How to Sign a Card: Closings and Sign-Offs for Every Occasion

Knowing how to sign a card comes down to two small choices: the closing line you write above your name, and the way you write the name itself. A closing such as "Love," "With sympathy," or "Best wishes," sets the tone for the whole card, so it helps to match it to the occasion and to how well you know the person.

Below you will find the basic format, closing lines you can copy for every occasion, and how to sign a card from a couple, a family or a whole office.

Article contents

• How to Sign a Card
• How to Sign a Sympathy Card
• How to Sign a Birthday Card
• How to Sign a Wedding or Anniversary Card
• How to Sign a Thank You Card
• How to Sign a Christmas or Holiday Card
• Closings for Get Well, Graduation and Congratulations Cards
• Card Closings by Relationship
• How to Sign a Card From a Couple, a Family or a Group
• Mr. and Mrs. and Names After Marriage
• How to Sign a Card When You Do Not Know the Person Well
• Card Signing Etiquette
• Frequently Asked Questions

How to Sign a Card

Most cards follow the same simple pattern. You write your message, add a closing line with a comma after it, and sign your name on the line below.

1. Finish your message first. The closing goes on its own line after your message, near the bottom right of the card.
2. Choose a closing that fits the occasion. A sympathy card calls for a gentle closing, while a birthday card for a good friend can be playful.
3. Match the closing to the relationship. "Love" suits family and close friends. "Warmly" or "Best wishes" suits coworkers, neighbors and people you know a little.
4. Add a comma and sign on the next line. Use your first name for people who know you well and your full name for anyone who might not place you right away.

Here is how the end of a simple birthday card might look: "I hope this year brings you plenty of good days and a few great ones. Love, Aunt Carol."

How to Sign a Sympathy Card

A sympathy card closing should be quiet and kind. Choose words that offer comfort or let the person know you are thinking of them, and leave out cheerful closings such as "Cheers" or "Have a great day." If you knew the person who died, you can mention them by name in the closing.

Sign a sympathy card with your full name, and add a few words about how you knew the person if the family may not know you, such as "Linda Moore, from Tom's book club." This helps the family know who reached out.

Sympathy Card Closing Lines

• With deepest sympathy,
• With sympathy and love,
• Thinking of you,
• Thinking of you and your family,
• Holding you close in my thoughts,
• With love and sympathy,
• Sending you comfort and love,
• Wishing you peace,
• Wishing you comfort in the days ahead,
• With fond memories of [name],
• Here for you always,
• Sending strength and love,

Faith-Based Sympathy Closing Lines

For a family who shares your faith, a closing that mentions prayer can bring real comfort.

• Keeping you in my prayers,
• Praying for you and your family,
• With prayers and sympathy,
• May God give you peace,
• Lifting you up in prayer,
• With love and prayers,
• God bless you and your family,

How to Sign a Birthday Card

Birthday cards are the easiest cards to sign because almost any warm closing works. Use "Love" for family and close friends, a playful closing for someone who shares your sense of humor, and "Best wishes" for coworkers or acquaintances.

Birthday Card Closing Lines

• Love,
• Lots of love,
• Love always,
• Happy birthday and love,
• Warmest wishes,
• Best wishes on your birthday,
• Cheers to another year,
• Have the best day,
• Wishing you a wonderful year,
• Your favorite sister,
• All my love,

How to Sign a Wedding or Anniversary Card

A wedding card goes to two people, so the closing should usually include both of them. If you are signing as a couple, put both of your names after the closing.

Older etiquette reserved "best wishes" for the bride, but most couples today are happy with either phrase. Read more about the tradition of best wishes at weddings.

Sign-Off Wording for a Wedding Card

• With love to you both,
• Best wishes to the happy couple,
• Wishing you a lifetime of happiness,
• Congratulations and love,
• Cheers to the newlyweds,
• With love and best wishes,
• Warmest wishes on your wedding day,
• So happy for you both,
• Here's to a long and happy marriage,

Anniversary Card Closing Lines

For your own spouse, sign with something personal. For a couple celebrating a milestone, wish them many more good years together.

• All my love, always,
• Yours always,
• Still crazy about you,
• Here's to many more years,
• With love on your anniversary,
• Happy anniversary, with love,
• Loving you more every year,
• Forever yours,

How to Sign a Thank You Card

The closing of a thank you card is a chance to repeat your thanks in a few words. Pick a closing that matches the gift or favor, and keep it warm for friends and a little more formal for business contacts.

Thank You Card Closing Lines

• With gratitude,
• With many thanks,
• Gratefully,
• With appreciation,
• Thank you again,
• With love and thanks,
• Warmly,
• Gratefully yours,
• With sincere thanks,
• Thanks again for everything,

How to Sign a Christmas or Holiday Card

Holiday cards often end with a seasonal greeting. "Happy holidays" and "Season's greetings" suit clients, coworkers and anyone whose traditions you are not sure of. For the message itself, see our Christmas card messages.

Christmas Card Closing Lines

• Merry Christmas,
• Merry Christmas and love,
• Happy holidays,
• Season's greetings,
• Warm wishes this season,
• Peace and joy,
• Love and holiday cheer,
• Wishing you a happy new year,
• With love at Christmas,
• Warmest holiday wishes,

Closings for Get Well, Graduation and Congratulations Cards

For a get well card, a closing that offers help or wishes a quick recovery fits best. For a graduation or congratulations card, use a closing that shows you are proud of the person.

