How to End an Email in 2026: Sign-Offs and Closing Lines

To end an email, finish with one sentence that says what happens next (“Could you confirm by Thursday?”), then a sign-off that fits the relationship, then your name. “Best regards” works for almost any work email. “Thanks” fits when you've asked for something, and “Sincerely” suits applications and formal letters.

You've written the email. The request is clear, the attachment is there, and then you spend another minute choosing between “Best” and “Best regards.” Honestly, either would be fine. My view after reading more email endings than I could count: almost nobody remembers your sign-off, and almost everybody notices when they can't tell what you want. Below I'll cover the three parts of a good ending, a before and after, which sign-off to use when, closing lines for common situations, and a few to skip.

The three parts of an email ending

A closing line finishes your thought. A sign-off sets the tone. Your name, and sometimes a signature, tells the reader who's speaking. Say Greg, an account manager at a Chicago ad agency, is sending a client the first draft of a holiday radio script.

Could you send your comments on the two open questions by Thursday at noon CT? That gives us time to revise the script before Friday's recording session.

Best regards,
Greg

Swap “Best regards” for “Kind regards” and almost nothing changes. Remove the Thursday request and the email loses its point. So if you only have time to polish one part, make it the closing line.

An email ending, before and after

Here's how a lot of client emails end. It's friendly. It's also a dead end.

Anyway, let me know your thoughts on the two options whenever you get a chance! Happy to discuss further.

Thanks in advance!!
Greg

The client now has to decide what “thoughts” means, whether there's a deadline, and whether “discuss further” is an invitation to a meeting. Most people in that spot do nothing, which is the one outcome Greg can't afford. Here's the version I'd send.

Could you pick option A or B by Wednesday at noon CT? The station needs our final spot by Thursday morning, and either one works on our side.

Thanks,
Greg

One question, one deadline, one reason, and a sign-off that matches the fact that he's asking for something. The client can answer with a single letter.

The best email sign-offs, by situation

Pick by relationship first. If you're not sure, go one step more formal than you think you need. You can always relax once they reply.

Professional sign-offs

• Best regards: my default for a first email. Warm enough, formal enough, and nobody reads anything into it.
• Kind regards: nearly the same, a touch softer. Use whichever sounds more like you.
• Sincerely: for applications, formal letters and complaints. It can feel distant in a quick reply.
• Regards: neutral, a little cool. Good when the email is firm.
• Best: short and common at work. Perfectly professional between people who already email each other.
• Thank you / Thanks: best when the email asks for something or thanks someone. It does double duty as a sign-off and a message.

Friendly sign-offs

• All the best / Best wishes: warm, and good for goodbyes and congratulations.
• Take care: for people you know, especially if they're going through something.
• Talk soon: only if you actually will.
• Cheers: natural for some people and teams, too casual for others. I'd save it for people who use it with you.

Your opening is a good guide. If you started with “Dear Ms. Kowalski,” end with “Best regards” or “Sincerely.” If you started with “Hi Sam,” then “Thanks” or “Best” matches. Picture Kayla, a junior at Ohio State, writing to a professor she's never met: “Dear Professor Ruiz” at the top, “Thank you” and her full name at the bottom. Once the professor replies with a two-line “Sure, come by Tuesday. Dr. R,” she can keep her own replies just as short.

Does your sign-off affect whether people reply?

Maybe a little, but not as much as what's in the email. The data people usually point to is Boomerang's 2017 analysis of more than 350,000 email threads from online community mailing lists. Emails ending in a form of thanks got replies 62% of the time, against 46% for those without. “Thanks in advance” came top at 65.7%, “Thanks” at 63.0%, and “Best” lowest of the common closings at 51.2%.

Two catches. The emails came from public mailing lists, many of them about open source software, not from offices or inboxes like yours. And it shows a pattern, not cause and effect: emails that thank people may also be the ones asking clearer questions. I'd take it as a nudge toward “Thanks” when you're asking for help, not proof that one word gets replies.

Is “Thanks in advance” rude?

It depends on who you're writing to. Between colleagues who help each other all the time, it reads as ordinary. In a first request to someone who could easily say no, it can sound like you've assumed the yes. In that case I'd write “Thank you for considering it” instead. Same thanks, no assumption.

“Looking forward to hearing from you” has a similar quirk. It's polite, but it doesn't tell anyone what to answer. Put the actual question before it.

Closing lines for common situations

These are the sentences that go right before the sign-off, written the way the people sending them would actually write them. Change the details and keep the shape.

When you need an answer

Lauren, a marketing director at a software company in Austin, needs her agency to choose between two landing pages.

