How to address MPs, peers and ministers

Write to an MP as “Jane Smith MP” and open “Dear Ms Smith”. If they are a Privy Counsellor, as every Cabinet minister is, put “The Rt Hon” before the name: “The Rt Hon Jane Smith MP”. In person, say “Ms Smith”.

Write to a minister about their brief by their office: “Dear Secretary of State”, “Dear Minister”, with “MP” still after their name on the envelope. Peers don’t use “MP”: “The Lord Smith” opens “Dear Lord Smith”. In Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, MSP, MS or MLA takes the place of MP.

The short version

• Name and letters on the envelope, title and surname in the greeting: “Jane Smith MP”, then “Dear Ms Smith”.
• “The Rt Hon” is for Privy Counsellors only, and it’s for life. Most MPs don’t have it.
• Ministers keep “MP” after their name, the Prime Minister included.
• Open with the office when you write to the office: “Dear Prime Minister”, “Dear Secretary of State”, “Dear Minister”, “Dear Mr Speaker”. Otherwise open with the name.
• “MP” comes last: “Dame Jane Smith DBE MP”, opened “Dear Dame Jane”.
• Check the person’s page on Parliament’s website before you send. Titles change with every reshuffle, honours list and election.

Writing to an MP

Put the name and letters on the first line of the address block:

Jane Smith MP
House of Commons
London SW1A 0AA

Dear Ms Smith

Use the honorific the MP uses: Mr, Ms, Mrs, Miss, Dr, or a rank such as Colonel. Debrett’s puts it on the envelope too (“Ms Jane Smith MP”), while Parliament’s own letters usually leave it off. Close “Yours sincerely”.

Write to the House of Commons or to the constituency office on the MP’s page in Parliament’s directory of MPs. MPs generally act only for people who live in their constituency (Parliament’s guidance). So a letter about a site or its staff goes to that constituency’s MP.

If you write to several MPs, Parliament asks for each letter to be stamped, addressed and posted separately. It doesn’t accept deliveries by hand.

By email. The forms are the same, and each MP’s email address is on their contact page. Open “Dear Ms Smith”, not “Hi Jane”: Debrett’s advice is to use the title and surname until you’re told not to.

In person. Say “Ms Smith”, or “Sir John” for a knight, and leave “MP” off. Use a first name only once you’re invited to.

During a general election. When Parliament is dissolved, every seat in the Commons falls vacant (Parliament’s glossary), so write to candidates without “MP”. Ministers remain in charge of their departments, and a Privy Counsellor keeps “The Rt Hon”.

Who is “The Rt Hon”

“The Rt Hon”, short for Right Honourable, marks a member of the Privy Council. The King appoints Privy Counsellors for life, on the Prime Minister’s advice. Every Cabinet minister is one, as are the Speaker, the leaders of the main parties and some ministers outside the Cabinet.

Because it’s for life, a former Cabinet minister keeps the title on the backbenches, in opposition and after leaving Parliament. To check, search the Privy Council Office’s list of members, or the person’s page on Parliament’s website, which opens with their full style.

You’ll see “The Rt Hon”, “Rt Hon” and “Rt Hon.”, all in official use. Pick one and keep to it.

“The Hon” is not an MP’s title. In the Chamber, MPs don’t use each other’s names: another MP is “the hon. Member for constituency]”, and a Privy Counsellor “right hon.” ([Debrett’s). Those are forms for debate. On an envelope, “The Hon” marks the child of a viscount or baron, or the younger son of an earl (Debrett’s).

Ministers, the Prime Minister and the Speaker

Write to a minister about their department’s work at the department, with the ministerial title on the second line. GOV.UK lists every minister with their full style. For a Secretary of State:

The Rt Hon Jane Smith MP
Secretary of State for [Department]
[Department’s address]

Dear Secretary of State

Select committee chairs write “Dear Minister” to other ministers, sometimes adding the surname. A few Secretaries of State go by a short form of their office, such as “Dear Chancellor” or “Dear Foreign Secretary”. Debrett’s gives most Cabinet ministers’ names instead (“Dear Ms Smith”), which is also correct.

Writing to a minister as your MP. Most ministers are also constituency MPs, and they still take up their constituents’ problems, though not in the Chamber. If your letter is about their constituency rather than their brief, write to them as an MP: “Jane Smith MP”, opening “Dear Ms Smith”.

The Prime Minister. Write to “The Rt Hon [Full name] MP, Prime Minister” at 10 Downing Street, London SW1A 2AA, and open “Dear Prime Minister”. No 10 asks for anything another department is responsible for to go to that department.

The Speaker. Write to “The Rt Hon [Full name] MP, Speaker of the House of Commons” at the Speaker’s Office, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA. Open “Dear Mr Speaker”, or “Dear Madam Speaker” when a woman holds the office.

Members of the House of Lords

Members of the Lords have no constituency and don’t use “MP”. Most are life peers, created barons or baronesses. Parliament’s guide to addressing members of the Lords gives these forms, and each member’s page gives their full title.

