How to use "The Honorable"

In the United States the Honorable is a courtesy title used with the names of current and retired high-ranking federal and state officials and judges, and with some local officials. It is not used with the names of the deceased. As a general rule, anyone elected to public office in a general election is entitled to be addressed as the Honorable for life. This same pattern of "elected in a general election" is also typical at the state and local level. At a city/municipal/county/etc. level a mayor and sheriff are always the Honorable, but whether or not other local officials (e.g. members of elected city councils and boards) are the Honorable is by local tradition.
Some appointed officials are also addressed as the Honorable. At the Federal level those appointed by the President of the United States and individually confirmed by the United States Senate are addressed as the Honorable. At the state level the pattern is the same.

    The Honorable is always used before a full name. As a courtesy title the Honorable describes an individual: This person is honorable. As such it never precedes the just the name of an office.
    Honorable or Hon. are not used in direct address -- on a letter or place card, or in a salutation or conversation -- as honorifics like Mr., Mrs. Ms., Mayor, Ambassador, etc.

       Formula: The Honorable (Full Name), (Office Held)
       Correct: The Honorable Ahmed Henderson, Mayor of Springfield

       Incorrect: The Honorable (Office Held)
            It is the person who is the Honorable, not the office.
       Incorrect: The Honorable Mayor
       Incorrect: The Honorable Mayor of Springfield

       Not formally correct: Honorable Ahmed Henderson
       Not formally correct: Hon. Ahmed Henderson

All about The Honorable
Link to Q&A just on officials in the U.S. addressed as The Honorable

How to Use The Honorable?
         I believe Honorable should be included as a title/rank on invitations, letters and envelopes. But is it proper or acceptable at any time to refer to a judge as Honorable John Q. Smith, Honorable Judge John Q. Smith or Hon. John Q. Smith, e.g., in a list?
        -- S.B. a the US Bankruptcy Court

       My secretary recently drafted a letter of recommendation for a former employee from me and included the title the Honorable with my name, which others use when introducing or addressing me – an elected Tax Collector. I have never called myself the Honorable and it seems improper at the end of a letter. Am I correct that the title Honorable should be used by persons addressing me but not by me when signing my own name?
        -- SR, Tex Collector

       I am a doctor and just recently – an elected Federal official. Am I correctly listed in a program as The Honorable Dr. (Full Name)?
        -- JMC in Virginia

Dear SB & SR, and JMC :
        The correct form is The Honorable (Full Name). It is not correct to refer to to anyone as simply Honorable or Hon. If you need to use a shortened versions because you are short on space or ink/toner for your printer use The Hon.
        One never uses the The Honorable when saying or writing one's own name. So – never as the host on an invitation, never when signing one's name, and never when introducing yourself.
       If the guest of honor is the Honorable, and their name is being included on the invitation, the host can list their guest as the Honorable (Full Name) since the name is a reference to another person, not that person writing their own name.
       Any guest addressed as the Honorable, should be the Honorable (Full Name) on their invitation's outside envelope.
       The Honorable, is not combined with other honorifics, ranks or titles in the USA. So none of these is correct when addressing US officials: The Honorable Dr. (Name), The Honorable Senator (Name), The Honorable Judge (Name), The Honorable Mayor (Name) or The Honorable General (Name) etc.
       This is the same pattern as for His/Her Excellency' which is not used reflexively either.
       -- Robert Hickey

ORDER NOW
HARDCOVER
KINDLE

APPLE BOOK

Back to directory of titles / See who is using Honor & Respect

For forms of address for invitations, place cards, name badges, introductions, conversation, and all other formal uses, see Honor & Respect: the Official Guide to Names, Titles, and Forms of Address.

Available as a Hardcover | Kindle | Apple Book

Contact the Author Link to The Protocol School of Washington