100 Email Sign-Offs for 2027 (Sorted by Situation)

An email sign-off is the short word or phrase you put before your name at the end of an email, such as “Best regards,” “Thanks,” or “Sincerely.” If you need one right now, “Best regards” is the safest professional choice and “Thanks” is the best everyday one.

The right sign-off depends on three things: how well you know the reader, how much is at stake, and what you want them to do next. Below are 100 email sign-offs sorted by situation, each with a note on when to use it. After the list you'll find which closings to avoid, what reply-rate data says, how sign-offs work in sales and cold email, how they change by country, punctuation rules, and five complete email endings you can copy.

What Is an Email Sign-Off?

An email sign-off, also called an email closing, closing salutation or complimentary close, is the line between your message and your name. It is usually one to three words followed by a comma. Its job is tone: it tells the reader how formal, warm or urgent you mean to be.

People often mix it up with two other parts of an email ending. The closing line is your last sentence, and it should ask for the next step. The signature is the block with your name, role and contact details. Each does a different job, so get all three right.

For the closing sentence itself, see our guide to closing lines for emails. For the signature block, see these email signature examples. And for the other end of the email, email salutations cover how to open.

100 Email Sign-Offs, Sorted by Situation

These email sign-off examples run from safe professional defaults to formal, grateful, reply-seeking, warm, casual, sensitive and seasonal closings. Each entry says when it fits and where it can go wrong.

Safe professional email sign-offs (the defaults)

These work for most business email: clients, vendors, colleagues and first contact. When in doubt, pick from here.

Formal email sign-offs

Use these for job applications, legal or government correspondence, executives you don't know, and any email where formality signals respect.

Sign-offs that say thank you

Gratitude closings get the most replies in published data. Pick the one that matches the size of the favor.

Sign-offs when you want a reply (sales, follow-ups and cold email)

In outreach the closing line does most of the work, so keep the sign-off short. These fit when a next step is planned or a reply is genuinely expected.

Warm and friendly email sign-offs

For clients and colleagues you already have a relationship with, where a little warmth helps.

Casual email sign-offs for colleagues

For internal email, teammates and quick replies. Keep these out of first contact and formal threads.

Sign-offs for sensitive emails: apologies, bad news and condolences

Tone matters most here. Avoid breezy closings like “Cheers” or “Best” when the message is serious. For the subject line, see these apology email subject lines.

Seasonal, cultural, creative and funny email sign-offs

Use these when you know the reader and the context. Creative and funny email sign-offs add personality, but each has a narrow lane. For non-English closings like “Mit freundlichen Grüßen,” see the country table below.

How to Choose the Right Email Sign-Off

Two questions settle most choices: do you know this person, and how much is riding on the email? New and high-stakes: Sincerely or Best regards. Known and high-stakes: Kind regards or All the best. Routine: Best or Thanks. Teammates: Cheers, Talk soon or just your name.

1. Match the relationship. New contacts get formal or neutral closings. People you know can get warmer ones.
2. Match the stakes. Job applications, proposals and complaints call for more formality than a quick question.
3. Mirror the other person. If a client signs off “Cheers,” you can relax a notch. If they write “Kind regards,” stay there.
4. Match the ask. If you need something, a thank-you sign-off helps. If you're delivering bad news, choose something gentle.
5. Be consistent within a thread. Jumping from “Best regards” to “Thx” can read as annoyance.

For a wider look at ending emails by goal, see how to end an email.

Formal vs. Casual Email Sign-Offs

Most professional email sits in the middle of this ladder. Very formal: Respectfully, Yours faithfully, Sincerely. Neutral: Best regards, Kind regards, Regards. Warm: All the best, Warm regards. Casual: Cheers, Talk soon, Thanks! Move left for official or high-stakes messages and right for teammates and quick replies.

Not sure which of the two most common business closings to use? We compare them in Best regards vs. Kind regards.

