The most common department abbreviation is Dept., with a capital D and a period at the end. The plural is Depts. You will see it on office signs, letterheads, school schedules, forms and invoices, anywhere space is tight and the reader already knows the word.
An older form, Dep't, marks the dropped letters with an apostrophe, and the Postal Service uses DEPT in capitals when a department is part of a mailing address. In full sentences, most style guides prefer the whole word, department.
Quick facts
Standard abbreviation
Dept.Plural
Depts.Older form
Dep'tOn mail
DEPT, no periodUsed in
Office signs, forms, invoices, letterheads, course catalogsPeriod or no period
Period in American writing; often none in British useRelated terms
Div. (division), Govt. (government)
Every department abbreviation compared
| Form | Notes | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Dept. | The everyday American form | Sales Dept. |
| Dept | No period, common in British writing and on signs | Fire Dept |
| DEPT | Postal style inside an address | ATTN BILLING DEPT |
| Dep't | Older style with an apostrophe | Police Dep't |
| Dpt. | Rare variant | Seen on some forms |
| Depts. | Plural | All depts. must reply |
Dept. is the safe choice almost everywhere. If you are matching a company's style, follow whatever it already prints on its own signs.
Where Dept. shows up at work and school
Workplaces divide into teams, and the short form labels them quickly:
- Office directories: "Accounting Dept., 3rd floor."
- Email signatures: "Jamie Torres, Customer Service Dept."
- College catalogs: "Dept. of History, Course 210."
- City services: Fire Dept., Police Dept., Parks Dept. on trucks and building signs.
- Stores: a department store is often shortened to "dept. store" in ads and lists.
On an expense form: "Dept.: Marketing. Cost center: 4410." The field simply asks which team you work for, so payment comes out of the right budget.
DEPT in a mailing address
When a letter goes to one part of a large organization, the department name usually sits on its own line above the street address. The Postal Service lists DEPT as an accepted short form there, written in capitals without a period.
RIVERSIDE MEDICAL CENTER
ATTN BILLING DEPT
1200 HARBOR DR
TAMPA FL 33602
The ATTN line, short for attention, tells the mail room where to route the envelope inside the building.
Government department names and their acronyms
US federal departments usually go by acronyms built from their full names, and the D in many of them is "Department."
- DOJ: Department of Justice
- DHS: Department of Homeland Security
- DOE: Department of Energy, and in some contexts a state department of education
- HUD: Department of Housing and Urban Development
In running text about these agencies, news writers give the full title the first time and use the letters in later references. Writing "Dept. of Justice" in an article looks informal.
Style tips for the department abbreviation
- In a paragraph, write department in full: "She moved to the science department."
- Save Dept. for tables, signs, headers, forms and lists where space is short.
- Capitalize Dept. inside a formal title, such as Dept. of Motor Vehicles. Lowercase it in general use: "each dept. head."
- Add the period in American style. Leave it out only when the house style says so.
- For the plural, add s before the period: Depts.
See more workplace short forms, from mgmt. to asst., in our common abbreviations collection.
Easy mix ups with Dept.
Dep. can stand for deposit on a bank slip or deputy on a badge, so it is not a clean short form for department. Dpt sometimes means departure on travel boards. Div. is division, a related but separate unit in many companies. And HR is the human resources department, a name so common that the letters replaced the word.
Questions people ask
What is the abbreviation for department?
The standard abbreviation is Dept., with a period. The plural is Depts.
Is it Dept or Dpt?
Dept. is the accepted form in American English. Dpt. turns up now and then, but it can be mistaken for departure, so most style guides avoid it.
Does Dept. need a period?
American style adds one, yes. British writers and many sign makers drop it, and postal addresses use DEPT with no period.
What does Dep't mean?
It is an older way to shorten department, with an apostrophe where letters were removed. It reads as old fashioned today but is still understood.
Should I abbreviate department in an essay?
No. Spell the word out in essays and reports, and use Dept. only in tables, citations or headers if your style guide allows it.