How to End an Email Professionally
Sign-offs and closing lines for the workplace
Your email closing is the last thing your colleague, client, or boss reads. A professional ending reinforces your credibility and leaves a positive impression. This guide covers the best professional sign-offs, closing lines, and contextual examples for workplace emails.
The Best Professional Email Sign-Offs
Choosing the right sign-off depends on your relationship with the recipient and the email's formality. Here are the most effective options, ranked by formality, from our complete how to end an email guide.
Formal Professional Sign-Offs
- Sincerely — The most formal option. Best for first emails to executives, clients, or external stakeholders.
- Respectfully — Shows deference. Ideal for emails to senior leadership, board members, or authority figures.
- Best regards — The safest all-purpose professional sign-off. Works for virtually any business email.
- Kind regards — Slightly warmer than "best regards" while maintaining professionalism.
Standard Professional Sign-Offs
- Best — Clean, modern, and widely accepted. The most common professional sign-off in 2026.
- Thanks — Appropriate when you have made a request or the email involves collaboration.
- Thank you — More formal than "Thanks." Good for emails where gratitude is warranted.
- Regards — Neutral and professional. Can feel slightly cold without "best" or "kind" before it.
Casual Professional Sign-Offs
- Cheers — Friendly and energetic. Best for colleagues you know well in casual work environments.
- Talk soon — Implies ongoing conversation. Great for team members and close colleagues.
- All the best — Warm and genuine without being unprofessional.
Professional Closing Lines
The line before your sign-off sets the tone for your closing. Here are effective options by purpose:
When You Need Action
For emails that require a response:
- "I would appreciate your feedback by [date]."
- "Could you please confirm by end of day?"
- "Would Tuesday or Wednesday work for a quick call?"
- "Please let me know how you would like to proceed."
When You Are Providing Information
- "Please let me know if you have any questions."
- "Happy to discuss this further if helpful."
- "I hope this is useful. Do not hesitate to reach out."
When Following Up
- "Looking forward to hearing from you."
- "I appreciate your time and look forward to your response."
- "Thank you for your consideration."
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Professional Closings by Situation
Email to Your Boss
Use a respectful but not overly formal tone. "Best regards" or "Thank you" with a clear summary of any action items works well. Avoid being too casual even if you have a friendly relationship.
Email to a Client
Clients deserve extra professionalism. Use "Best regards" or "Sincerely" and always end with a service-oriented closing line: "Please do not hesitate to reach out if you need anything."
Email to a Colleague
You have more flexibility here. "Best," "Thanks," or even "Cheers" can work depending on your company culture. Match the tone of previous exchanges.
Cold Outreach Email
End with a specific, low-commitment call to action and "Best regards." The closing should make it easy for them to respond: "Would a 15-minute call this week work?"
Common Professional Email Closing Mistakes
- No closing at all: Ending abruptly after your last sentence feels rude. Always include a sign-off.
- Mismatched tone: A super casual sign-off in a formal email (or vice versa) creates cognitive dissonance.
- Multiple sign-offs: "Thanks! Best regards, [Name]" is redundant. Choose one.
- Overly long closings: Keep it to one closing line plus your sign-off. Do not write a second paragraph as your closing.
- Forgetting your name: Always sign off with your name, especially in first emails and external communications.
Let AI Perfect Your Email Closings
AI email tools like Monssot analyze the context of your email and suggest the most appropriate closing. Whether you are writing to a CEO or a teammate, the AI ensures your tone is right. Learn more about writing emails faster.
Also explore: complete email endings guide, email endings for professors, email endings for teachers, and email endings in Spanish.
Related: how to start an email, how to write a professional email, and follow-up emails.
Explore all guides in this series: how to end an email, end to a professor, end to a teacher, end requiring response, end in Spanish.
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