When do you use "to whom it may concern"?

A formal salutation used when you don't know who will read your letter or email, or when multiple people might read it and you want to address all of them. The phrase is deliberately broad. It signals that your message is intended for whoever ends up holding it, without naming a specific person. Because it casts such a wide net, it carries a slightly old-fashioned, official tone that suits certain documents but feels distant in everyday exchanges.

• Reference letters ("To whom it may concern, I am writing to recommend...")
• Formal complaints to an organisation when you don't have a name
• Legal or official correspondence with unknown recipients
• Notarised or certified documents that may be shown to several parties, such as proof of employment or income verification

For example, an employer might write, "To whom it may concern, this letter confirms that Maria Lopez has been employed at our company since 2019." Here the writer genuinely cannot know who will read it, whether a bank, a landlord, or an immigration officer, so the open salutation makes sense.

In most modern professional communication, "to whom it may concern" can be replaced with something better. A brief LinkedIn search or a call to reception can usually get you a name. Addressing a real person shows effort and warmth, and it makes your message more likely to be read carefully. In casual workplace emails, opening with this phrase can sound cold or robotic, as though you copied a template without thinking about your reader.

• "Dear [Name]," always best if you know it
• "Dear Hiring Manager," for job applications to unknown recipients
• "Dear Sir or Madam," formal and gender-neutral, though slightly dated
• "Hello," casual and acceptable in many modern contexts
• "Dear Recruitment Team," or "Dear Customer Service Team," when you know the department but not the individual

Notice how the last option splits the difference. You still sound respectful, but you show you have thought about who actually handles your request.

In a formal legal or HR setting, "to whom it may concern" is entirely at home and nobody will blink. In a casual internal email to colleagues, it would seem stiff and impersonal. Compare "To whom it may concern, please find the attached invoice" with "Hi team, here's the invoice for last month." The second version fits the relationship far better. Match the salutation to how well you know your reader and how formal the situation is.

Both British and American English use "to whom it may concern" in the same way, and the meaning does not change. One small difference in punctuation is worth knowing. American writers often follow the salutation with a colon in formal letters, as in "To whom it may concern:". British writers more commonly use a comma. Either is acceptable, but keep it consistent throughout your document.

Many learners capitalise only the first word and write "To whom it may concern." That is fine mid-sentence, but at the top of a letter the convention is to capitalise the opening word and treat the rest normally, giving "To whom it may concern," on its own line. Another frequent slip is using this greeting when you actually do know the recipient. If you have a name, use it. Defaulting to this phrase out of habit can make you look lazy.

Think of the letter M in "whoM" and the M in "hiM" or "theM." If you could answer the question with "him" or "them," then "whom" is correct. You would say the concern affects "them," so "to whom it may concern" is right.

"Whom" is correct here. It is the object of the concern. "Who it may concern" is technically incorrect but widely seen, so do not be surprised when you spot it.