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Which of the three phrases in the concluding phrase is most appropriate when sending a work-related email?

Could the three be ranked in terms of their overall level of formality?

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  • I use "Regards" or if appropriate for the mail, "Thanks", since email is informal as business-correspondence goes, but still more formal than personal correspondence, and that seems to strike the balance to my mind. I wouldn't offer it as an attempt at a definitive answer though, as personal preference as to how one expresses oneself plays an important role).
    – Jon Hanna
    Commented Jan 17, 2013 at 0:09
  • I work with a large Russian company that uses a system called "Klar" to latinize Russian words in their in-house email; there's also a good deal of English mixed in, and many abbreviations, so it's not always obvious to me which words are in which language. It took me several readings to understand that "BRGDS" at the end of each message is short for "Best regards".
    – MT_Head
    Commented Jan 17, 2013 at 1:14

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Entirely up to you! "Regards" is the most formal, "Best regards" the least formal, and "With Regards" somewhere in between.

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As with most things, it depends on the context. Any of your three options are essentially short for the more complete thought, "I send this letter with my regards." You have to ask yourself, does "sending regards" actually make sense in the context of your business position? One would typically use this phrase for long-distance communication, as they are "sending" their emotional investment in which they can not personally deliver themselves (in a metaphorical sense), and having it travel along with the mail. If you are talking about an office environment, it makes a bit less sense.

I recommend using some form of "Thank you" instead, as one is usually asking for the help of coworkers, managers, customers, or such; at the very least, you are asking for their time and effort in reading your message. "Thank you," "Thanks," "Greatly Appreciated," and "As Always, Thanks Again" are all reasonable options.

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    You're using logic to give what I consider bad advice about the illogical ancient rituals of opening & closing salutations, none of which make sense on any level but the ritualistic. Why presumptuously thank someone in advance? And why be so, to me at least, offensively familiar in a business letter, which is, AFAIC, always a formal document, even when done in email? I hate it when some unknown receptionist at a business office in the US asks who's calling & then calls me "Bill" instead of "Mr Franke". I'm a client, not a friend; a customer, not a peer.
    – user21497
    Commented Jan 17, 2013 at 3:56
  • when to use Thanks and Regards? whats right way for sending email to coworkers in case of sending them an information.
    – Dineshkumar
    Commented Jan 5, 2014 at 7:29
  • The approved edit was terrible, it was suggested by an anonymous user who only wanted to answer the question. Therefore the only, and best, solution was to rollback to the original version.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Aug 9, 2015 at 9:45
  • @Mari-LouA Oh wow, thank you. That edit sounded nothing like me, and misrepresented my opinion. I didn't even notice that someone had effectively vandalized my answer until you pointed it out.
    – Southpaw Hare
    Commented Aug 10, 2015 at 16:21
  • @SouthpawHare That's OK, when I saw the edit, I bit horrified to tell you the truth. But sometimes poor edits do pass through the net, it can be very annoying :( BTW Have you seen the number of visitors this page has attracted? Pretty impressive.
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Aug 10, 2015 at 18:15

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