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Post-nominal letters, also called post-nominal initials, post-nominal titles, designatory letters or simply post-nominals, are letters placed after a person's name to indicate that the individual holds a position, academic degree, accreditation, office, military decoration, or honour, or is a member of a religious institute or fraternity. An individual may use several different sets of post-nominal letters, but in some contexts it may be customary to limit the number of sets to one or just a few. The order in which post-nominals are listed after a name is based on rules of precedence and what is appropriate for a given situation. Post-nominal letters are one of the main types of name suffix. In contrast, pre-nominal letters precede the name rather than following it, such as addressing a
physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
or
professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professo ...
as "Dr. Smith".


List

Different awards and post-nominal letters are in use in the English-speaking countries.


Usage


Listing order

The order in which post-nominal letters are listed after a person's name is dictated by standard practice, which may vary by region and context.


In Australia

Various University Style Guides, such as: the
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...
Style Guide and the Australian Government Style Manual and that of the various State Governments. Outside of any specific academic or State or Federal Government requirement, then in the following order: # Those Honours promulgated by the Governor-General in the Commonwealth Government Gazette, e.g. Current National and former Imperial honours # Those Honours and Appointments promulgated by a State Governor or Territory Administrator in the relevant State Government Gazette, e.g. Fellows of the Royal Society of NSW (FRSN), King's Counsels (KC). # All honorary degrees included in an Australian university's Annual Report to an Australian Parliament. # Fellowships and memberships of professional bodies and learned societies incorporated by a statutory instrument i.e a Royal Charter under the Australian (not a foreign) Crown (e.g. the Australian Academy of Science, the Australian Academy of the Humanities, the Institution of Engineers Australia, the Australian Institute of Building, and the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy) or an Act of Parliament (such as the Bar Associations of some States) # Parliamentary designations # Foreign Honours where permitted by Australian Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs. # Fellowships and memberships of other Australian Professional Institutions. # Australian Qualifications, ideally with date and institution, in descending order (with the highest closest after the name). # Foreign Professional Memberships. # Foreign Qualifications.


In Canada

The Canadian government's ''The Canadian Style'' specifies that no more than two sets of post-nominal letters should normally be given, unless all are to be given either for information or for reasons of protocol, and that these should be the two highest of different types. The types and the order in which they are given are: # Distinctions conferred directly by the Crown # University degrees # Memberships of societies and other distinctions


In European fraternities

Going back to the mid 17th century, today's classical European fraternities such as the
German Student Corps Corps (or Korps; "''das ~''" ('' n''), (''sg.''), (''pl.'')) are the oldest still-existing kind of '' Studentenverbindung'', Germany's traditional university corporations; their roots date back to the 15th century. The oldest corps still exist ...
have used post-nominal symbols and letters to allow their members to indicate their fraternity membership and honorary positions held in their signature.


Order of post-nominals in the UK


=Civil usage in the UK

= In the United Kingdom various sources have issued guidance on the ordering of styles and titles for British citizens, including the Ministry of Justice,
Debrett's Debrett's () is a British professional coaching company, publisher and authority on etiquette and behaviour, founded in 1769 with the publication of the first edition of ''The New Peerage''. The company takes its name from its founder, John De ...
and
A & C Black A & C Black is a British book publishing company, owned since 2002 by Bloomsbury Publishing. The company is noted for publishing '' Who's Who'' since 1849. It also published popular travel guides and novels. History The firm was founded in 18 ...
's ''Titles and Forms of Address''; these are generally in close agreement, with the exception of the position of MP, etc., in the listing: # Bt/Bart or Esq; #* In the UK, "Esq." may refer to any gentleman in place of the pre-nominal Mr or Dr; # British Orders and decorations (e.g. OBE; in descending order of precedence); # Crown Appointments, i.e.: # University degrees: #* According to Debrett's, DD, MD and MS degrees are always given; other doctorates, other medical degrees, and other divinity degrees are sometimes given; and other degrees are seldom shown, with BA and MA never used socially (although formal lists may include them); #   #   # According to Debrett's and Black's: Member of Parliament (MP), etc. (Black's also includes Writers to the Signet here); # Membership of the Armed Forces (e.g. RAF, RN, VR, RM, RMP) (not included by Black's). In addition, British citizens who have received honours from
Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
countries are usually given permission from the King to use the postnominals for that honour.