Get Well Card Closing Lines

• Feel better soon,
• Get well soon,
• Wishing you a speedy recovery,
• Sending healing thoughts,
• Here if you need anything,
• Rest up and take care,
• Sending love and get well wishes,
• Hoping each day is a little easier,

Graduation and Congratulations Closing Lines

• So proud of you,
• Congratulations and love,
• Cheers to your next chapter,
• With pride and love,
• Best wishes for the road ahead,
• Well done,
• Onward and upward,
• Wishing you every success,
• Here's to what comes next,

Card Closings by Relationship

A birthday card for your husband and a birthday card for your manager both need a sign-off, but the words will be very different.

Love Sign-Off Lines for a Partner

• All my love,
• Love you always,
• Yours forever,
• With all my heart,
• Love you to the moon and back,
• Your loving husband,
• Your loving wife,
• XOXO,
• Always and forever,

Closing Lines for Family and Friends

• Love,
• Love you,
• Big hugs,
• Love from your big brother,
• Talk soon,
• Miss you,
• Your friend always,
• Can't wait to see you,
• With love,

Professional Closing Lines for a Coworker or Boss

For work cards, keep the closing friendly and polite, and save "Love" and "Hugs" for family and close friends. "Sincerely" and "Respectfully" read as formal, so they fit a card to a boss, a client or a senior leader.

• Best wishes,
• Best regards,
• Kind regards,
• Sincerely,
• All the best,
• With appreciation,
• Wishing you all the best,
• With thanks for all you do,
• Respectfully,

How to Sign a Card From a Couple, a Family or a Group

When more than one person sends a card, write one closing and then list everyone who is signing.

Sign-Off Wording for a Couple

Write one closing and list both first names joined by "and." Most people put the name of the person writing the card first, or the name of the person the recipient knows best.

• Love, Emily and Josh
• With love from Emily and Josh
• Best wishes, Emily and Josh Parker
• Love from both of us, Emily and Josh
• With deepest sympathy, Emily and Josh Parker
• Cheers, Emily and Josh

Sign-Off Wording for a Family With Kids

List the adults first, then the children from oldest to youngest. For a large family, or a card to someone who does not know the children by name, sign with the family name, such as "The Parkers" or "The Parker Family." Do not add an apostrophe to a plural last name, because "The Parker's" means something that belongs to one Parker. For names that end in s, add "es," as in "The Davises."

• Love, Dan, Amy, Ella and Max
• Best wishes, The Parkers
• With love from Dan, Amy and the kids
• Happy holidays from the Davises
• With deepest sympathy, The Parker Family

Sign-Off Wording for a Family With Pets

Pets are a fun touch on birthday and holiday cards to friends and family. Put the pet after the people, and leave pets off sympathy and work cards.

• Love, Dan, Amy, Ella, Max and Biscuit the dog
• Merry Christmas from the Parkers (and Biscuit)
• Love, Emily, Josh and Oliver the cat
• Woofs and wags, Biscuit
• Purrs and love, Oliver
• Love, Max (and his humans)

Sign-Off Wording for an Office or Group Card

When a group card is passed around the office, each person writes a short message and signs their own name. Add your last name or department in a large company. If one person signs for the whole team, write the closing and then the group name.

• Best wishes, Your friends in Accounting
• With deepest sympathy, The team at Parker Dental
• Happy birthday from all of us in Marketing
• With thanks, Your coworkers on the third floor
• Congratulations from the whole team

Mr. and Mrs. and Names After Marriage

Formal titles such as "Mr. and Mrs. Josh Parker" belong on envelopes and formal invitations more than inside a card. Inside the card, first names read warmer, so "Love, Emily and Josh" is the usual choice.

After a wedding, sign with your new last name, and add your previous one for people who knew you before, as in "Emily (Moore) Parker." Couples with different last names can write both in full, as in "Emily Moore and Josh Parker."

How to Sign a Card When You Do Not Know the Person Well

A card to a new neighbor, a friend's parent or a coworker you rarely see should end with a closing that is kind but not too familiar. Sign your full name so they know who it is from.

Closing Lines for Someone You Do Not Know Well

• Warmly,
• Best wishes,
• Warm regards,
• Kind regards,
• All the best,
• Wishing you well,
• Sincerely,
• With kind thoughts,

Card Signing Etiquette

1. Put names in a sensible order. In a card from a couple, the writer or the person closest to the recipient usually goes first. In a family card, list adults before children and older children before younger ones.
2. Ask before you sign for someone else. If you sign a partner's or child's name, make sure they are comfortable with the message. Young children can add their own name or a small drawing.
3. Write clearly. Sign in pen, and print your name under your signature if your handwriting is hard to read.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you sign a sympathy card?

Write a gentle closing such as "With deepest sympathy," and sign your full name on the next line. If the family may not know you, add how you knew the person who died.

What is the proper way to sign a card from a couple?

Write one closing, then both first names joined by "and," as in "Love, Emily and Josh." Add your last name for people who know you less well, and keep titles such as "Mr. and Mrs." for formal cards and envelopes.

Is it OK to sign a card with just "Love"?

Yes, "Love" is a fine closing for family, partners and close friends. For coworkers and people you do not know well, "Warmly" or "Best wishes" is a better fit.

Should I sign a card with my last name?

Use your last name in sympathy cards, work cards and cards to anyone who may know more than one person with your first name. For close family and friends, your first name is enough.

Once you have the closing, the message above it matters just as much. Our guides to how to write a greeting card, what to write in a sympathy card, what to write in a birthday card, what to write in a wedding card and thank you card messages have ideas for every occasion.

If you want one box of cards that works for all of these occasions, our Butterfly Garden cards are blank inside and out, so you can write any message and sign it any way you like. Each set comes with 12 cards and envelopes made from 100% recycled paper.