Email Sign-Off

An email sign-off, also called a closing or valediction, is the short phrase that ends the body of a message before the sender's name: Best regards, Kind regards, Thanks, Best, Sincerely, Cheers. It is part of the message, not the signature. That distinction matters in practice, because the right sign-off changes with the recipient and the tone of the email, while the signature block below it should stay the same on every message. Putting a fixed sign-off inside a signature template forces the same closing onto a thank-you note, a complaint response, and a formal notice. Common conventions: Sincerely and Respectfully are formal and suit first contact, cover letters, and official correspondence; Best regards and Kind regards are the safe professional default; Thanks or Thank you work when the email asks for something; Best and Cheers are informal. Regional habits differ, with Kind regards more common in the UK and Australia, where Cheers is also widely used informally. On reply chains, many people drop the sign-off after the first exchange, which is normal and not rude.