=Academic usage in the UK

= The
Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
Style Guide and the
University of Nottingham , mottoeng = A city is built on wisdom , established = 1798 – teacher training college1881 – University College Nottingham1948 – university status , type = Public , chancellor ...
Style Guide give the alternative ordering: # Civil honours # Military honours # KC # Degrees in the order: ## Bachelor's ## Master's ## Doctorates ## Postdoctoral # Diplomas # Certificates # Membership of academic or professional bodies This differs from the civil ordering in that it omits appointments except for KC, includes diplomas and certificates in addition to degrees, merges medical qualifications, fellowships of learned societies, royal academicians, and membership of professional bodies into a single item, and omits membership of the armed forces.
Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for post-nominals) is a public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university since 1966, but it dates back to 1909, when ...
gives a very similar ordering, but with "Appointments (e.g MP, KC)" replacing item 3 (KC) and "Higher Education awards (in ascending order, commencing with undergraduate)" replacing items 4–6 (degrees, diplomas and certificates). This restores the Appointments section from the civil list omitted by Oxford and Nottingham, although the other differences remain.
Nottingham Trent University Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is a public research university in Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...
gives essentially the same ordering as Oxford and Nottingham, but without specifying the order in which degrees should be given. Nottingham Trent, Oxford and Loughborough recommend degree abbreviations be given in mixed case without stops between the letters (e.g. BA, not B.A.; PhD, not Ph.D.), as does
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
.
Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...
, however, uses all small caps for post-nominals (e.g. , not PhD). Where all degrees are shown, as in university calendars, most universities will give these in ascending order. However, advice on the precise ordering varies: * The
Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
Calendar Style Guide places degrees in the order: bachelor's degrees (including postgraduate bachelor's degrees such as the Oxford
BCL BCL may stand for: Law & Politics * Bachelor of Civil Law, the term used to describe a variety of legal degrees offered by universities in English-speaking countries (as distinct from Canon Law and Common Law) * Bangladesh Chhatra League, the stud ...
) and other first degrees; master's degrees (including those that are first degrees, such as MPhys); doctorates; higher doctorates in order of academic precedence. Degrees at the same level are ordered alphabetically by awarding institution and multiple degrees from the same institution are grouped, with position determined by the lowest degree in the grouping. Certificates and diplomas are listed after degrees (no mention is made of foundation degrees). Oxford recommends giving institution names separated by a space from the degree, not enclosed in parentheses, and that degrees from the same institution be separated by spaces only, with commas between degrees from different institutions. *
Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for post-nominals) is a public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university since 1966, but it dates back to 1909, when ...
advises listing all higher education awards in ascending order starting from undergraduate, so MPhys would come before BCL and postgraduate certificates and diplomas would come between undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. The examples given do not include institution names.


Order of post-nominals in the United States

In the United States, standard protocol is to list post-nominal letters in the following order: # Religious institutions # Theological degrees # Military decorations # Academic degrees # Honorary degrees, honors, decorations # Professional licenses, certifications and affiliations # Retired uniformed service. Active duty services personnel do not use any post-nominals other than, if applicable, Staff Corps affiliation (Navy only) followed by a comma and then their branch of service. Names are bracketed by the appropriate pre-nominal and post-nominal, e.g. LCDR John Q Public, MC, USN.


