How To Use Best Regards And Its Variations (With Examples)

Being able to write professional emails and letters is an important skill to have, and one of the major aspects of this is knowing how to close those emails and letters. “Best regards” is a good option for this, as it sounds positive without being too formal or too casual.

In this article, you’ll learn what “best regards” means and when to use it. You’ll also learn alternatives to “best regards,” how to format a letter ending, and how to write a thank you note after an interview.

Key Takeaways

• “Best regards” expresses friendliness and well wishes toward the reader without being overly casual or formal.

• Since it implies familiarity, you should only use “best regards” if you know the person you’re writing to.

• You can use “best regards” when writing an email or letter to thank an interviewer for meeting with you, discuss a project with your supervisor, or communicate with a colleague, client, or mentor.

What Does “Best Regards” Mean?

Best regards is an expression used to indicate friendliness and warm feeling toward the reader. It’s similar to wishing them well, and it works for both personal and professional emails and letters. It’s not hyper-professional, but it’s not super personal either, so you can use it or one of its variations in a number of scenarios.

Best regards also indicates that you regard the recipient highly, so it should be reserved for people you actually know and respect. Using it for cold emails or cover letters might send a confusing message because you can’t exactly regard someone well without knowing them at all.

Best Regards: When to Use

Remember that best regards is used to indicate that you have a close relationship with the recipient and that you respect them. With that in mind, here are some occasions when using best regards is appropriate:

• Thanking an interviewer you’ve had several rounds of interviews with

• Discussing a project with your supervisor

• Communicating with a business partner, vendor, or client

• Emailing coworkers

• Asking a mentor for advice

You’ll be expressing some level of familiarity when you use best regards, so make sure that it’s appropriate to do so before using this sign-off.

Examples of Using Best Regards

Here is an example of an informal email that uses “best regards” as the closing:

Here is an example of a more formal email that uses the same closing phrase:

Alternatives to Best Regards

Best regards has several variations that work well in a number of contexts. We’ll cover a longer list later, but these alternatives deserve a bit more attention:

• Best. A stripped-down version of “best regards” and/or “best wishes,” the sign-off best offers flexibility in interpretation — which is fine, because all possible connotations are positive! It’s also professional enough without being stuffy.

• Regards. When you don’t know the recipient well (reaching out to an acquaintance, cold emailing a business, etc.), “regards” makes more sense than “best regards.” A good option if you want to avoid the common but widely accepted “sincerely.”

• Kind/Warm regards. If you have a personal connection with the recipient, a sign-off that includes “kind” or “warm” is a good option. Be careful using this in a professional setting, as it might convey the wrong message of intimacy.

How to Format a Letter Ending

The closing is a little easier than the salutation of any letter. Choose your closing phrase, place a comma after it. Then return four times to leave four lines between your closing and your typed name. This is the space where you add your signature. Here’s what this should look like:

If you’re handwriting a thank you, you don’t need to leave the four spaces or type your name. Just make sure that your signature is easy to read. If not, they’ll have no idea who sent the thank you.

Some people prefer to close emails with one space between the close and your typed signature. They then add their contact information directly below the name, just in case the interviewer wants to reach back out to you. Here’s an example of this:

How to Capitalize a Closing

When it comes to capitalizing your letter closing, is it “Best Regards” or “Best regards?” The closing of a letter uses a capital letter for only the first word. It’s that easy. So, in the above question, you’d say “Best regards” and not “Best Regards.”

How to Write a Thank-You Note/Email After an Interview

One of the most common places to use “Best regards” is as a sign-off on your thank you for the interview email. So, it might help to have an idea of what you should write in one of these letters in the first place.

Thanking someone for taking the time to consider you for a job might be the best step you can take at that moment to put you ahead of the other job applicants.

Thank-you messages are typically straightforward and succinct. They also rely heavily on business letter etiquette, so keeping it professional is better than being overly friendly. The following tips will help you write your letter:

• Address it personally to the interviewer

• Say thank you right away

• Remind them of who you are, maybe say when you interviewed

• Let them know you’re still interested in the position

• Offer to be available if they have further questions

• Sign off or close your message

Here’s an interesting point to consider. After the interview, if you decide that you don’t want the job, you should still send a thank you. You obviously wouldn’t express interest in the position; in fact, you’d tell them that you’ve decided this isn’t the right position for you.

