DD Month YYYY

MEMORANDUM FOR	123 ES/CC	123 ES/DO	123 ES/CSS

456 ES/CC	456 ES/DO	456 ES/CSS

FROM:	ORG/SYMBOL

Organization

Street Address

City ST 12345-6789

SUBJECT: Format for the Official Memorandum

AFM 33-326, 31 July 2019, Preparing Official Communications

DoDM 5110.04-M-V2, 16 June 2020, Manual for Written Material: Examples and Reference Material

Use only approved organizational letterhead for all correspondence. This applies to all letterhead, both pre-printed and computer generated. Reference (a) details for the format and style of official letterhead such as centering the first line of the header 5/8ths of an inch from the top of the page in 12 point Copperplate Gothic Bold font (Letterhead Line 1 style of this template). The second header line is centered 3 points below the first line in 10.5 point Copperplate Gothic Bold font (Letterhead Line 2 style of this template).

Note that this template provides proper formatting for various elements via Word Styles. The recipient line uses the “MEMO FOR” style, the body of the memorandum uses the “Body” style, the signature block uses the “Signature Block” style, and so on. The “Normal” style is left available for edge cases not covered by this template, but should be used sparingly, if at all.

Place “MEMORANDUM FOR” on the second line below the date. Leave two spaces between “MEMORANDUM FOR” and the recipient’s office symbol. If there are multiple recipients, two or three office symbols may be placed on each line aligned under the entries on the first line. If there are numerous recipients, type “DISTRIBUTION” after “MEMORANDUM FOR” and use a “DISTRIBUTION” element below the signature block.

Place “FROM:” on the second line below the “MEMORANDUM FOR” line. Leave two spaces between the colon in “FROM:” and the originator’s office symbol. The “FROM:” element contains the full mailing address of the originator’s office unless the mailing address is in the header or if all the recipients are located in the same installation as the originator.

Place “SUBJECT:” in uppercase letters on the second line below the last line of the FROM element. Leave two spaces between the colon in “SUBJECT:” and the subject. Capitalize the first letter of each word except articles, prepositions, and conjunctions (this is sometimes referred to as “title case”). Be clear and concise. If the subject is long, try to revise and shorten the subject; if shortening is not feasible, align the second line under the first word of the subject.

Body text begins on the second line below the last line in the subject element and is flush with the left margin. If the Reference element is used, then the body text begins on the second line below the last line on the Reference element.

When a paragraph is split between pages, there must be at least two lines from the paragraph on both pages. This template should automatically handle this formatting, but in the case of widowed sentences you can use a manual page break. Similarly, avoid single-sentence paragraphs by revising or reorganizing the content.

Number or letter each body text paragraph and subparagraph according to the format for subdividing paragraphs in official memorandums presented in the Tongue and Quill. This subdivision format is provided in this template in the “Body” style. When a memorandum is subdivided, the number of levels used should be relative to the length of the memorandum. Shorter products typically use three or fewer levels. Longer products may use more levels, but only the number of levels needed.

Follow the spacing guidance for between the text, signature block, attachment element, courtesy copy element, and distribution lists, if used, carefully. The signature block starts on the fifth line below the body text – this spacing is handled automatically by the Signature Block style. Never separate the text from the signature block: the signature page must include body text above the signature block. Also, the first element below the signature block begins on the third line below the last line of the duty title; this applies to attachments, courtesy copies, and distribution lists, whichever is used first.

Elements of the Official Memorandum can be inserted as templated parts in MS Word. Select the “Insert” menu, “Quick Parts”, and then select the desired element. Follow the formatting instructions provided with the element template.

To add classification banner markings (including FOUO markings), click on the header or footer, and in the “Header & Footer Tools” tab, select the Header / Footer dropdown menus on the left side. Use the pre-generated headers and footers – note that the first page is different from the second page onward, and so the second page header and footer must be applied separately.

The example of this memorandum applies to many official memorandums that Airmen may be tasked to prepare; however, there are additional elements for special uses of the official memorandum. Refer to the Tongue and Quill discussion on the official memorandum for more details, or consult published guidance applicable to your duties.

FIRST M. LAST, Rank, USAF

Duty Title

(Align w/ third character of 2nd line)

X Attachment(s): (if none, delete element)

Attachment description, date

Attachments section should begin on the third line below the signature block

cc: (if none, delete element)

Rank and name, ORG/SYMBOL, or both

The CC element should begin on the second line below the attachment element. If no attachment element is present, it begins on the third line below the signature block.

DISTRIBUTION: (if none, delete element)

ORG/SYMBOL or Organization Name

The distribution element should begin on the second line below the attachment or CC element. If neither attachment nor CC elements are present, this element begins on the third line below the signature block.

1st Ind, ORG/SYMBOL [Office symbol for 1st Indorsement official]

MEMORANDUM FOR	ORG/SYMBOL [Office symbol for 2d Indorsement official]

Number each indorsement in sequence (1st Ind, 2d Ind, 3d Ind, …). Begin the first indorsement on the second line below the last element of the official memorandum. Begin subsequent indorsements on the second line below the last element of the previous indorsement. Follow the indorsement number with your office symbol.

When inserting a new indorsement element (either on the same page or as a separate page), the numbering will need to be reset. This is accomplished by right-clicking the number on the list, then selecting “Restart at 1”.

Use a separate page indorsement when there isn’t space remaining on the original memorandum or previous indorsement page. The separate-page indorsement is basically the same as the one for the same page, except the top line always cites the indorsement number with the originator’s office, date, and subject of the original communication; the second line reflects the functional address symbol of the indorsing office with the date.

FIRST M LAST, Rank, USAF

Duty Title

(Align w/ third character of 2nd line)

[1st Ind official’s signature block]

2d Ind to [Originator ORG/SYMBOL], DD Mon YY, Memorandum Subject

ORG/SYMBOL [Office Symbol for 2d Indorsement official]	DD Mon YYYY

MEMORANDUM FOR	ORG/SYMBOL [Originator]

Use a separate page indorsement when there isn’t space remaining on the original memorandum or previous indorsement page. The separate-page indorsement is basically the same as the one for the same page, except the top line always cites the indorsement number with the originator’s office, date, and subject of the original communication; the second line reflects the functional address symbol of the indorsing office with the date.

FIRST M LAST, Rank, USAF

Duty Title

(Align w/ third character of 2nd line)

[2d Ind official’s signature block]