Department of War and OSD components standard memorandum format: what the generator sets
The standard memorandum of DoD Manual 5110.04, Volume 1. Each rule is followed by where it is written.
Page setup
- Stationery
- 8.5 by 11-inch letterhead for the first page, bond paper after it; component heads use their component's letterhead. (DoDM 5110.04 V1 par. 7.2.a)
- Margins
- 1.75 inches at the top of the first page; one inch at the sides and bottom; one inch on all sides of later pages. Right margins are not justified. (DoDM 5110.04 V1 par. 7.2.b)
- Font and spacing
- 12-point Times New Roman. Single-spaced, with a blank line between paragraphs and bullets. A single paragraph of eight lines or less is double-spaced. (DoDM 5110.04 V1 pars. 7.2.c–d)
- Page numbers
- The first page is not numbered. Later pages: bottom center, at least a blank line below the text and ½ inch from the bottom of the page. (DoDM 5110.04 V1 par. 7.2.g)
Department of War and OSD components
Heading
- Date
- A double space below the last line of the letterhead or seal, ending at the right margin, as "February 12, 2019". Left off a memorandum for the Secretary's, Deputy Secretary's or Executive Secretary's signature. (DoDM 5110.04 V1 par. 7.2.h)
- MEMORANDUM FOR
- A double space below the date; the addressee by title. A second line of one addressee is indented two spaces. Several addressees go one per line, block style. More than 16: "MEMORANDUM FOR: SEE DISTRIBUTION". (DoDM 5110.04 V1 par. 7.2.i)
- ATTN and THROUGH
- "(ATTN: LTC BROWN)" a single space below, under the third character of the address. "THROUGH:" a double space below the address, the office in capitals. (DoDM 5110.04 V1 pars. 7.2.j–k)
- SUBJECT and references
- "SUBJECT:" a double space below the address; two spaces, then the title; later lines under the first word. "Reference:" or "References:" a double space below it, lettered when there are two or more. (DoDM 5110.04 V1 pars. 7.2.l–m)
Department of War and OSD components
Text and signature
- Paragraphs
- Indented half an inch; lines after the first return to the margin. Subparagraphs use bullets, numbers or lower-case letters. No one-sentence paragraphs. (DoDM 5110.04 V1 pars. 7.2.e–f; Figure 1)
- Signature block
- No salutation and no complimentary close. The signer's name four blank lines below the text, beginning at the center of the page; the title on the next line, later lines indented two spaces. (DoDM 5110.04 V1 pars. 7.2.n–q)
- Attachments and cc
- "Attachment:" or "Attachments:" a double space below the signature block: "As stated" when the text identifies them, otherwise the titles, numbered when more than one. "cc:" a double space below, the recipients one under another. (DoDM 5110.04 V1 pars. 7.2.r, 7.2.t)
From one level to the next
A memorandum that has to pass through other offices on its way up or down follows the rule below.
- Department level. "(ATTN: LTC BROWN)" a single space below, under the third character of the address. "THROUGH:" a double space below the address, the office in capitals. (DoDM 5110.04 V1 pars. 7.2.j–k)
Each manual does this differently: every service's rule, side by side.
Department of War letterhead: what each source says
Department-level letterhead starts here with the Department of War seal in Department of War blue (#355E93; RGB 53, 94, 147; PMS 653 C — AFMAN33-326_DAFGM2025-01, Table 3.2). Either seal, black ink, your own letterhead image or plain paper is one click away. Which one is right for you is your command's call; this is what has been published, with the dates.
- Department of War (1 October 2026). "Department of War and Military Seals are protected by law from unauthorized use, and these seals may NOT be used for non-official purposes." (war.gov, Branding and Trademarks)
The seals appear only inside the document you make. Military Toolkit is not affiliated with the Department of War, the Department of Defense or any Military Service, and a memorandum made here is official only when an authorized person signs it for an official purpose.
How the layout is checked
Line breaks are computed with the advance widths of the PDF standard fonts (Adobe's Core 14 font metrics). Times New Roman, Arial and Courier New share those widths with Times, Helvetica and Courier, so a line that fits in the preview fits in Word.
On 1 October 2026 the Word files of five sample documents were opened in Microsoft Word and saved as PDF; every word of the text sat within 0.3 point of its position in the generator's own PDF, with the same page breaks.
The PDF is the finished document: every line is placed where the manual puts it. The Word file is the same document left open for editing, with real paragraphs, indents and tab stops, so a change you make there keeps the format. Page breaks follow the manuals as well: at least two lines of a paragraph on each side of a break, and a signature block never alone at the top of a page.
Sources
- DoD Manual 5110.04, Volume 1, Manual for Written Material: Correspondence Management, June 16, 2020, with Change 2 of June 6, 2022. Paragraph 7.2, Preparing Standard Memoranda; Figure 1. Posted on the Correspondence Management Division's page on 1 October 2026, beside templates now titled for the Secretary of War.
Read on 1 October 2026. A command supplement or a local operating instruction can add to these rules; where it does, it governs.
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