• A baron: “The Lord Smith” on the envelope, “Dear Lord Smith” in the letter, “Lord Smith” in person.
• A baroness: “The Baroness Smith”. Parliament’s guide opens “Dear Lady Smith”; “Dear Baroness Smith” is also widely used, including by Debrett’s.
• A title with a place in it, such as “Lord Smith of Anytown”: Parliament’s guide says to use the whole title.
• A Privy Counsellor: Parliament writes “The Rt Hon the Lord Smith”, Debrett’s “The Lord Smith PC”. The greeting doesn’t change.
• The Lord Speaker: “The Rt Hon the Lord [Title], Lord Speaker”, opening “Dear Lord Speaker”.
• Bishops: 26 Church of England archbishops and bishops sit in the Lords. An archbishop is “The Most Rev and the Rt Hon the Archbishop of [See]”, opening “Dear Archbishop”. A bishop is “The Rt Rev the Lord Bishop of [Diocese]”, opening “Dear Lord Bishop”, whether a man or a woman.

Hereditary peers. No one now sits in the Lords by right of a hereditary peerage. The House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026 removed the remaining 77 on 29 April 2026, and some have since returned as life peers. Parliament’s guide still gives the forms: “Dear Duke of [Title]”, and “Dear Lord [Title]” for a marquess, earl or viscount.

Ministers in the Lords. Several ministers sit in the Lords. Write to them at the department by their ministerial title, and open “Dear Minister” or with their title as a peer.

Sending it. Post goes to the House of Lords, London SW1A 0PW, and members’ email addresses are on their pages. Parliament also forwards email to members from a central address on its contact page. It doesn’t accept bulk email, and deletes every copy if more than six of one message arrive.

Knights, dames and letters after the name

• A knight is “Sir John Smith MP” and “Dear Sir John”; a dame is “Dame Jane Smith DBE MP” and “Dear Dame Jane”. “The Rt Hon” goes before Sir or Dame.
• “MP” comes last. Honours such as OBE or DBE come first, then KC, then MP: “Dame Jane Smith DBE KC MP”. Debrett’s separates them with commas; Parliament and GOV.UK don’t.
• Doctors are “Dr Jane Smith MP” and “Dear Dr Smith”.

The devolved parliaments

Members of the devolved parliaments put their parliament’s letters where an MP puts “MP”. The greeting works as at Westminster: the name for a member, the office for an office holder. Ministers belong to the devolved governments, so write to them at the government, not the parliament.

By custom, the First Ministers of Scotland and Wales are made Privy Counsellors, so “The Rt Hon” goes before their names.

• Scotland. MSPs are at the Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh EH99 1SP. Below the First Minister, the Scottish Government’s senior ministers are Cabinet Secretaries, and the rest are Ministers.
• Wales. A Member of the Senedd is MS in English and AS (Aelod o’r Senedd) in Welsh, and Welsh Government letters often use both: “AS/MS”. Since the May 2026 election there are 96, at the Welsh Parliament, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff CF99 1SN. As of October 2026, Welsh ministers are Cabinet Ministers or Deputy Ministers: check GOV.WALES, since the last government had Cabinet Secretaries.
• Northern Ireland. MLAs are at Parliament Buildings, Ballymiscaw, Stormont, Belfast BT4 3XX. The First Minister and deputy First Minister (lower-case “d”) act jointly, so address the Executive Office’s business to both.

Check before you send

A wrong title, an old portfolio or a missing “Rt Hon” tells the office your letter is generic before anyone reads the request. Make checking each detail the last step before it goes. Use the person’s page on their parliament’s website, GOV.UK for ministers, and the Privy Council Office’s list.

The GovConnex directory holds the full title, salutation and addresses of each MP, peer, MSP, MS and MLA. It exports them as a mail merge when you’re writing to a list. Our checklist for writing to MPs covers the rest of the letter.

Common questions

How do you address an MP in a letter? Put “Jane Smith MP” on the envelope and above the letter, and open “Dear Ms Smith”. A Privy Counsellor has “The Rt Hon” before the name. Send it to the House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA, or the constituency office, and close “Yours sincerely”.

How do you address an MP in person? By title and surname, such as “Ms Smith” or “Dr Smith”, or “Sir John” for a knight. Address a minister as “Minister”, the Prime Minister as “Prime Minister” and the Speaker as “Mr Speaker” or “Madam Speaker”.

Is every MP “Right Honourable”? No, only Privy Counsellors: Cabinet ministers past and present, the Speaker, the leaders of the main parties and some other ministers. Other MPs have no title before their names.

How do you address a member of the House of Lords? Write “The Lord Smith” or “The Baroness Smith”, with “The Rt Hon” before it for a Privy Counsellor. Open “Dear Lord Smith”, or “Dear Lady Smith” for a baroness. A bishop is “Dear Lord Bishop” and an archbishop “Dear Archbishop”.

What do MSP, MS and MLA stand for? Member of the Scottish Parliament, Member of the Senedd (AS, Aelod o’r Senedd, in Welsh) and Member of the Legislative Assembly in Northern Ireland. They go after the name, as “MP” does at Westminster.