Chicago 18 (Notes) Personal Communication Citation Generator

Citing a personal communication (private correspondence (email, letter, or memo)) under the Chicago Manual of Style (Notes and Bibliography System) framework requires combining Chicago Manual of Style (shortened note)'s punctuation hierarchy with the specific metadata of the source. To construct a compliant entry, researchers must collect the sender/communicator name, exact date of the communication, recipient name, and medium (e.g., personal communication, email, or archival letter). In the body of your paper, Chicago Manual of Style (shortened note) utilizes superscript footnote or endnote numerals corresponding to full or shortened documentary notes at the bottom of the page, which links directly to an entry organized in alphabetical order by creator surname in the bibliography, paired with sequential numbering in the footnotes.

When formatting a personal communication in Chicago Manual of Style (shortened note), pay close attention to contributor names and capitalization. Specifically, Chicago Manual of Style (shortened note) enforces normal order (First Last) separated by commas in footnotes, but inverted order (Last, First) for the primary author in the bibliography, and applies headline-style Title Case across all source titles, using quotation marks for shorter works and italics for complete volumes. Chicago Notes & Bibliography separates elements with commas and parentheses in footnotes, but converts those exact same boundaries into periods in the final bibliography. Furthermore, if your personal communication does not display an individual creator, the rule is straightforward: always identify the sender of the correspondence by their initials and surname.

For digital and online personal communication references, Chicago Manual of Style (shortened note) stipulates concluding the note or bibliography entry with a permanent DOI or URL followed by a terminal period. If the letter is housed in a public historical archive, cite it as an archival document in your bibliography rather than a private communication. Using the client-side Chicago Manual of Style (shortened note) Personal Communication generator below, you can automatically parse URLs, DOIs, or ISBNs and apply these exact Citation Style Language (CSL) rules locally in your browser with zero server tracking.