AP Style for Press Releases, Rules and Cheat Sheet (2026)

By the PR Gun Research desk. Updated November 1, 2026.

Should press releases be written in AP style? Yes, for most U.S. news releases, because AP style is the rulebook many newsrooms edit to. The rules that matter most in a press release are a sentence-case headline, a dateline with the city in capitals, abbreviated months with dates, numerals for 10 and up, the % sign with figures (an AP change in 2019), "1 p.m." for times, no serial comma in simple lists, and titles capitalized only before a name. The AP Stylebook has more than 5,000 entries, so this page covers the ones press releases hit.

Are press releases done in AP format?

Most U.S. releases follow AP style, or something close to it. The Purdue Online Writing Lab notes that many newspapers, magazines and public relations offices across the United States use AP style. If a reporter lifts a paragraph from your release, AP formatting means less editing for them.

AP style isn't a layout. It doesn't tell you which font to use, how to bold text or where the logo goes. It covers words, numbers, punctuation and capitalization. The layout of a release, from the headline down to ###, is covered in how to write a press release and our press release format guide.

AP style press release cheat sheet

How should a press release headline look in AP style?

In AP style, only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized in a headline. That's sentence case. So "Northfield Tool Supply opens second Denver warehouse" is AP style, and "Northfield Tool Supply Opens Second Denver Warehouse" isn't.

PR Gun's own editorial guidelines ask for the same thing. Only the first letter of the first word and proper nouns should be capitalized. If your company's style uses title case, that's a house choice, so use it the same way every time.

Never write the whole headline in capitals. In PR Gun's database, 5.5% of 82,398 PR Newswire headlines (January 4 to October 31, 2026) were in all capital letters, against 0.2% of 2,784 Business Wire headlines (September 24 to October 18, 2026). Our all-caps headline study has the rest.

Is there an AP rule on headline length? None of the AP sources we checked set one. In the same two samples from PR Gun's database, the median headline ran 97 characters on PR Newswire and 91 on Business Wire. More in our headline length study and the press release headline guide.

Can you use "&" in an AP headline? Only when it's part of a formal name, like Procter & Gamble or a title like House & Garden. Otherwise write "and."

How do you write the location and date in AP style?

The dateline starts the first paragraph. Write the city in capital letters, then the state in AP's abbreviation, then the date. AP lists 30 U.S. cities that stand alone with no state, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington.

AP state abbreviations aren't postal codes. California is Calif., Florida is Fla., New York is N.Y. Eight states are never abbreviated. They're Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas and Utah. In the body of the release, spell state names out.

For the date, abbreviate only Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov. and Dec., and only when they're used with a specific day. March through July are always spelled out. Don't add "st" or "th." Write "Nov. 3, 2026," not "November 3rd."

In AP's own examples the dash comes right after the location. Press releases usually add the date before the dash. We use two hyphens on this page because our style avoids the long dash.

How do you write numbers in an AP style press release?

• Spell out one through nine. Use figures for 10 and up. "Five stores and 12 employees."
• Always use figures for ages, dimensions, money and percentages, even under 10. "A 6-year-old company," "$5 million," "3%."
• Don't start a sentence with a figure, except a year. "Twelve stores opened" or "The company opened 12 stores."
• Money. "$26.52," "$8 million," "6 cents." Spell out million and billion.
• Percent. Since 2019, AP uses the % sign with a numeral and no space, as in "sales rose 3.1%." Use words in casual uses, such as "a zero percent chance." Write percentage points as "4 percentage points."
• Addresses. Use figures and abbreviate St., Ave. and Blvd. only with a numbered address. "101 N. Grant St." but "Grant Street."

How do you write the time and "today" in AP style?

Use figures with lowercase a.m. and p.m. and drop the ":00." So "9 a.m." and "3:30 p.m." Write "noon" and "midnight," not "12 p.m."

What about "today"? In a press release, "today" ties to the date in the dateline, so "Acme today announced" works. For the day before, AP says not to write "yesterday." Use the day of the week, like "on Tuesday." For anything more than seven days away, use the month and date.

How do you write names and job titles in AP style?

Use a person's full name the first time, then the last name only. Capitalize a formal title before a name and lowercase it after a name or on its own. "Chief Executive Officer Jane Ruiz" or "Jane Ruiz, chief executive officer." Long titles read better after the name.

Don't use courtesy titles like Mr. or Ms. unless they're in a quote or needed to tell two people apart. "Dr." goes before a full name on first reference.

What punctuation rules matter most?

• No comma before "and" in a simple list. "Red, yellow and blue." Do use one when an item in the list already has "and" in it.
• Commas and periods go inside quotation marks.
• One space after a period.
• Put titles of books, songs, shows, games, speeches and works of art in quotation marks. Don't underline or italicize them.
• Write email, internet, website and smartphone as shown.

Where does ### or -30- go?

None of the AP sources we checked cover the end mark. It's a newsroom habit that tells an editor the copy is over. Center ### or -30- on its own line under the media contact, at the very end of the release.

How is press release writing different from news writing?

A news story is written by a reporter who has no stake in the subject. A release is written by the company, so the risk is sounding like an ad. AP style helps by forcing plain facts, figures and attributed quotes. PR Gun's guidelines add that releases must avoid hype, superlatives, jargon and direct address, and that first-person language belongs only inside a quote.

Aim for short sentences and common words. Plain language is easier for a reporter to lift into a story.

Frequently asked questions

Should press releases be written in AP style?

For U.S. news releases, yes. Many newspapers and public relations offices use AP style, so following it means a reporter has less to fix.

In AP style, should words be capitalized in a press release headline?

Only the first word and proper nouns. AP headlines use sentence case. PR Gun's editorial guidelines ask for the same.

Can you use an ampersand in an AP style headline?

Only when it's part of a formal company name or a composition title, such as Procter & Gamble. Otherwise write "and."

How do you write time in a press release in AP style?

Use figures with lowercase a.m. or p.m. and no ":00," as in 9 a.m. or 3:30 p.m. Write noon and midnight in words.

Can you use the percent sign in AP style?

Yes. Since a 2019 change, AP uses the % sign with a numeral and no space, as in 3.1%. Use words in casual uses.

How do you write the location and date on a press release in AP style?

Write the city in capitals, the AP state abbreviation unless the city is one of AP's 30 stand-alone cities or the state is never abbreviated, then the date with an abbreviated month where AP allows it, as in BEND, Ore., Nov. 3, 2026.

Should job titles be capitalized in a press release?

Capitalize a formal title right before a name. Lowercase it after the name or when it stands alone, as in Jane Ruiz, chief executive officer.

Does AP style allow italics or bold?

AP style puts titles of books and shows in quotation marks, not italics. Bold isn't an AP rule, so use it sparingly for headings if your wire allows it.