To Whom It May Concern

It's a formulaic way of starting a letter or notice.

Meaning: 'this is intended for anybody that it has importance for.'

If you are writing to a person whose name you know, but instead you begin in this way, it sounds very rude and very aggressive.

To whom it may concern:
If the rent arrears are not paid in full immediately, I will change the lo

"To whom it may concern" should only be used when writing a letter and the identity of the person reading it is not yet known. A classic example is a reference when you leave a job that you can present to a prospective employer.

Many phrases are picked up and used in the wrong context because people do not quite understand them. It is usually harmless and amuses lawyers no end.

Hi Forbes,

I'd be reluctant to just say to English learners that it's for writing a letter to someone whose identity you don't know. With a definition that simple, I'd prefer to say that you should write 'Dear Sir or Madam'.

Best wishes, Clive

You should use "Dear Sir or Madam" when writing to a specific person whose identity you do not know, for example the occupier of a particular property. You will use it in a letter you are likely to post.

Dear Sir or Madam,

We write to inform you that tree felling will be carried out in Acacia Avenue and Laurel Close on the 25th March.

"To whom it may concern"

It is normally used to introduce somebody to whoever requires certain credentials to be considered. Therefore, it means here Iam eventhough we haven't seen each other.

This is really very simple:
Use Dear Sir/Madam when you know (or can assume) the position of the person you are writing to but not their name or gender. Use To whom it may concern when you don't even know their position. If you use To whom it may concern end with Yours faithfully.

Endi

Hi,

I disagree.

A few special cases were described earlier in which 'To whom it may concern' could be used. Other

Hi

I would like to know, we can use this phrase or not "to whom this may concern" instead of "to whom it may concern"

if using it, that wrong or not?

thank you in advance

Honi

HonieI would like to know, we can use this phrase or not "to whom this may concern" instead of "to whom it may concern" if using it, that wrong or not?

I have never seen the phrase "to whom this may concern".

Hi Honi,

Welcome to the Forum.

I'd just like to repeat for you this note that I wrote in an earlier post in this thread.

A few special cases were described earlier in which 'To whom it may concern' could be used. Other than those, my advice to English learners is to never use this phrase. I don't remember the last time that I us