Style guides

How to use the style guide

This style guide applies to all content published on GOV.UK.

It covers:

• general points of style, such as abbreviations and numbers
• how to spell and format specific words and phrases, including hyphenation and capitalisation

There’s separate tone of voice guidance that explains how to write effective and clear content.

If you cannot find a word or phrase

Check the following style guides:

• the Guardian style guide
• your organisation’s style guide, if you have one
• style guides from other government organisations

Other government style guides include:

• Department for Education (DfE) style guide
• HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) content style guide
• Home Office content style guide
• NHS content guide
• Office for National Statistics (ONS) content style guide

If you cannot find what you’re looking for, see how the spelling or formatting is used in:

• existing GOV.UK content – use Govsearch to compare how often different spellings or formats are used
• searches that users have done – see the guidance on data and analytics

If you want to suggest a change to the style guide

If you’re a publisher or content designer in government, you can suggest an addition, change or clarification to the style guide.

Before you suggest a change

If you want to add a new entry, check if it’s already been covered in:

• the Guardian style guide
• your organisation’s style guide, if you have one

If your suggestion is in another style guide, you’ll need to explain why this style guide should have an entry for it as well.

Consider whether there’s a cross-government need for a consistent style. If the style would only affect your organisation, consider creating or updating your own style guide. For example, this might include the name of a specific policy you manage.

How to suggest a change

Raise a support ticket. You’ll need a GOV.UK Signon account. If you do not have one, contact your organisation’s GOV.UK content lead to send a ticket for you.

In your ticket, include:

• what you want to add, change or remove
• why you’re suggesting the change
• what the style guide currently says (if you’re suggesting a change to an existing entry)
• evidence to support the change – for example, user research or data

If you only want to update the technical content A to Z, email technical-writers@digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk instead.

What happens next

All suggestions are reviewed once a month by content designers and technical writers at the Government Digital Service (GDS).

You’ll be told if your suggestion:

• has been approved and published in the style guide
• has been rejected, with a reason why
• needs more information before GDS can make a decision