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Could you please explain to me the difference between Guidelines for and Guidelines to?

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    I am developing guidelines for doing XYZ. When I've completed the task, I'll give the guidelines to my boss.
    – fixer1234
    Mar 25, 2017 at 18:00

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Do you have a particular example?

Personally I would use "guidelines for" in most situations, when referring to whatever the guidelines are for. "Please see guidelines for using the pool" "follow these guidelines for gram staining" "Here are the guidelines for evacuation" In all of these scenarios 'to' wouldn't sound right (though I can't pinpoint why).

I would use 'to' in the same way fixer1234 has commented, showing movement/transferal of the guidelines and i'm sure there are other contexts it would fit, this may be one of those times where English has too many rules and exceptions for most people to keep track of.

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Two sentences from Britannica Dictionary

  1. The government has issued new guidelines for following a healthy and balanced diet.
  2. Here are some basic guidelines for helping you choose a dishwasher

Amongst 23 examplary sentences on OALD there isn't a sentence with 'guideline to something'.

I'm tempted to say that 'guideline on something' is another option. See the sentences on Cambridge Dictionary. So I usually prefer to write 'guideline for someone/something' and 'guideline on something'. Here are two examples from LDOCE

  1. a new set of guidelines for teachers
  2. guidelines on the employment of children

However, it would've been better if you'd provided a specific context/situation for your question.

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