Etiquette for higher educational qualifications


Higher education qualifications in the UK

In the UK, it is usual to list only doctorates, degrees in medicine, and degrees in divinity. In particular, when a person has letters indicating Crown honours or decorations, only the principal degree would normally be given. The University of Oxford Style Guide advises writers: "Remember that you do not need to list all awards, degrees, memberships etc held by an individual – only those items relevant to your writing." In an academic context, or in formal lists, all degrees may be listed in ascending order of academic status, which may not be the same as the order in which they were obtained (although see notes on medical qualifications, below). The Oxford style is to list qualifications by their title starting with bachelor's degrees, then master's degrees, then doctorates. Postgraduate Certificates and Diplomas are listed after doctorates, but before professional qualifications, with a similar ordering being used by other universities. In this style, foundation degrees and other sub-bachelor qualifications are not shown. An alternative style is to give all higher education qualifications, starting from undergraduate, ordered by their level rather than their title. In this style, one might list a
Certificate Certificate may refer to: * Birth certificate * Marriage certificate * Death certificate * Gift certificate * Certificate of authenticity, a document or seal certifying the authenticity of something * Certificate of deposit, or CD, a financial pr ...
or
Diploma of Higher Education A Diploma of Higher Education (DipHE) is a higher education qualification in the United Kingdom. It is awarded after two years of full-time study at a university or other higher education institution. Rated as a Level 5 qualification on both the ...
first, then
foundation degree A foundation degree is a combined academic and vocational qualification in higher education in the United Kingdom, equivalent to two-thirds of an honours bachelor's degree, introduced by the Department for Education and Employment in 2000. Fou ...
s, first degrees at bachelor level, first degrees at master level (integrated master's degrees and first degrees in medicine), postgraduate degrees at master level (including postgraduate bachelor's degrees such the Oxford BCL), and doctorates. In this style, postgraduate certificates and diplomas could be shown either before postgraduate degrees at master's level (as in the table given by Loughborough University) or before first degrees at master's level (reflecting their position in the
Frameworks for Higher Education Qualifications of UK Degree-Awarding Bodies The national qualification frameworks in the United Kingdom are qualifications frameworks that define and link the levels and credit values of different qualifications. The current frameworks are: * The Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) for ...
). Strictly speaking, both the Debrett's and Ministry of Justice lists only allow for the inclusion of degrees, not non-degree academic awards. For someone with a substantive doctorate, it is usual either to give "Dr" as the title (without a stop per normal British usage) or to list their degrees post-nominally, e.g. "Dr John Smith" or "John Smith, PhD" but not "Dr John Smith, PhD". Postnominals may be used with other titles, e.g. "Mr John Smith, PhD", "Sir John Smith, PhD", or "The Rev John Smith, PhD". In the case of a BA from Oxford, Cambridge or Dublin who proceeds to be an MA of those universities (which is taken without further study), the MA replaces the BA and thus only the MA should be listed. Oxford has said that there is no risk of confusion between their MA and "earned" MAs as the Oxford MA is denoted "MA (Oxon)" rather than simply MA. However, Debrett's has advised using just "MA" to describe a Cambridge Master of Arts. Graduates from British and Irish universities sometimes add the name of the university that awarded their degree after the post-nominals for their degree, either in parentheses or not, depending on preferred style. University names are often abbreviated and sometimes given in Latin, e.g."BA, MA (Dunelm), PhD (Ebor)"; a list of abbreviations used for university names can be found at Universities in the United Kingdom#Post-nominal abbreviations. Where the same degree has been granted by more than one university, this can be shown by placing the names or abbreviations in a single bracket after the degree name, e.g. ", Mus.D. (Oxon., Cantab., Dunelm. et Yale, U.S.A.), LL.D. (Leeds, Aberdeen, and W. University, Pennsylvania.)".
Honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad h ...
s, if shown, can be indicated either by "Hon" before the post-nominals for the degree or "hc" (for ''honoris causa'') after the post-nominals, e.g. "Professor Evelyn Algernon Valentine Ebsworth CBE, PhD, MA, ScD, DCL hc, FRSC,
FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...
" (emphasis added); "Professor Stephen Hawking Hon.ScD, CH, CBE, FRS" (emphasis added). The Oxford University Calendar Style Guide recommends not giving honorary degrees in post-nominals.


Higher education qualifications in the US

In academia and research, all degrees may be listed. In general, however, it is normal to only list those relevant to the circumstance. For example, if Jane Doe had a BS, MS, and PhD in computer science as well as an MBA, then if working in management in a retail company she would write "Jane Doe, MBA", but if working in an IT company she might write "Jane Doe, PhD", and if working in academia she could write "Jane Doe, BS, MS, MBA, PhD". The Gregg Reference Manual recommends placing periods between the letters of post-nominals (e.g., ''B.S.'', ''Ph.D.''); however,
The Chicago Manual of Style ''The Chicago Manual of Style'' (abbreviated in writing as ''CMOS'' or ''CMS'', or sometimes as ''Chicago'') is a style guide for American English published since 1906 by the University of Chicago Press. Its 17 editions have prescribed writi ...
recommends writing degrees without periods (e.g., ''BS'', ''PhD''). If post-nominals are given, the full name should be used, without Dr., Mr., Ms., Mrs., or Miss. Other prefixes (e.g., ''Professor'') may be used.


Etiquette for medical qualifications


Medical qualifications in the UK

In contrast to the style for academic qualifications, medical qualifications are listed in ''descending'' order, i.e.: doctorates, master's degrees, bachelor's degrees, postgraduate diplomas, and qualifying diplomas. Letters indicating doctorates, master's degrees and fellowships of royal colleges are always given, while bachelor's degrees, memberships and qualifying diplomas are only shown for people with no higher qualifications. In all but formal lists, only three medical qualifications are normally given. Where someone holds qualifications in multiple fields, they are normally given in the order: medicine, surgery (except for MRCS, which is considered a qualifying diploma), obstetrics, gynaecology and other specialities. These are followed by qualifying diplomas and other diplomas. Note that the academic style guides do not have a separate section for medical qualifications, so if following one of these guides, medical degrees should be listed with other degrees, medical diplomas with other diplomas, and fellowships and memberships of royal colleges with other fellowships and memberships of professional bodies.


