It Depends
When to Capitalize "President"
"President" follows the same rule as other titles like "senator," "professor," and "mayor." It gets a capital letter when it works as part of someone's name – essentially functioning as a title attached to a specific individual.
Write President Biden addressed Congress the same way you'd write Dr. Smith called the office. The title is doing the job of a name component, not just describing a role.
Where this gets tricky is when "president" appears without a name. AP style and Chicago style handle this differently, and the distinction matters if you're writing for a publication or academic paper.
Quick Rules
Capitalize when
- It's a title before a name: President Obama signed the bill.
- It replaces a specific person's name in formal writing: The President will address the nation tonight. (AP style)
- It's part of an official title: the President of the United States
- It starts a sentence (like any word)
Keep lowercase when
- It describes the role generally: She hopes to become president someday.
- It follows a name: Barack Obama, president of the United States, gave a speech. (AP style)
- It refers to multiple people: Three presidents attended the ceremony.
- It's used informally: The president held a press conference.
Tip: If you can replace "president" with "leader" and the sentence still works the same way, it's probably generic – keep it lowercase.
AP Style vs. Chicago Style
AP and Chicago agree on the basics – capitalize before a name, lowercase after – but they split on one specific case.
AP style capitalizes "President" when it stands alone as a clear reference to the current U.S. president in formal contexts: The President issued a statement. This is common in news writing where the reader knows exactly who "the President" refers to.
Chicago style is stricter. It lowercases "president" whenever it appears without a name directly attached, even when referring to a specific person: The president issued a statement. Most academic and book publishing follows Chicago here.
If you're not sure which to follow: AP for journalism and news writing, Chicago for books and academic papers. For blog posts, emails, and everyday writing, either works – just be consistent.
Examples
✓ Do
- President Kennedy visited Dallas in November 1963.
- The board elected Mariana Silva as president.
- Have you read about the president's new policy?
- The President of France met with German officials. (AP formal)
✗ Do not
The company president Smith announced layoffs.
Missing comma or consistent title treatment. Write "Company President Smith" or "the company president, Smith, …"
She became President of the chess club.
Organizational titles for clubs and groups are not formal government titles – lowercase "president."
Several Presidents have supported this policy.
Never capitalize a title that refers to multiple people generically.
Edge Cases Worth Knowing
These are the scenarios where writers most often get tripped up. Each one follows the same underlying logic, but the surface form is different enough to cause hesitation.
- Former presidents. The title stays capitalized before the name even after someone leaves office: Former President Carter or President Carter. Without the name, lowercase: the former president.
- Vice president. Same rules apply. Capitalize before a name (Vice President Harris), lowercase when generic (the vice president's office). "Vice president" is two words, no hyphen.
- Company presidents. Corporate titles follow the same pattern but are more often lowercase in running text. Company President Jane Doe announced the merger works, but Jane Doe, president of Acme Corp., announced the merger is the more common AP news style.
- Other countries. The rules don't change based on country. President Macron gets a capital letter just like President Biden. The lowercase rule for generic use also applies: the French president addressed parliament.
Frequently Asked Questions
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About Oleh Kovalenko
Oleh Kovalenko develops practical capitalization guidance for editorial and SEO workflows, with a focus on consistent rule application.
