How to Write an Army Memo: AR 25-50 Format, Headings, and Signature

To write an Army memo, follow AR 25-50: set up letterhead with one-inch margins, build the heading with your office symbol, date, MEMORANDUM FOR line, and SUBJECT line, write the body in active voice with the main point in the first paragraph, and close with the authority line, signature block, and any enclosures. The regulation controls every detail down to spacing and font, and small errors are the usual reason memos come back for correction.

Pick the Right Type First

AR 25-50 authorizes several memo types, and the format shifts slightly depending on which one you need.

A general memorandum is the standard format for official communication. It carries the full heading with office symbol, date, MEMORANDUM FOR line, and subject.
A Memorandum for Record (MFR) documents the basis for an action or captures an informal meeting or phone conversation involving official business. Its heading has only the office symbol, date, and subject — no MEMORANDUM FOR line.¹
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) records mutual goals between parties when no funds change hands.
A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) sets legal terms for a conditional agreement where funds for services are anticipated later. An MOA does not itself obligate funds.

Most day-to-day traffic is the general memorandum, so the rest of this guide walks through that format.

Paper, Margins, and Fonts

Use 8½-by-11-inch paper. The first page requires computer-generated letterhead, available as a template from the Army Publishing Directorate. Continuation pages use plain white paper.²

Set margins at one inch on the left, right, and bottom. Do not justify the right margin. On continuation pages, the office symbol sits one inch from the top edge.

A 2024 administrative revision changed the font rule. The regulation no longer names specific typefaces. Army senior leaders now determine the font and size for their organization, provided the result stays easy to read. A 12-point font is recommended, and unusual styles such as Script are prohibited.² Most organizations still use Times New Roman or Arial at 12 point, but check your unit’s SOP before assuming.

Build the Heading

The heading is where reviewers look first, and where format errors are easiest to spot. It has a fixed order.

Office Symbol and Date

The office symbol identifies your originating unit or staff section. Place it at the left margin below the letterhead. The date goes on the same line, flush with the right margin. Two date formats are acceptable: “1 January 2026” or “1 Jan 26.” Use the four-digit year only when the month is spelled out.²

Suspense Date (If You Need One)

If a response is required by a deadline, add a suspense date flush with the right margin, two lines above the date line. Format it “S: 1 June 2026.” Repeat the suspense date in the body so the reader cannot miss it. Do not impose a suspense without a genuine reason, and when you set one, account for transit time, the recipient’s action time, and reply time.¹

MEMORANDUM FOR Line

Type “MEMORANDUM FOR” at the left margin on the third line below the office symbol, followed by the recipient’s office or command. For up to five recipients, list each address; if an address wraps to a second line, indent it a quarter inch.

For more than five recipients, replace the addresses with “SEE DISTRIBUTION” one space after “MEMORANDUM FOR.” Then type the full distribution list below the signature block or enclosure listing (whichever comes last), preceded by “DISTRIBUTION:” at the left margin.²

THRU Line

When your memo passes through an intermediate command for review or endorsement, add a “THRU” line between the MEMORANDUM FOR and SUBJECT lines. Multiple intermediaries each get their own “THRU:” line. For digitally signed memos, each THRU addressee gets a digital signature box and an optional text box for short remarks. Do not route through a headquarters with no stake in the matter; if you bypass one that might expect visibility, send an information copy instead.²

Subject Line

Type “SUBJECT:” at the left margin on the second line below the MEMORANDUM FOR line, followed by a brief, specific description of what the memo is about. Keep it short enough to identify the topic at a glance.

Write the Body

AR 25-50 sets a high standard for the writing itself: effective Army writing is understood in a single rapid reading.²

Bottom Line Up Front

Put the main point at the beginning. In Army culture, this is called BLUF, or “bottom line up front.” Your recommendation, conclusion, or request goes in the first or second paragraph. A commander scanning 30 memos before lunch should not have to read down to paragraph four to find out what you need. State it, then support it.

Active Voice

Write in active voice. Active voice names the actor: “SGT Jones passed the test” rather than “The test was passed by SGT Jones.” Beyond making sentences shorter, it removes ambiguity about who is responsible, which matters in a military context where accountability is the point.² Avoid jargon unless you know the reader will recognize it. Support statements with facts or data.