Etiquette for fellowships or memberships


Learned societies and professional bodies in Africa

In
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, learned societies and professional bodies use designatory letters for their members and fellowships. For example, professionals admitted to the
African Planning Society The African Planning Society (APS) is a professional association representing the field of urban planning in Africa. Its mission is to create African communities that are more prosperous, sustainable, and inclusive. History The APS was forme ...
are entitled to place postnominal letters behind their names: * An Associate of the
African Planning Society The African Planning Society (APS) is a professional association representing the field of urban planning in Africa. Its mission is to create African communities that are more prosperous, sustainable, and inclusive. History The APS was forme ...
uses the post-nominal AAPS, e.g. "George Kumba AAPS." A Member of the
African Planning Society The African Planning Society (APS) is a professional association representing the field of urban planning in Africa. Its mission is to create African communities that are more prosperous, sustainable, and inclusive. History The APS was forme ...
is entitled to use the post-nominal, MAPS, e.g. "
Archimedes Muzenda Archimedes Muzenda (; born 23 August 1991) is the Secretary-General of the African Planning Society. Prior to his appointment as the secretary-general in January 2020, he previously served as the director of African Planning Society from Jan ...
MAPS." A Fellow of the
African Planning Society The African Planning Society (APS) is a professional association representing the field of urban planning in Africa. Its mission is to create African communities that are more prosperous, sustainable, and inclusive. History The APS was forme ...
is entitled to use postnominals, FAPS, e.g. "Innocent Chirisa FAPS."


Learned societies, royal academies and professional institutions in the UK

In the UK there is, according to
Debrett's Debrett's () is a British professional coaching company, publisher and authority on etiquette and behaviour, founded in 1769 with the publication of the first edition of ''The New Peerage''. The company takes its name from its founder, John De ...
, no defined order of precedence for placing designatory letters for
fellowship A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher educatio ...
s of
learned societies A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and science. Membership may ...
and memberships of
professional bodies A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...
within their respective groups. Debrett's suggests that "In practice, where one society is indisputably of greater importance than another the letters are usually placed in that order. Alternatively, the fellowship of the junior society may be omitted. If such precedence cannot be determined, the letters may be placed in order of conferment. Where this is not known, they may be placed in alphabetical order." Earlier guidance that "Strictly speaking, they should be arranged according to date of foundation or incorporation of the societies concerned" has now been removed. Only postnominals indicating honorific fellowships (e.g., FRS, FBA, FREng) are normally used socially. For professional bodies it is usual to list those most relevant to a person's profession first, or those most relevant to the particular circumstances. It is common to omit fellowships (except honorific fellowships) and memberships that are not relevant in a given situation. Debrett's notes that although Royal Academicians are listed after fellows of learned societies (and before members of professional bodies), they do not yield to them in precedence, "In practice the two lists do not coincide." The distinction between a learned society and a professional body is not well defined. Many organisations (e.g., the
Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society (professional association) in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the Royal Inst ...
) claim to be both learned societies and professional bodies. However, it is clear from both the
Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Justi ...
and Debrett's that only ''fellowships'' of learned societies are listed, while ''fellowships and memberships'' may be listed for professional bodies.


