Agency notice standards in NL 00610.040 discuss addressing our readers directly. We use the pronoun “you” since we are talking
to the reader and not about the reader. There are times when notices are directed
to a third party ( e.g. representative payee, appointed representative) and discuss
a beneficiary or a claimant in the third person. These letters have used the third
person singular pronouns of “she” and “he”, but these pronouns are not inclusive of
everyone we serve. Alternatively, we will use the pronouns “they”, “them”, or “their”
instead of “he”, “she”, “his”, “hers”, “him”, or “her”. You can also use all gender
nouns like “person”, “the person's”, “individual”, “the individual's”, “claimant”,
or “the claimant's”. We can use “they” and “them” as a plural or singular pronoun
referring to one person.
When using gender-neutral pronouns, regular grammar rules still apply to how they
are used. For example, “She is going to the store” will become “They are going to
the store” to be gender neutral. You would not say “They is going to the store”.
Per NL 00610.020, please keep in mind the readability of the notice as you write it. We do not recommend
replacing every instance of a third person pronoun (he or she) with the person’s full
name. Using the person’s name repeatedly makes the notice more difficult to read.
We recommend that authors use the person's full name when they first reference them
in the notice or the universal text identifier (UTI). In the rest of the notice or
UTI, use the gender-neutral third person pronouns of they, them, or their.
NOTE: Do not refer to the person by their first name only, as that can feel too familiar
to the reader. Agency notices are formal correspondence, and therefore must maintain
a proper or formal tone. Using first name only could refer to more than one person
such as when a parent and child have the same first name.