How to Write an Army Memorandum (and an MFR) to the AR 25-50 Standard

// 01One regulation, two documents

The governing publication is AR 25-50, Preparing and Managing Correspondence. The base edition is dated 10 October 2020, and the current text carries an administrative revision dated 4 October 2024. Two of the rules people argue about most changed in that revision; section 03 covers both.

An addressed memorandum goes to someone. You use it for correspondence outside your headquarters, for routine correspondence to Federal agencies, for personnel actions, and for internal correspondence within the same headquarters (¶2-2). A memorandum for record goes to the file. AR 25-50 gives the MFR its own paragraph:

Use the MFR to show the authority or basis for an action taken. Also, use the MFR to document informal meetings or telephone conversations when official business was conducted. AR 25-50, ¶2-7a

The MFR is structurally different, not just differently used. Its heading is the office symbol, the date, and the subject (¶2-7b(1)). There is no addressee, so there is no MEMORANDUM FOR line. Its body must “Show all background information having a direct bearing on the matter. Include the authority and basis for the action to inform reviewing and signing officials” (¶2-7b(2)). And per the regulation’s own worked example, “Anyone may prepare and sign an MFR” (fig 2-17). You do not need to be the commander. You need to have been in the room, or on the phone.

// 02The format, top to bottom

A memorandum is block style with three parts: heading, body, and closing (¶2-4). Page 1 goes on computer-generated letterhead, continuation pages on plain white paper (¶2-3a). The page itself: “Use standard margins: 1-inch from the left, right, and bottom edges. Do not justify right margins” (¶2-3c). On font, “A font with a point size of 12 is recommended” and “Unusual type styles, such as Script, will not be used in official correspondence” (¶1-19).

Office symbol and date. The office symbol goes on the second line below the seal, and it identifies the writer’s office (¶2-4a(1)). Agencies place the ARIMS record number in parentheses one space after it (¶2-4a(2)). The date sits on the same line, flush with the right margin, added after the memorandum is signed (¶2-4a(3)). Dates are written like 13 March 2020 or 13 Mar 20.

The MEMORANDUM FOR line. “Type ‘MEMORANDUM FOR’ on the third line below the office symbol. Write to the office that is expected to complete the action” (¶2-4a(5)). One addressee shares the line. Up to five addressees each get their own line. More than five, and you type SEE DISTRIBUTION one space after MEMORANDUM FOR. Addresses go in all uppercase or in upper and lowercase, but never mixed.

The subject line. It goes on the second line below the last address line. “Use only one subject and write the subject in 10 words or less, if possible” and “Type ‘SUBJECT:’ in uppercase letters” (¶2-4a(6)). Avoid abbreviations in the subject unless you need them to stay under 10 words, and then only commonly recognized acronyms like DA, DoD, FY, and HQDA.

The body. Text begins on the third line below the last line of the subject (¶2-4b(1)). The main point goes first: AR 25-50’s standard is that “Effective Army writing is understood by the reader in a single rapid reading and is clear, concise, and well-organized in accordance with PL 111-274” and its two essential requirements are “putting the main point at the beginning of the correspondence (bottom line up front) and using the active voice” (¶1-38). Spacing: “Single space the text with double spacing between paragraphs and subparagraphs” (¶2-4b(2)). Numbering: “Do not number a one-paragraph memorandum” (¶2-4b(4)(a)); multi-paragraph memos are numbered 1., a., (1), (a) per figure 2-1. And keep it tight: “Keep sentences short. The average length of a sentence should be about 15 words” and “Write one-page letters and memorandums for most correspondence. Use enclosures for additional information” (¶1-39b).

The point of contact. “When writing any type of correspondence, the writer or point of contact will be identified by military grade or civilian prefix, first and last name; position and address; phone; and email address, if appropriate. This information is generally placed in the last paragraph of the correspondence” (¶1-23a).

The signature block. “Begin the signature block at the center of the page on the fifth line below the authority line. If the document has no authority line, begin the signature block on the fifth line below the last line of the text” (¶6-4b). Military officials use three lines: name, then rank and abbreviated branch, then title (¶6-4c). An authority line like FOR THE COMMANDER: appears only when someone signs for the commander; if you are signing for yourself, there is none.

// 03What the 4 October 2024 revision changed

Two rules flipped, and both still generate barracks lawyering because people learned the 2020 text and never saw the revision.