First of all, this is a professional courtesy, and it’s good to let them know not to consider you further. Secondly, it paints you in a good light, and they might be even more interested in you if a different position opens up in the future.

Is It Better to Send an Email or a Note/Letter?

We do suggest you email most interview thank-you notes simply because it’s more immediate. There can be exceptions, though. If you are dealing with an old-fashioned business or a mom-and-pop store where technology isn’t important, then a physical thank you letter might be the best choice. You will have to gauge what is best after you’ve met the hiring manager.

Sending a thank-you note in the mail is a very nice touch, and it is classy, but it’s a little slow. The problem is that today is an instantaneous world. People have information at their fingertips. They expect to get responses immediately, and a mailed thank-you note might arrive too late.

At the same time, we don’t recommend sending an email immediately after an interview, as it may come across as desperate or less sincere. Plus, it won’t serve its bonus purpose: refreshing the hiring manager’s mind about who you are.

Aim to send your thank-you email anywhere between 2-24 hours after the interview.

Examples of a Thank You Email After an Interview

If you’re ready to write that email but still want a little guidance, the following interview emails can help you. Remember to pay attention to the difference in the sign-off and how it affects the tone of your message.

50 Ways to Close a Business Letter or an Interview Thank You Note

Get ready to take notes. We’ve come up with some creative, some classic, and a few fresh ways to close your business letters and leave a wonderful impression.

• Thank you

• Thanks for your consideration

• Thank you for your time

• Thanks

• Thanks again

• Many thanks

• Greatest thanks

• With sincere thanks

• Sincerest thanks

• With my most sincere thanks

• Sincerely

• Sincerely yours

• Yours sincerely

• Most sincerely

• Most sincerely yours

• Respectfully

• With respect

• Yours respectfully

• Respectfully yours

• Most respectfully yours

• Best

• All the best

• Best wishes

• Best regards

• Regards

• Warm regards

• Warmest regards

• Kind regards

• Kindest regards

• Kind wishes

• Kindest wishes

• Fond regards

• Fondest regards

• Cordially

• Cordially yours

• Warm wishes

• Warmest wishes

• Warmly

• I wish you well

• With gratitude

• With sincere gratitude

• With sincere appreciation

• With appreciation

• Appreciatively

• In appreciation

• Yours truly

• Truly

• Until next time

• Best wishes for the future

• Enthusiastically

Some of these closings will feel a little too formal for you or for the interview you had, while others may seem a bit too familiar. This is where your better business judgment needs to come into play so you can determine with closing best fits your work situation.

Ideally, you want to pick a closing that is forgotten. That sounds strange after we spent so much time discussing your closing and how important it is, but it’s true.

Your business letter closing needs to fall in the appropriately professional and friendly category. You don’t want it to stand out as being odd or uncomfortable or too chummy. What needs to stand out is the content of your message. It’s best to keep that in mind when you pick your closing – it’s the message that matters, not the closing.

Best Regards FAQ

1. Is best regards a good closing?

   Yes, “best regards” is a good closing. It toes the line between professionalism and friendliness very well and is a great option for a letter or email that you’re sending to a familiar business associate.

   “Best regards” is a warm and friendly way to sign off, as it means that you highly regard the person you’re writing to. Because of this, it’s best used with someone you know, as it might come off as slightly odd if you tell a total stranger you think highly of them, especially if you’re cold-emailing them.

   However, when you’re emailing a mentor, colleague, client, or even a hiring manager you’ve spoken with several times, best regards is a great way to soften a sometimes stiff professional letter.

   It’s also a good way to end a thank you note if you don’t want to say thank you again in your closing but sincerely sounds too formal or stiff. Saying best regards can give a little more personality to your letter, allowing you to make an even better impression or stronger connection with the recipient.

   Other uses for “best regards” could be when you’re emailing your supervisor, a vendor, a client, a business partner, your coworkers, or a mentor. From thank you notes to informational emails or a list of updates and questions, closing with “best regards” can help you create positive rapport with your recipient in a professional way.

2. What can I say instead of best regards?

   Instead of best regards, you can say “best,” “regards,” “kind regards,” or “warm regards.” All of these phrases serve similar purposes to “best regards,” but one may fit better with your letter or email than the others.

