NOTE: For information on whether your council member is or is not addressed as the Honorable, see the next Q&A post below – How to Address a Member of a City, Town or County – Council or Board.   How to Address a Councilman or Councilwoman   How to Address a Councilman or Councilwoman

Not Addressed as the Honorable (Full Name)

—-Envelope, official:
——–Mr./Ms./Mrs./Dr./etc. (Full Name)
—-—-(Title of position held), (Elected Body)
—-—-(Address)

——–For example:
————Ms. Ann Parker Buchanan
————Chair, Sumner Flats Board of Commissioners
————(Address)

—-—-—-Mr. William J. Fissette
—-—-—-Member, Arlington County Council
—-—-—-(Address)

—-—-—-Ms. Jennifer C. Wilkenson
—-—-—-Councilwoman, Town of Hendersonville
—-—-—-(Address)

—-Salutation:
—-—-Dear Mr./Ms./Mrs./Dr./etc. (Name):
——–Dear Councilman/Councilwoman (Surname):

—-Conversation:
—-—-Mr./Ms./Mrs./Dr./etc. (Name)
——–Councilman/Councilwoman (Surname)

Robert Hickey author of “Honor & Respect”

Addressed as the Honorable (Full Name) in Writing

—-Envelope, official:
—-—-The Honorable (Full Name)
—-—-(Title of position held), (Elected Body)
—-—-(Address)

—-—-For example:
—-—-—-The Honorable Richard Trotter
—-—-—-Member, Montgomery County Board
—-—-—-(Address)

—-—-—-The Honorable Harriet Winslow
—-—-—-Board of Supervisors, Culpeper County
—-—-—-(Address)

—-Letter salutation:
—-—-Dear Mr./Ms. (Surname):
—-—-—-or if the preference of the bearer
——–Dear Councilman/Councilwoman (Surname):

—-Conversation:
—-—-Mr./Ms. (Surname)
——–Councilman/Councilwoman (Surname)

—-—-See more on use of The Honorable.

— Robert Hickey   How to Address a Councilman or Councilwoman

Robert Hickey author of “Honor & Respect”

How to Address a Member of a City, Town or County – Council or Board

‘Councilman’ and ‘councilwoman’ are roles filled by citizens on a town, city or county council. The position can be either elected or appointed.

In some communities a council is not made up of ‘councilman’ and ‘councilwomen’ at all and are ‘members’ of the council.

‘Counselor’, ‘counsellor’, ‘councilor’ or ‘councillor’ are spelling used in Great Britain, Canada, Australia, South Africa, and other parts of the Commonwealth, and sometimes in the United States. They have the advantage of being gender neutral.

‘Councilman’ and ‘councilwoman’ are not formally used as honorifics in a salutation or in direct oral address. However, the staff of a member of a council may use the terms as honorifics for clarity, as when answering the phone ‘Councilman (Surname)’s office’ rather than ‘Mr./Ms. (surname)’s office’ -or- when referring to the member in the third person as ‘the Councilman will be returning in ten minutes.’

All that said, while ‘Councilman/Councilwoman (Surname)’ may not be the most traditional, it is sometimes the preferred honorific of a particular member, so follow the preference of the bearer.

Are They The Honorable?

Some are the Honorable – Others are not.

Technically anyone elected to office in the U.S. in a general election is entitled to be addressed as ‘the Honorable (Full Name)’.  In practice, members of many city, town and county councils are not – by local tradition – so addressed.

The only way to know the tradition in your community is to call the office of your local council or board – and ask.

How to Address a Former Member of a City Council?

How do you address a letter to a former city council person?
———————— Zoning on AOL

Dear Zoning:
I need more information.
—-#1A) How was he was addressed when in office?
—-#1B) What is the nature of the communicaiton?

—-#2A) If your community addresses current members as the Honorable, then that continues.
—-#2B) If you community does not address current members as the Honorable then there is no special form of address. Address as Mr./Ms.

—-Envelope: 
—–—–The Honorable (First name + Last Name)
—–—–(Address)

—–—–Dear Mr./Ms. (Surname):

—-Envelope: 
—–—–Mr./Ms. (First name + Last Name)
—–—–(Address)

—–—–Dear Mr./Ms. (Surname):

—-#3) If the communication is about some post-office personal commercial venture (If he/she is your insurance broker, and you are writing to him/her about a claim from a flood in your basement) use Mr./Ms. (full name)  – do not address as the Honorable.

— Robert Hickey

Robert Hickey author of “Honor & Respect”

When Should You Use the Forms on this Page?

You can use these forms of address for any mode of communication: addressing a letter, invitation, card or Email. (If there are differences between the official and social forms of address, I will have mentioned the different forms.)  The form noted in the salutation is the same form you say when you say their name in conversation or when you greet them.
___What I don’t cover on this site are many things I do cover in my book: all the rules of forms of address, about names, international titles, precedence, complimentary closes, details on invitations, place cards, all sorts of introductions, etc. I hope you’ll get a copy of the book if you’d like the further detail.

Not Finding Your Answer?

—-#1)  At right on desktops, at the bottom of every page on tablets and phones, is a list of all the offices, officials & topics covered on the site.

—-#2)  If you don’t see the official you seek included or your question answered send me an e-mail. I am pretty fast at sending a reply: usually the next day or so (unless I am traveling.)  Note: I don’t have mailing or Email addresses for any of the officials and I don’t keep track of offices that exist only in history books.

—-#3)  If I think your question is of interest to others, Sometimes I post the question  – but always change all the specifics.

— Robert Hickey 

Robert Hickey author of “Honor & Respect”

Recommended Resources:  The Protocol School of Washington (PSOW) and Protocol and Diplomacy International – Protocol Officers Association (PDI-POA)    For more information see the Protocol Resources page.