Would you prefer the shorter introduction or the version with the customer example? Once you choose, we can finish the page by Friday.

Thanks,
Lauren

If timing matters, say why. “Could you confirm by Wednesday so we can book the venue?” gives the deadline a reason, and lets them tell you if it won't work.

When you're following up

Greg is waiting on a printer for trade show banners.

I'm following up on the delivery date below. Could you let me know when the banners are expected? We need them at the Chicago office by Monday, November 9, to ship to the show.

Best regards,
Greg

Start with what's still open and make answering it easy. A follow-up doesn't need to hint that they've done something wrong. “Just circling back” adds nothing, so I skip it and go straight to the question.

When you're sending something for review

Megan runs a small design studio in Denver and is sending a client a revised proposal.

The revised proposal is attached. The scope is agreed, so I'd most like your comments on the timeline in section three.

Best regards,
Megan

Say where their attention is most useful. “Please review” on its own leaves them guessing whether you want a quick look, detailed edits or a final sign-off.

When you're saying thank you

Kayla met with a career counselor about her resume before applying for a summer internship.

Thank you for walking me through the resume edits on Tuesday. I've updated the experience section and sent my first two applications.

Many thanks,
Kayla

Name what helped, then stop. A thank-you email doesn't need a new request tacked on the end.

When you're saying no

Megan gets a request for a full rebrand with a three-week deadline.

I can't take on the rebrand within that schedule. Thank you for thinking of the studio, and I hope you find the right fit for it.

Best regards,
Megan

Keep the no clear. If there's a real alternative, offer it plainly: “I could start in January if that helps.” Don't offer a call or a referral just because it feels like the polite thing to add.

When you're correcting a mistake

Please use the attached version. It fixes the due date on the invoice, which should be November 15. The amount hasn't changed. Sorry for the confusion.

Best regards,
Greg

Say what changed and whether they need to do anything. Keep the apology the size of the mistake. A wrong date gets one “sorry,” not a paragraph.

When the email goes to a group

Marcus runs operations for a team split between New York, Denver and San Francisco. When he emails all of them, a closing line like “Let me know if you have questions” gets nothing back. Naming owners does.

Next steps: Erin, please send the updated shift schedule by Tuesday. Nate, please confirm the San Francisco headcount by Wednesday at 5 p.m. PT. Everyone else, no action needed.

Thanks,
Marcus

“No action needed” is one of the most useful lines in a group email. It tells most of the list they can stop reading.

Email endings to skip

• No sign-off at all on a first email. It can read as abrupt. In a quick back-and-forth, dropping it is normal.
• Abbreviations like “Thx” or “Rgds.” They save you a second and look rushed.
• “Love,” “xoxo” or hearts. Keep these for people you'd say them to in person.
• “Yours truly” and “Yours faithfully.” Both read as old-fashioned in most work email.
• “Hope this makes sense!” It can sound unsure of your own email. If something's complicated, offer to explain: “Happy to go through it on a call if that's easier.”
• A sign-off that doesn't match the email. “Cheers!” at the end of a complaint, or “Warmest regards” after a firm no, sends two messages at once.
• Stacked closers. “Thanks! Let me know! Talk soon! Best,” is four endings. Pick one.

Add a signature that helps

In a thread that's already going, your first name is enough. For a first email, add what the reader needs to place you and reach you. Purdue OWL's email etiquette guide recommends a signature with enough information for the recipient to contact you, such as your position or department where it's relevant.

Megan Doyle
Founder, Doyle Studio
Denver, CO
(303) 555-0117

A student might add their major and graduation year. A freelancer might add a website. A long block of slogans, social icons and old job titles makes a short email feel heavier than it is. And if your phone still adds “Sent from my iPhone,” replace it with your name in the Mail app's signature setting. It's not wrong, but it tells a client you dashed it off.

You can set a signature up once and have it added automatically: Gmail has it under Settings → See all settings → Signature (Google's help page), and new Outlook and Outlook on the web have it under Settings → Accounts → Signatures (Microsoft's guide).

A quick check before you send

1. Read the opening and the ending together. They should sound like the same person in the same mood.
2. Find the ask. If you need something, it should be in the closing line, not buried in the middle.
3. Check the deadline and time zone. “Noon” means something different in Chicago and San Francisco.
4. Match the formality. “Dear” at the top and “Cheers” at the bottom pull in different directions.
5. Check your name and signature. Especially if you switch between work and personal accounts.

For help with the rest of the email, our guide to writing a formal email has templates for applications, requests and follow-ups. If you're writing to a professor, this guide covers greetings and examples for students.