Editing Post-nominal letters (section)

=== 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 ====
{{See also|List of post-nominal letters (Australia)}}

Various University Style Guides, such as: the [[University of Sydney]] 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====
{{See also|List of post-nominal letters (Canada)}}

The [[Government of Canada|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:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tcdnstyl-chap?lang=eng&lettr=chapsect1&info0=1.08#zz1|title=1.08 University degrees, professional designations, military decorations, honours, awards and memberships|work=The Canadian Style|access-date=26 March 2017|date=2017|publisher= Public Works and Government Services Canada}}</ref>

# 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]] have used post-nominal symbols and letters to allow their members to indicate their fraternity membership and honorary positions held in their signature.

[[File:Zirkel of Corps Altsachsen Dresden.png|100px|thumb|The '''[[Zirkel (Studentenverbindung)|Zirkel]]''' of a [[German Student Corps]]. This symbol captures the letters "v, c, f, A", as  post-nominal for that fraternity.]]

==== Order of post-nominals in the UK ====
{{see also|List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom)}}

=====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]] and [[A & C Black]]'s ''Titles and Forms of Address''; these are generally in close agreement, with the exception of the position of MP, etc., in the listing:<ref name="MoJ">{{cite web |publisher=Ministry of Justice (UK) |title=Honours and Decorations |date=2009-03-14 |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110204173507/http://www.justice.gov.uk/guidance/foa-hons-and-decs.htm |url=http://www.justice.gov.uk/guidance/foa-hons-and-decs.htm |archive-date=2011-02-04 |access-date=2012-06-04}}</ref><ref name="Debrett's post nominals">{{cite web |url=https://www.debretts.com/expertise/forms-of-address/letters-after-the-name/ |title=Forms of address: Hierarchies: Letters after the name |publisher=[[Debrett's]] |access-date=28 March 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VkqCBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA165|title=Titles and Forms of Address: A Guide to Correct Use|edition=22nd|date=10 October 2014|publisher=[[A & C Black]], an imprint of [[Bloomsbury Publishing]]|pages=163–165|isbn=9781408103098}}</ref>
# [[baronet|Bt/Bart]] or [[esquire|Esq]];
#* In the UK, "Esq." may refer to any gentleman in place of the pre-nominal Mr or Dr;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.debretts.com/forms-address/titles/untitled-men|title=Untitled Men|publisher=Debrett's|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160528223726/http://www.debretts.com/forms-address/titles/untitled-men|archive-date = 28 May 2016}}</ref>
# [[Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom|British Orders and decorations]] (e.g. [[Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire|OBE]]; in descending order of precedence);
# Crown Appointments, i.e.:{{ordered list
| list_style_type = lower-alpha|[[Privy Counsellor (United Kingdom)|Privy Counsellor]] (PC), [[Personal aide-de-camp]] (ADC), [[Physician to the King]] (KHP), [[Medical Household|Honorary Surgeon to the King]] (KHS), [[Medical Household|Honorary Dental Surgeon to the King]] (KHDS), [[Medical Household|Honorary Nursing Sister to the King]] (KHNS), and [[Honorary Chaplain to the King]] (KHC)|[[King's Counsel]] (KC), [[Justice of the Peace]] (JP) and [[Deputy Lieutenant]] (DL); (according to the Ministry of Justice) Member of Parliament or of a devolved assembly ([[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|MP]], [[Member of the Scottish Parliament|MSP]], [[Member of the Senedd|MS]], [[Member of the Legislative Assembly (Northern Ireland)|MLA]]);
}}
# [[Academic degree|University degree]]s:
#* According to Debrett's, [[Doctor of Divinity|DD]], [[Doctor of Medicine|MD]] and [[Master of Surgery|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);<ref name="Debrett's degrees">{{cite web |title=Professions |url=https://www.debretts.com/expertise/forms-of-address/professions/ |website=Debrett's}}</ref>
# &nbsp; {{ordered list
 | list_style_type=lower-alpha
 | [[Religious institute]]s (e.g. [[Society of St Francis|SSF]]),
 | Medical qualifications (e.g. [[Royal College of Physicians#Membership and fellowship|FRCP]]);
 }}
# &nbsp; {{ordered list
| list_style_type = lower-alpha|Fellowship of [[learned society|learned societies]] (e.g., [[Fellow of the Royal Society|FRS]], [[Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts|FRSA]], [[Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society|FRGS]]),|Royal Academicians and associates, (e.g., [[Royal Academy of Arts#Membership|RA, ARA]]),|Fellowships, Membership, etc. of professional institutions, associations, etc. (e.g. [[Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers|FICE]]) – chartered and other professional statuses should be shown before the designatory letters for the relevant professional body (e.g. CEng FMIET; EngTech TMIET),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theiet.org/membership/manage/use-designatory-letters/|title=Use of designatory letters|publisher=[[Institution of Engineering and Technology]]|access-date=28 May 2016}}</ref>|According to Debrett's: [[Society of Writers to Her Majesty's Signet|Writers to the Signet]] (WS);
}}
# 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. [[Royal Air Force|RAF]], [[Royal Navy|RN]], [[Volunteer Reserves (United Kingdom)|VR]], [[Royal Marines|RM]], [[Royal Military Police|RMP]]) (not included by Black's).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.debretts.com/forms-address/hierarchies/letters-after-name/armed-forces |title=Letters after the name: Armed Forces |publisher=Debrett's |access-date=22 October 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316012558/http://www.debretts.com/forms-address/hierarchies/letters-after-name/armed-forces |archive-date=16 March 2015 }}</ref>

