Forms of address in the United Kingdom
Forms of address used in the United Kingdom are given below. For further information on Courtesy Titles see Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom.
Abbreviations
Several terms have been abbreviated in the table below. The forms used in the table are given first, followed by alternative acceptable abbreviations in parentheses.- His/Her Majesty: HM
- His/Her Royal Highness: HRH
- His/Her Grace: HG
- The Most Noble: TN
- The Most Honourable: The Most Hon
- The Right Honourable: The Rt Hon
- The Honourable: The Hon
- The Much Honoured: The Much Hon
- The Most Reverend: The Most Rev
- The Right Reverend: The Rt Rev
- The Very Reverend: The Very Rev
- The Reverend: The Rev
- The Venerable: The Ven
Royalty
Nobility
Peers, peeresses and non-peerage
Eldest sons, grandsons and great-grandsons of dukes, marquesses and earls
Eldest sons of dukes, marquesses and earls use their father's most senior subsidiary title as courtesy titles: note the absence of "The" before the title. If applicable, eldest sons of courtesy marquesses or courtesy earls also use a subsidiary title from their grandfather, which is lower ranking than the one used by their father. Eldest daughters do not have courtesy titles; all courtesy peeresses are wives of courtesy peers.| Position | On envelopes | Salutation in letter | Oral address |
| Courtesy marquess | Marquess of London | My Lord or Dear Lord London | My Lord or Lord London |
| Courtesy marquess's wife | Marchioness of London | Madam or Dear Lady London | My Lady or Lady London |
| Courtesy earl | Earl of London | My Lord or Dear Lord London | My Lord or Lord London |
| Courtesy earl's wife | Countess of London | Madam or Dear Lady London | My Lady or Lady London |
| Courtesy viscount | Viscount London | My Lord or Dear Lord London | My Lord or Lord London |
| Courtesy viscount's wife | Viscountess London | Madam or Dear Lady London | My Lady or Lady London |
| Courtesy baron Courtesy Lord of Parliament | Lord London | My Lord or Dear Lord London | My Lord or Lord London |
| Courtesy baron's wife Wife of courtesy Lord of Parliament | Lady London | Madam or Dear Lady London | My Lady or Lady London |
Heirs-apparent and heirs-presumptive of Scottish peers
| Position | On envelopes | Salutation in letter | Oral address |
| Scottish peer's heir-apparent or heir-presumptive | The Master of Edinburgh | Sir or Dear Master of Edinburgh | Sir or Master |
| Scottish peer's heiress-apparent or heiress-presumptive | The Mistress of Edinburgh | Madam or Dear Mistress of Edinburgh | Madam or Mistress |
Sons, grandsons and great-grandsons of peers
Daughters, granddaughters and great-granddaughters of peers
| Position | On envelopes | Salutation in letter | Oral address |
| Duke's daughter Marquess's daughter Earl's daughter | The Lady Mary Smith, The Lady Mary Brown | Madam or Dear Lady Mary | My Lady or Lady Mary |
| Viscount's daughter Baron's daughter Lord of parliament's daughter | The Hon Mary Smith | Madam or Dear Miss Smith | Madam or Miss Smith |
| Viscount's daughter Baron's daughter Lord of Parliament's daughter | The Hon Mrs Brown | Madam or Dear Mrs Brown | Madam or Mrs Brown |
Gentry and minor nobilityRuling of the Court of the Lord Lyon (26/2/1948, Vol. IV, page 26): 'With regard to the words 'untitled nobility' employed in certain recent birthbrieves in relation to the (Minor) Baronage of Scotland, Finds and Declares that the (Minor) Barons of Scotland are, and have been both in this nobiliary Court and in the Court of Session recognised as a ‘titled nobility’ and that the estait of the Baronage (i.e. Barones Minores) are of the ancient Feudal Nobility of Scotland’. This title is not, however, in and of itself a peerage title, and nobility, or the ''noblesse'', in Scotland incorporates the concept of gentry in England.
