The Honourable

The prefix The Honourable or The Honorable (abbr. The Hon. or formerly The Hon'ble) is a title of quality attached to the names of certain classes of persons.

American usage

In the United States, the prefix The Honorable is used for a large number of high ranking (and not so high ranking) government officials, including:

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• The President and Vice President of the United States
• Members of the Congress and state legislatures
• Members of the Cabinet
• Senior officers of executive departments
• Ambassadors
• Supreme Court Justices, Federal judges and magistrate judges
• Governors of States of the Union
• Mayors of cities
• City Council Members
• State and municipal judges and magistrates
• Other elected officials

The term Your Honor as a spoken form of address is usually reserved for judges, justices, and magistrates (who are invariably addressed as such when presiding in court).

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