In addition, British citizens who have received honours from [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] countries are usually given permission from the King to use the postnominals for that honour.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.royal.uk/commonwealth-honours|title=Commonwealth Honours|access-date=30 May 2016|website=The Royal Family|date=12 November 2015}}</ref>

=====Academic usage in the UK=====

The [[University of Oxford|Oxford University]] Style Guide and the [[University of Nottingham]] Style Guide give the alternative ordering:<ref name=OxStyle>{{cite book|url=https://www.ox.ac.uk/sites/files/oxford/University%20of%20Oxford%20Style%20Guide%20%28updated%20Hilary%20term%202016%29.pdf|date=2016|access-date=29 May 2016|publisher=University of Oxford|title=University of Oxford Style Guide|page=20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/communicationsmarketing/services/service-details/style-guide/names-and-titles.aspx|access-date=30 May 2016|title=Names and titles|publisher=[[University of Nottingham]]}}</ref>

# 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]] 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.<ref name=Lboro>{{cite web|url=http://www.lboro.ac.uk/students/graduation/certificates/postnominalletters/|publisher=Loughborough University|access-date=28 May 2016|title=Post-Nominal Letters}}</ref>

[[Nottingham Trent University]] gives essentially the same ordering as Oxford and Nottingham, but without specifying the order in which degrees should be given.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://www.ntu.ac.uk/styleguide|title=Editorial Style Guide for Print Publications and Web|author=NTU Marketing|publisher=Nottingham Trent University|page=9|access-date=30 May 2016}}</ref> 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 [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cam.ac.uk/brand-resources/guidelines/editorial-style-guide|title=Editorial Style Guide|author=Communications Resources|date=24 January 2014|publisher=University of Cambridge|access-date=30 May 2016}}</ref> [[Imperial College London]], however, uses all small caps for post-nominals (e.g. {{small caps|phd}}, not PhD).<ref>{{cite web|title=Imperial College London House Style|url=http://www.imperial.ac.uk/media/imperial-college/administration-and-support-services/brand-and-style-guide/public/HouseStyleWeb.pdf|publisher=Imperial College London|access-date=30 May 2016}}</ref>

Where all degrees are shown, as in university calendars, most universities will give these in ascending order.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.debretts.com/forms-address/ask-debretts-expert/questions-professions|title=Questions on Professions|publisher=Debrett's|access-date=28 May 2016}}</ref> However, advice on the precise ordering varies:
* The [[Oxford University]] Calendar Style Guide places degrees in the order: bachelor's degrees (including postgraduate bachelor's degrees such as the Oxford [[Bachelor of Civil Law|BCL]]) 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.<ref name=OxCal>{{cite book|url=https://www.ox.ac.uk/media/global/wwwoxacuk/localsites/gazette/documents/universitycalendar/Calendar_Style_Guide_2015.pdf|title=Calendar Style Guide|publisher=[[University of Oxford]]|date=2015|access-date=2016-05-29|archive-date=2018-08-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180820010016/https://www.ox.ac.uk/media/global/wwwoxacuk/localsites/gazette/documents/universitycalendar/Calendar_Style_Guide_2015.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Loughborough University]] 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.<ref name=Lboro/>

==== Order of post-nominals in the United States ====
{{See also|List of professional designations in the United States}}
In the United States, standard protocol is to list post-nominal letters in the following order:<ref name=US>{{cite web |title=Forms of Address |url= http://www.formsofaddress.info/post_nominals.html |first=Robert |last=Hickey |work=Honor & Respect |publisher=The Protocol School of Washington |access-date=5 March 2012}}</ref>

# 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.<ref name=US/>