Email Sign-Offs by Recipient

The same person can be “Best regards” in a first email and “Thanks” by the fifth. Start one notch more formal than you think you need, then mirror the reader. If they reply with “Cheers, Sam,” you can match it.

For the first line of the email, the same rules apply in reverse. See our guide to how to start an email for openers that match these closings.

Email Sign-Offs for Common Scenarios

Some emails have a predictable purpose. These pairings put a closing line and a sign-off together so the ending does a job instead of just stopping.

If you keep getting silence after the sign-off, the problem is usually the ask, not the closing. Our guide on how to follow up on an email after no response covers timing and wording.

When You Can Skip the Sign-Off

Sign-offs are expected in the first email of a thread and in anything formal. They become optional as a conversation speeds up. You can usually drop the sign-off (and often your name) when:

• You're three or more replies into a fast back-and-forth with the same person.
• The thread is internal and everyone on it has already dropped theirs.
• The message is a one-line confirmation such as “Done” or “Sounds good, see you at 3.”
• You're messaging in Slack, Teams or text, where sign-offs read as oddly formal.

Keep the sign-off when you add new people to a thread, change the topic, deliver bad news, or write to someone senior or external. When in doubt, a one-word “Thanks,” costs nothing.

Email Sign-Offs to Avoid in Professional Email

Sign-offs are one part of email manners. For the rest, see our list of poor email etiquette habits.

Do Email Sign-Offs Affect Reply Rates?

Yes, according to the largest public dataset on the topic. Boomerang analyzed closings in more than 350,000 email threads from online community mailing lists. Emails that closed with a form of thanks got a reply 62% of the time, against 46% for emails that did not.

Two caveats: the data is correlational, and it comes from community mailing lists rather than sales email. It is consistent with a 2010 experiment by Adam Grant and Francesca Gino, which found that people who were thanked for an earlier favor were more than twice as likely to help again (66% vs. 32%).

That's why “Thanks in advance” is debated. It topped Boomerang's list, yet some etiquette advisers warn it presumes a yes. A practical rule: use it for small, reasonable asks, and switch to “Thank you for considering this” when the request is big.

Email Sign-Offs for Sales and Cold Email

In outbound sales, the sign-off is not where the reply comes from. The closing line is. Keep the sign-off short and neutral so the call to action stands out. Our guide to cold email calls to action covers the closing line itself.

• Don't stack asks. One question in the closing line, one plain sign-off. “Looking forward to hearing from you” plus a question plus “Thanks in advance” is three requests.
• Keep the signature light. Many outbound teams keep cold-email signatures to plain text with one link, because heavy HTML signatures with images and several links look more like marketing mail.
• Sign with your first name. “Best, Vikas” reads like a person wrote it. A full name and title on the sign-off line reads like a template.

To plan every touch after the first email, see our cold email follow-up sequence guide.

Email Sign-Offs Around the World

Sign-off norms change by country. If you email international clients, these are the safe defaults.

What Common Email Sign-Offs Mean

A few closings get searched for their meaning as much as their use. Here is what they signal and when they fit.

What does “In solidarity” mean at the end of an email?

“In solidarity” tells the reader you stand with them on a shared cause. It comes from the labor movement and is still the standard sign-off in union correspondence. Activists, advocacy groups and nonprofit teams use it too, especially in messages about campaigns, strikes or social issues. In an ordinary sales or client email it reads as out of place, so save it for people who share the cause with you. Variations include “In union,” “With solidarity” and “In solidarity and respect.”

“Sincere regards” vs. “Sincerely”

Both are formal. “Sincerely” is the US standard for cover letters and formal requests. “Sincere regards” is a touch warmer and more common in formal email from India and the UK. Either is safe when you don't know the reader well.

What does V/R mean in an email?

V/R stands for “Very respectfully.” It is a US military convention used when writing to someone of senior rank, while “Respectfully” goes to someone junior or of equal rank. Outside a military or defense context, don't use it.

