly support it. Industry-specific sign-offs reflect communication norms in different fields; what works at a design studio would be odd at a law firm.
Fun email sign-offs tend to work when they are authentic and brand aligned. If you are genuinely enthusiastic, "With enthusiasm," is not performative. If personality is a professional asset in your field, something distinctive adds to how people remember you. The failure mode is a clever sign-off that does not match the email's tone, a lighthearted close on a serious message reads as tone-deaf.
Situation-Specific Closings
Some situations call for a sign-off that acknowledges the context directly. Below are situation-specific sign-offs organized by scenario.
After asking a favor
Use these when you are requesting help:
- Thanks for considering it,
- I appreciate whatever you can do,
After a difficult conversation
Use these to acknowledge candor or directness:
- With appreciation for your candor,
- Thank you for your directness,
For apology email sign-offs
Use these to reflect sincerity and a commitment to improvement:
- I appreciate the chance to make this right,
- Committed to doing better moving forward,
When things are moving fast
Use these to indicate ongoing updates or urgency:
- More updates shortly,
- Will follow up by end of day,
- Watch for my next note,
When closing a deal or project
Use these to express excitement or anticipation:
- Looking forward to working together,
- Excited for what is next,
For follow-up email sign-offs
Use these to encourage further engagement after your message:
- Looking forward to hearing your thoughts,
- I welcome your reply,
For job application email sign-offs
Use these to keep the tone professional and express gratitude:
- Thank you for your time and consideration,
- I appreciate the opportunity to apply,
For condolences email sign-offs
Adjust tone to your relationship with the recipient. These expresses support without overstepping:
- Keeping you and your family in my thoughts,
- With sympathy and support,
- Thinking of you,
For holiday email sign-offs
Appropriate for seasonal messages to colleagues and clients. Use "Merry Christmas" only when you know the recipient celebrates:
- Happy holidays,
- Warm wishes for the season,
- Wishing you a restful break,
- Merry Christmas and a happy new year,
When wrapping up a relationship or thread
Use these to close out a conversation or ongoing project on a positive note:
- It has been a pleasure,
- Wishing you all the best from here,
- Take good care,
The Sign-offs That No Longer Work
Some closings have been used so often, often by AI tools generating generic professional email, that they have lost meaning. They do not actively harm your email, but they signal nothing about you and the relationship.
Overused to the point of invisibility:
- "Best regards" in every email to every contact
- "I hope this email finds you well" (this is technically an opener, but it pairs with generic closings)
- "Please let me know if you have any questions"
- "Do not hesitate to reach out"
None of these are wrong. They are just empty. If your recipient sees your name in their inbox and could predict your sign-off, it is doing no work for you.
Actively problematic:
- "Yours truly," in a business context with someone you do not know well (implies intimacy that is not there)
- "XOXO" in any professional setting
- "Sent from my iPhone" as a deliberate affectation (people know)
- No sign-off at all in a first email (reads as abrupt)
Steer clear of anything that reads passive aggressive, "as per my last email," "as previously mentioned," and similar phrases in a closing position signal frustration rather than professionalism. For cleaner professional image, capitalize only the first word of your sign-off: "Best regards," not "Best Regards."
Synonyms for "Best Regards"
If you use "Best regards" by default and want to vary it, here is a direct substitution list:
| Instead of "Best regards" | Use when you want to convey... |
|---|---|
| Kind regards, | Warmth, without over-familiarity |
| Warm regards, | A closer relationship than usual |
| With appreciation, | Gratitude as the dominant note |
| Respectfully, | Formality, hierarchy, or seriousness |
| All the best, | Goodwill without formality |
| Best, | Neutral, professional shorthand |
| Many thanks, | When the ask or favor was real |
Alternatives to "Sincerely"
"Sincerely" is correct and formal, but it can feel dated in some professional contexts. If you want to maintain formality without sounding like a letter from 1985:
- Respectfully,
- With appreciation,
- Yours truly, (slightly warmer)
- Regards,
- Best regards,
- Warmly, (one step less formal)
The Sign-off and the Signature Block
Your sign-off and your email signature are different things. The sign-off is the closing word or phrase (Regards, / Best,). The signature block is your name, title, contact details, and any other information that follows. They work together: a warm sign-off paired with a dense corporate signature block can create tonal dissonance. A casual sign-off with no signature at all in a first email leaves recipients without context.
A functional signature block includes:
- Your name
- Your title and company
- One phone number and one website
- Nothing else, unless you have a specific reason for adding it
Long signature blocks with motivational quotes, social media links, legal disclaimers, and a logo carousel are read by no one.
Cultural differences matter here. Email closings vary significantly by market: in Australia, "Cheers," is often professional; in the US, "Regards," lands neutrally; in the UK it can feel slightly cold; German emails may use "LG" ("Liebe Grüße") in informal contexts; formal Japanese business email typically uses more traditional closings. If you are writing internationally, the right sign-off depends on local norms, not just your own communication style.
Your Sign-off Is Part of Your Voice
Your sign-offs are your parting words, and the best ones fit naturally with your broader professional communication style. If your emails are direct and brief, "Thanks," works. If they are warmer and more relationship-oriented, "Looking forward to speaking," earns its length. If you are in a creative field where personality is a professional asset, something memorable is worth trying.
The best email sign-offs work when they are brand aligned, fit your personal brand, and are chosen based on the recipient's relationship and context, not just pasted from habit. While professional communication is becoming more flexible across industries, you still need a professional approach when emailing professionally in business settings. Across similar email communications, inconsistency also signals something: using "Warmly," with one client and "Best regards," with another can make your tone feel calculated rather than natural.
If you use AI to draft email, the sign-off is often where generic voice shows up most clearly. The model defaults to the most statistically common professional close, which is also the least distinctive one. A system that has learned from your actual sent emails will close the way you close, not the way average professional email closes.
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