Baronets
Knights
Scottish barons (non-peerage nobility)
Chiefs, chieftains and lairds
Clergy
Church of England
Similar styles are also applied to clergy of equivalent status in other religious organisations. The words clergy and cleric/clerk are derived from the proper term for bishops, priests and deacons still used in legal documents: to Rev'd rather than Rev.
Where a personal name is not used for a priest or deacon, the manner of address is Rev Mr etc., i.e. the Rev is used with the usual title. Without this title, the use of Rev with a surname should not be used in the United Kingdom for any ordained person, whether Anglican or not - it is a solecism. Catholic clergy favour Fr .
For further details see .
Clergy: 'introduce as Mr Pike or Father Pike according to his preference
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, as a Presbyterian Church, recognizes state-awarded titles only as courtesy. In court one may only be addressed as Mr, Mrs, Miss, Dr, Prof, etc. depending on academic achievement. Thus ministers are correctly addressed as, for example Mr Smith or Mrs Smith unless they have a higher degree or academic appointment e.g. Dr Smith or Prof. Smith. It is 'infra dig' to use the title 'Rev' and even the use of 'the Rev Mr' requires sensitivity to official style.| Position | On envelopes | Salutation in letter | Oral address |
| Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly | His Grace The Lord High Commissioner | Your Grace | Your Grace or Sir/Ma'am |
| Clergy | The Rev John Smith | Dear Mr Smith | Mr Smith/Dr Smith etc. |
| Current Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland | The Right Rev John Smith | Dear Mr Smith | Mr Smith/Dr Smith etc. |
| Former Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland | The Very Rev John Smith | Dear Mr Smith | Mr Smith/Dr Smith etc. |
Judiciary
United Kingdom
| Position | On envelopes | Salutation in letter | Oral address | In court |
| Male Justice of the Supreme Court holding a peerage | The Right Honourable The Lord Smith | Lord Smith | Lord Smith | My Lord |
| Male Justice of the Supreme Court | The Right Honourable Lord Smith | Lord Smith | Lord Smith | My Lord |
| Female Justice of the Supreme Court holding a peerage | The Right Honourable The Lady Smith | Lady Smith | Lady Smith | My Lady |
| Female Justice of the Supreme Court | The Right Honourable Lady Smith | Lady Smith | Lady Smith | My Lady |
England and Wales
A judge's first name only forms part of their judicial style if, at the time of their appointment, there is a senior judge with the same or a similar surname. Thus, if there is a "Mr Justice Smith", subsequent judges will be "Mr Justice John Smith", "Mrs Justice Mary Smith", etc. High Court Judges and above who are Queen's Counsel do not use the post-nominal letters following appointment or after retirement.A member of the Bar addresses a circuit judge or higher, out of court, as "Judge".
Scotland
Academics
The forms of address used for academics can, in most cases, be either formal or social.| Position | On envelopes | Salutation in letter | Oral address | In conversation |
| Chancellor | The Chancellor of | Dear Chancellor | Chancellor or by name and title | The Chancellor or by name |
| Chancellor | , Chancellor of | By name | By name or Chancellor | The Chancellor or by name |
| Vice-Chancellor | The Vice-Chancellor of | Dear Sir/Madam/Vice-Chancellor | Vice-Chancellor or by name | The Vice-Chancellor or by name |
| Vice-Chancellor | , Vice-Chancellor of | By name or Dear Vice-Chancellor | Vice-Chancellor or by name | The Vice-Chancellor or by name |
| Professor | Professor Jane Smith | Dear Sir/Madam | Professor Smith | Professor Smith |
| Professor | Professor Jane Smith | Dear Professor Smith | Professor Smith | Professor Smith |
| Doctor | Dr Jane Smith or The Revd John Smith DD or Susan Brown MD or Tom Brown PhD, etc. | Dear Sir/Madam | Dr Smith | Dr Smith |
| Doctor | Dr Jane Smith | Dear Dr Smith | Dr Smith | Dr Smith |