Paragraphs and Numbering

Keep paragraphs to no more than 10 lines. That is a regulatory limit, not a suggestion.¹ If a paragraph pushes past that, it probably holds two ideas and should be split.

Single-space within paragraphs and double-space between them. If the memo has more than one paragraph, number them (1, 2, 3). Do not number a single-paragraph memo. Subparagraphs follow a standard hierarchy: a, b, c under numbered paragraphs, then (1), (2), (3) below those. Insert two spaces after ending punctuation and after colons.¹

Acronyms

The first time you use an acronym, spell out the full term and put the acronym in parentheses right after: “Army Records Information Management System (ARIMS).” From then on, use only the acronym. The same rule covers shortened versions of long titles. For general abbreviations, use only those you’re confident the reader already knows.¹

Close the Memo

Authority Line

When someone other than the commander signs, an authority line signals that the memo still carries the commander’s intent. Common lines include “FOR THE COMMANDER:” for staff members signing command policy, or “FOR THE [agency or staff head]:” when a subordinate has delegated signature authority in a particular area. Type it in uppercase at the left margin, on the second line below the last line of body text.²

Skip the authority line when the commander or agency head signs personally, or when the body already attributes the directive to the commander with language like “The Commander directs…”

Signature Block

The signature block begins at the center of the page on the fifth line below the authority line. Without an authority line, it starts on the fifth line below the last line of body text. Military officials use three lines: name in capital letters, then rank (spelled out or abbreviated) with abbreviated branch, then title. Civilian officials use two: name, then title. If the title runs long, continue it on the next line, indented a quarter inch.²

Enclosures

List enclosures at the left margin on the same line as the signature block. Abbreviate “Enclosure” as “Encl” for one and “Encls” for more than one. Do not put “1” before “Encl” when there is only one. For multiple enclosures, number them in the order they are mentioned in the body and include a brief description of each. Mark the first page of each enclosure in the lower right corner with “Encl” and its number before making copies.²

Continuation Pages

If the memo runs longer than one page, the second page uses plain white paper, not letterhead. Type the office symbol at the left margin, one inch from the top edge. Place the subject line at the left margin on the next line below the office symbol. Body text resumes on the third line below the subject. Center the page number about one inch from the bottom.²

Sign and Send

The Army is replacing wet signatures with digital signatures secured through the DoD Common Access Card (CAC). Internal Army correspondence should be approved via digitally signed documents. AR 25-50 Appendix F walks through placing digital signature boxes in Adobe PDF files, including how to position each box directly above and left-aligned with the signer’s name.²

One detail that trips people up with THRU memos: when multiple people sign digitally, any text boxes in the document remain editable after the final signature unless you assign “Mark as read-only” to each signature box. If you skip that step, print the signed document to a new PDF to lock the content before distributing it.

After signature, route the memo through official channels and retain a signed copy. Records retention for Army correspondence is governed by the Army Records Information Management System (ARIMS) and the Records Retention Schedule-Army, which sets timelines that vary by record type.³

If the Memo Is Classified or Sensitive

AR 25-50 is the formatting regulation, not the marking regulation. Classified information follows AR 380-5 for marking and safeguarding, with the appropriate cover sheet (SF 703 Top Secret, SF 704 Secret, SF 705 Confidential). Unclassified material that should not be publicly disclosed uses the For Official Use Only (FOUO) designation under AR 25-55. A memo containing a Social Security number, for example, requires FOUO marking and the same protection as other Privacy Act-protected information.¹

Mistakes That Send Memos Back

A few errors show up over and over. Using outdated font guidance is increasingly common since the 2024 revision changed the rule; writers relying on old templates may specify fonts their organization no longer requires. Burying the main point instead of leading with it is another frequent problem, as is numbering a single-paragraph memo when the regulation says not to.

Forgetting to spell out acronyms on first use, setting suspense dates without justification, and placing the signature block immediately below the body instead of on the fifth line below the authority line all generate corrections that were easy to avoid. The best defense is a final pass against the figures in AR 25-50, which show exact placement for every element. Those figures are the closest thing to a cheat sheet the regulation offers, and they are worth printing until the format is second nature.

1
Headquarters Department of the Army. AR 25-50 Preparing and Managing Correspondence
2
Army Publishing Directorate. AR 25-50 Preparing and Managing Correspondence
3
Georgia National Guard. AR 25-400-2 Army Records Management Program