Examples

Examples of post-nominal letters: * A Knight Commander of the
Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
is authorised to use the post-nominal KBE, e.g. "Sir
Terry Wogan Sir Michael Terence Wogan (; 3 August 1938 – 31 January 2016) was an Irish radio and television broadcaster who worked for the BBC in the UK for most of his career. Between 1993 and his semi-retirement in December 2009, his BBC Radio 2 week ...
KBE DL" (DL indicating he was Deputy Lieutenant of
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...
). * A Fellow of the
Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
uses the post-nominal FRS and a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...
FRSE, e.g. "Professor Malcolm Longair CBE, FRS, FRSE" (CBE indicating he is also a Commander of the
Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
). * A
Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
may use the post-nominal PhD or DPhil (according to the usage of the awarding institution), or the pre-nominals Dr or Dr., e.g.
Indiana Jones ''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise based on the adventures of Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., a fictional professor of archaeology, that began in 1981 with the film '' Raiders of the Lost Ark''. In 1984, a prequel, '' Th ...
could be styled "Dr. Henry Walton Jones, Jr." or "Henry Walton Jones, Jr., PhD", but not "Dr. Henry Walton Jones, Jr., PhD". * A
Postgraduate Diploma A postgraduate diploma (PgD, PgDip, PGDip, PG Dip., PGD, Dipl. PG, PDE) is a postgraduate qualification awarded after a university degree, which supplements the original degree and awards them with a graduate diploma. Countries that award pos ...
is indicated by the post-nominals PgDip. Someone with a BA, MA and postgraduate diploma could write "BA PgDip MA" or (following the Oxford Calendar's style) "BA MA PgDip". * Commonly seen postnominals for religious orders include OFM for the
Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...
s (
Order of Friars Minor The Order of Friars Minor (also called the Franciscans, the Franciscan Order, or the Seraphic Order; postnominal abbreviation OFM) is a mendicant Catholic religious order, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. The order adheres to the teachi ...
), SJ for the
Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
s (
Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
), e.g. " Jorge Bergoglio, SJ, and OP for the Dominicans (
Order of Preachers The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and Mysticism, mystic Saint ...
); most other Catholic religious institutes have specific post-nominal letters. * A BA graduate of the
Open University The Open University (OU) is a British Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's underg ...
could indicate the university from which they got their degree using "BA (Open)" or "BA Open". * Someone with a BSc from Cardiff, an MSc from London and a PhD from Cardiff could write "BSc PhD Card, MSc Lond", or "BSc Card, MSc Lond, PhD Card"; alternatively they could choose to omit the lower degrees and simply write "PhD Card" ("London" may be substituted for "Lond" and "Cardiff" for "Card", and institution names could be enclosed in parentheses). If not indicating the awarding universities, they would write "BSc MSc PhD", or simply "PhD". * A member of the British parliament may use the postnominals "MP", e.g. "
Caroline Lucas Caroline Patricia Lucas (born 9 December 1960) is a British politician who has twice led the Green Party of England and Wales and has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brighton Pavilion since the 2010 general election. She was re-elect ...
MP". Note the post-nominals MP may not be used once someone ceases to be a Member of Parliament, including after Parliament has been dissolved for an election. * A peer who is a member of the Privy Council may use the postnominals "PC"; for non-peers, the pre-nominal "Right Honourable", abbreviated "Rt Hon", identifies them as members. Thus: "The Rt Hon
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
MP", but "The Rt Hon Earl Grey KG PC" (KG indicating he was also a
Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. It is the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system, outranked in precedence only by the Victoria Cross and the George ...
). * Chartered status is shown before the relevant professional membership, e.g. "Prof. Dame
Carole Jordan Dame Carole Jordan, (born 19 July 1941) is a British physicist, astrophysicist, astronomer and academic. Currently, she is Professor Emeritus of Astrophysics at the University of Oxford and Emeritus Fellow at Somerville College, Oxford. From ...
DBE FRS CPhys FInstP", where DBE indicates Dame Commander of the
Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
, FRS Fellow of the Royal Society, CPhys
Chartered Physicist Chartered Physicist (CPhys) is a chartered status and a professional qualification awarded by the Institute of Physics. It is denoted by the postnominals "CPhys". Description Achieving chartered status in any profession denotes to the wider ...
, and FInstP Fellow of the
Institute of Physics The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, research and application. It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide membership of over 20,000. The IOP is the Physic ...
, the awarding body for CPhys. * In the UK, someone who earned a BA, MA and BSc in that order would normally write "BA, BSc, MA", but in Australia they would normally write "BA, MA, BSc". * "Reverend Canon Mark Tanner MA (Oxon), BA (Hons), MTh" demonstrates: 1) the use of '(Oxon)' to indicate an
Oxbridge MA In the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin, Bachelors of Arts are promoted to the degree of Master of Arts or Master in Arts (MA) on application after six or seven years' seniority as members of the university (including years as an u ...
(to avoid confusion with an earned MA); 2) the use of '(Hons)' to indicate an
honours degree Honours degree has various meanings in the context of different degrees and education systems. Most commonly it refers to a variant of the undergraduate bachelor's degree containing a larger volume of material or a higher standard of study, or ...
; 3) ordering of degrees by date gained. *In Belgium, the persons officially admitted to the Royal Association of Descendants of the Seven Noble Houses of Brussels are entitled to place the post-nominal initials PB (Patricius Bruxellensis) or - in case they hold a title of nobility - NBP (Nobilis Patricius Bruxellensis) behind their name.This was a custom that is already found in the writings of Jan-Baptist Hauwaert, NPB (1533–1599).


See also

* List of post-nominal letters * Pre-nominal letters


References


External links


Letters after the name
Debrett's Debrett's () is a British professional coaching company, publisher and authority on etiquette and behaviour, founded in 1769 with the publication of the first edition of ''The New Peerage''. The company takes its name from its founder, John De ...
(UK usage)
How to Use Post-Nominal Abbreviations
Robert Hickey (US usage) {{Personal names Titles