   “Best,” for example, is a good option if you don’t have a very close relationship with the recipient but want something more personable than “sincerely.” It’s short for “best regards” or “best wishes,” so while it leaves the message somewhat up to interpretation, it’s still guaranteed to come across as positive and professional.

   Saying just “regards” is more similar to “sincerely” since it doesn’t assume you know the person well. It still sounds respectful, warm, and professional, though, and can add more personality to your letter or email than the basic “sincerely” does.

   If you want an even more personal option, then “best regards,” “kind regards,” or “warm regards” fits the ticket. This should only be used with people you know very well, though, as it can come across as too familiar in a professional setting.

   An email to a colleague or client who you have worked with closely for many years, for example, would be an appropriate time to use this closing.

   If and when you’re in doubt about which closing to use, err on the side of professionalism over familiarity. You can always adjust to match the recipient’s friendly tone after receiving a response from them, but it’s tough to backpedal from friendliness to professionalism.

3. Which is better, “kind regards” or “best regards”?

   “Best regards” is better than “kind regards.” In a business setting, “best regards” is a great balance between friendliness and professionalism. It shows that you respect the person you’re writing to without being overly casual or familiar.

   “Kind regards,” however, can come across as more intimate, as it insinuates that you know the person very well and have some sort of friendship with them that goes beyond that of a business acquaintance.

   In messages to those close colleagues or clients, “kind regards” can go a long way. It can also offend someone who may feel that you’re being too familiar, however, or it can make someone feel like you know them better than they know you.

   While this won’t necessarily make or break your message, it can add an uncomfortable element, which isn’t what you want to do when trying to make a good impression.

   Because of this, “best regards” is the much safer professional choice, so if you’re in doubt about which one would be better, stick with “best regards” or use the vaguer but still positive “best,” which leaves it up to the reader’s interpretation.

   Of course, if you want to play it even safer, “sincerely” is a widely accepted, albeit a little boring, conclusion.

4. Is the R in “best regards” capitalized?

   No, the R in “best regards” isn’t capitalized. “Best regards,” followed by your name, forms its own little phrase or paragraph of sorts. Because of this, you’d capitalize the B in “best” but leave the R in “regards” lowercase.

   When you’re formatting your closing, leave one blank line between your last paragraph and “best regards” and another blank line between “best regards” and your name. If you’re writing a formal business letter instead of an email, you’ll type “best regards,” skip a line, sign your name, skip another line, and type your name.

   The whole thing will be left-aligned along with the rest of your text and should have enough white space underneath it to not look crowded (at least a line or two should be enough). You should also put a comma after “best regards” to lead into your name.

   If you’re writing an email, it’s often a good idea to put your job title, the name of the company you work for, your work email address, and your phone number under your name. If you’re emailing a hiring manager about a new job or don’t currently have a job at all, you can and probably should leave off your job title and company name.

   The end result should look something like this (unless your company has its own template you need to use):

   Best regards,

   Tim Allen

   IT Specialist
   Winifred Systems, Inc.
   444-333-2222
   tim.allen@winifreds.com

5. Is “best regards” formal or informal?

   “Best regards” is formal. It carries more familiarity than the ultra-formal “sincerely,” but it’s still considered a formal, professional closing.

   If you know the person you’re emailing and respect them, closing with “best regards” can be a great way to incorporate some personality into your message. It can also help you articulate your respect and appreciation for the person without diluting your professional message.

   “Best regards” can soften an otherwise highly rigid and professional email without coming across as informal. For example, if you need to email your colleagues an organizational update, you’ll want to acknowledge your personal relationship with them without ending with something as casual as “I appreciate you” or something along those lines.

   Closing with “best regards” is a great way to balance this with your need to deliver a professional message.

   For reference, “kind regards” and “warm regards” are typically less formal than “best regards,” while “sincerely” is a touch more formal. “Best” rides that line about as well as “best regards” does, erring a bit more on the familiar and informal side than the full phrase does.

   “Best regards” is also a great option when you’re emailing someone who is no longer a stranger, but you need to be professional with, like a superior or a hiring manager you’ve talked to through several rounds of interviews.

Author

Kristin Kizer

Kristin Kizer is an award-winning writer, television and documentary producer, and content specialist who has worked on a wide variety of written, broadcast, and electronic publications. A former writer/producer for The Discovery Channel, she is now a freelance writer and delighted to be sharing her talents and time with the wonderful Zippia audience.