To address the President of the United States in a letter, open with “Dear Mr. President” or “Dear Madam President” and send it to The President, The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20500. That salutation and address have been standard for decades, and knowing how to address the president in a letter comes down to a handful of small conventions.
The Salutation
“Dear Mr. President” is the correct greeting for a sitting male president, and “Dear Madam President” is the equivalent for a female president.1U.S. Department of State. Protocol Reference The same one-line greeting works whether you’re writing about policy, sending congratulations, or raising a personal concern. Do not use the president’s first or last name in the salutation. Doing so is considered a breach of protocol.
Formal letters sometimes carry an inside address at the top reading “The Honorable [Full Name], President of the United States,” above the White House address block. Even in that format, the salutation line beneath still reads “Dear Mr. President” or “Dear Madam President.”
Addressing the Envelope
Use this block, aligned left:1U.S. Department of State. Protocol Reference
The President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Put your return address in the upper-left corner. Repeat that same return address inside the letter itself. Envelopes and letters can be separated during security screening, and having your address on both improves the chance of a reply.
Writing to the President and First Spouse
If the letter is meant for both, the address block reads “The President and Mrs./Mr. [Last Name],” and the salutation becomes “Dear Mr. President and Mrs./Mr. [Last Name].”2Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library. White House Correspondence Manual Match the prefix to the first spouse’s preference.
Signing Off
For civilian letters, “Respectfully” is the most formal closing, and “Sincerely” is acceptable.3U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual. 5 FAH-1 H-420 – Preparing Letters “Respectfully yours” and “Sincerely yours” also work. Military personnel writing in an official capacity typically use “Respectfully” or “Respectfully yours” when writing to the President as Commander in Chief.
After the closing, leave three or four blank lines for your signature, then type your full name. If you want to convey a professional title or military rank, place it on the line directly beneath your typed name.
Sending a Message Online Instead
You don’t need to mail a physical letter at all. The official contact form at whitehouse.gov/contact accepts written messages electronically and asks for your name, mailing address, phone number, email, and a message type such as contacting the President, contacting the Vice President, or requesting a presidential greeting.4The White House. Contact Us
Messages submitted through the form are archived under the Presidential Records Act, so anything you write becomes a permanent government record.4The White House. Contact Us The online route also skips the weeks-long mail screening that physical letters go through.
What Happens After You Mail It
Every piece of mail sent to the White House passes through a Secret Service screening facility before it reaches the building.5U.S. Secret Service. FY20 Protective Operations Delivery is therefore much slower than ordinary mail. Never include anything perishable or irreplaceable. Items that can’t clear screening may be destroyed rather than returned.
The White House receives an enormous volume of mail, and a direct personal response from the President is rare. Staff read and reply to a representative sample. If you do hear back, expect a wait of several weeks to several months.
Writing to a Former President
The “Mr. President” and “Madam President” forms belong only to the sitting officeholder. A former president is addressed as “Dear Mr. [Last Name]” or “Dear Ms. [Last Name]” in the salutation, and the envelope goes to “The Honorable [Full Name]” at the office address listed by their presidential library or post-presidency office.1U.S. Department of State. Protocol Reference Former presidents keep the courtesy title “The Honorable” for life, unless they left office under extraordinary circumstances such as removal.
What Not to Put in the Letter
Federal law makes it a crime to threaten the President, the Vice President, or certain other senior officials, with a conviction carrying up to five years in federal prison.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 18 – Section 871 The Secret Service investigates these cases, and because all White House mail is screened, threatening language is virtually guaranteed to be flagged. Even language that feels rhetorical or hyperbolic can trigger an investigation. Be firm if you want. Stay civil.