When to use “Respectfully submitted”

“Respectfully submitted” closes a formal report, meeting minutes or a proposal sent to a board or committee. It signals the document is offered for review. In everyday email it sounds stiff.

“Acknowledged” and “Noted” as sign-offs

“Acknowledged, thank you” and “Noted, thanks” confirm you received an instruction or update. They are useful in operations, legal and project threads where a paper trail matters. With clients, add a sentence on what happens next so the reply doesn't feel curt.

Gen Z and Modern Email Sign-Offs

Younger professionals often skip traditional sign-offs in fast threads, sign with just a name, or use lowercase “thanks” and “ty.” Inside a team that's normal. With clients and senior people you don't know, a conventional sign-off still reads as more professional.

• Fine at work: “Thanks!”, “Talk soon”, just your name in an ongoing thread.
• Risky at work: “ty”, “vibes”, “keep it real”, emoji-only closings.
• A good rule: mirror the other person's register, and start one notch more formal than you think you need.

Email Sign-Off Punctuation and Formatting

• Put a comma after the sign-off: “Best regards,” then your name on the next line. This is standard in US and UK business email.
• Capitalize only the first word: “Best regards,” not “Best Regards,” and “Kind regards,” not “Kind Regards.”
• No period: “Thanks.” before your name looks abrupt. Use a comma.
• Exclamation points: “Thanks!” is fine with people you know. Avoid it in formal email.
• Name on its own line: sign-off, line break, name. Your signature block goes below that.
• First name or full name: use your full name on a first email, then just your first name once you're on a first-name basis.

5 Email Endings You Can Copy

Each example shows the closing line, the sign-off and the name together, because they work as a unit.

1. Job application

2. Client follow-up

3. Cold email

4. Internal update

5. Apology

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best email sign-off?

“Best regards” is the safest professional email sign-off for most business email. “Thanks” is the best everyday choice when the reader is doing something for you, and thank-you closings get the most replies in published data.

Is “Best regards” still professional in 2027?

Yes. It is neutral, polite and understood everywhere, which is why it remains the default business email sign-off.

Is “Best” a rude way to sign off an email?

No, but it is brief, and some readers find it curt. It works for quick emails with people you know. After bad news or with new contacts, choose “Best regards” or “Thank you.”

Should I use “Thanks in advance”?

For small, reasonable requests, yes. It had the highest reply rate in Boomerang's study of 350,000 threads. For big asks it can sound presumptuous, so use “Thank you for considering this” instead.

Do you put a comma after an email sign-off?

Yes. In US and UK business email the sign-off is followed by a comma, with your name on the next line: “Kind regards,” then your name.

Is it okay to end an email without a sign-off?

In fast back-and-forth threads, yes. Many people sign with just their name after the first exchange. On a first email, a formal email or cold outreach, include a sign-off.

What does “In solidarity” mean as an email sign-off?

It signals shared commitment to a cause. Unions, advocacy groups and activists use it. In ordinary business email it can seem out of place.

What is the difference between an email sign-off and a signature?

The sign-off is the short closing phrase, like “Best regards.” The signature is the block beneath your name with your title, company and contact details.

What is the difference between “Best regards” and “Kind regards”?

Both are professional. “Kind regards” is slightly warmer and more common in the UK and Europe, while “Best regards” is the neutral default in the US.

How do Gen Z professionals sign off emails?

Often with just a name, a lowercase “thanks,” or no sign-off in quick threads. With clients and senior people they don't know, a conventional sign-off is still the safer choice.

The Bottom Line

Default to “Best regards” for business and “Thanks” for everyday email. Go more formal for applications and executives, warmer for people you know, and gentle for bad news. Above all, let your closing line carry the ask and keep the sign-off simple.

That matters most in outbound sales, where every word at the end of an email either earns a reply or gets skipped. If you want help writing sequences that get replies, our Done-for-you Grow Program runs outbound for B2B teams.