Spacing after punctuation went back to two. The 2020 edition moved the Army to one space after ending punctuation. The 4 October 2024 revision reversed it. The current rule: “Place two spaces between the punctuation and the text that immediately follows it for periods and question marks. For commas, colons, and semicolons, place one space between the punctuation and the text that immediately follows it” (¶1-39b(9)).

Font choice moved to senior leaders. There is no longer an Army-wide mandated font. The current text reads: “Army senior leaders will determine the font size and type his or her organization will use ensuring the correspondence is easy to read and understand” (¶1-19). The guidelines that follow still recommend a 12-point font and still ban unusual type styles, but the specific font is your organization’s call now. Check your command’s guidance before you fight about it.

// 04A complete memorandum for record

The MFR layout comes from figure 2-17 of the regulation, and its rules are short: “Type the MFR on plain white paper. Type the office symbol at the left margin 1 inch from the top of the paper. Stamp or type the date on the same line, ending at the right margin.” Then “Type the words MEMORANDUM FOR RECORD in uppercase at the left margin on the third line below the office symbol”, then “Type SUBJECT: in uppercase at the left margin on the second line below MEMORANDUM FOR RECORD”, then “Begin the text on the third line below the last line of the subject” and “Limit the MFR to one page, if possible” (fig 2-17). Here is a complete, generic example that follows every rule quoted in this article, including the two spaces after periods:

ABCD-EF                                                     30 August 2026


MEMORANDUM FOR RECORD

SUBJECT: Change of Rifle Qualification Range Date


1.  This memorandum records the authority for moving the company rifle
qualification range to 9 September 2026.

2.  On 28 August 2026, the battalion operations officer approved the move
from 2 September 2026 by telephone.  He directed the company to update
the training schedule and to confirm the ammunition draw.  Range control
confirmed lane availability for 9 September 2026 on the same call.

3.  The point of contact is SSG Jordan A. Smith, Company Training NCO,
at (555) 555-0164 or [email protected].




                                        JORDAN A. SMITH
                                        SSG, USA
                                        Company Training NCO

Walk it against the rules. Office symbol at the left margin, date ending at the right margin on the same line, MEMORANDUM FOR RECORD on the third line below (fig 2-17). SUBJECT: on the second line below it, six words, no abbreviations (¶2-4a(6)). The text starts on the third line below the subject, puts the bottom line in paragraph 1 (¶1-38), is numbered because there is more than one paragraph (¶2-4b(4)), single spaced with double spacing between paragraphs (¶2-4b(2)), with two spaces after every period (¶1-39b(9)). Paragraph 2 carries the background and the authority for the action (¶2-7b(2)); the point of contact is the last paragraph (¶1-23a). No authority line, because the writer signs the MFR personally, so the signature block begins on the fifth line below the last line of text, at the center of the page: name, rank and branch, title (¶6-4b, ¶6-4c). One page (¶1-39b(7)).

// 05Common mistakes

• One space after periods. Correct from 2020 to 2024, wrong now. Two spaces after periods and question marks (¶1-39b(9)).
• A MEMORANDUM FOR line on an MFR. The MFR heading is office symbol, date, and subject (¶2-7b(1)). The line reads MEMORANDUM FOR RECORD, and nothing follows it.
• Numbering a one-paragraph memo. “Do not number a one-paragraph memorandum” (¶2-4b(4)(a)).
• A justified right margin. It looks polished and it is explicitly banned: “Do not justify right margins” (¶2-3c).
• Burying the point. The main point goes at the beginning, bottom line up front (¶1-38b). If paragraph 1 is history and paragraph 4 is the ask, rewrite it.
• A ten-line subject. One subject, 10 words or less if possible (¶2-4a(6)).
• Signature block in the wrong place. Fifth line below the last line of text when there is no authority line, starting at the center of the page (¶6-4b).
• No point of contact. Grade, name, position, phone, and email in the last paragraph (¶1-23a).

None of this is hard. It is just specific, and the specifics are what a reviewer checks first. For the writing style underneath the format, the Academy class Memos That Hold Up covers the AR 25-50 rules a reviewer actually red-pens. If the memo you are writing responds to adverse action, start with the GOMOR response guide instead.

One more thing about MFRs: they only help if they exist when you need them, months later. BulletForge’s leader’s book keeps the events an MFR documents, the phone call, the meeting, the accomplishment, on the Soldier’s record with a date attached, so the paper trail is there before the eval or the dispute is.

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