Navy instructions & notices.

Choose the right document workflow

A letter or memorandum communicates correspondence. An instruction or notice is a directive product and needs review of its intended purpose, issuing authority, and applicable directive-management requirements. Do not choose a document type solely because its layout looks familiar.

Use Navy correspondence for a short letter or memorandum. Use Directive Studio for a longer directive draft with separate sections, references, and supporting material. Confirm whether an instruction or notice is appropriate with the policy owner before drafting.

Gather the inputs before drafting

• Purpose and scope: What problem does the document address, and to whom does it apply?
• Policy owner and authority: Who owns the content, who coordinates it, and who is authorized to approve it?
• Source material: Gather the applicable references and check their status in official sources. Identify any existing directive being revised or replaced.
• Responsibilities and procedures: Name the responsible roles and describe the actions they must take. Resolve conflicting instructions before formatting.
• Supporting material: Identify any enclosures, appendices, tables, or forms and how the body will refer to them.
• Local review requirements: Establish the coordination, records, and routing checks your command requires.

Use placeholders in working drafts when an identifier, date, or authority is not confirmed. Do not invent those details to make the page appear complete.

Build an outline that reviewers can follow

A useful drafting outline can separate purpose, applicability, background, policy, responsibilities, procedures, and supporting material. This is a planning checklist, not a mandatory template: the required headings and arrangement depend on the applicable official guidance and your command's requirements.

Keep major divisions distinct and put each requirement where a reviewer would expect to find it. Use a consistent hierarchy rather than simulating headings with spaces or repeated line breaks. When moving sections, check that internal references and enclosure references still point to the intended material.

Keep long supporting details separate when appropriate, but do not move an essential responsibility out of the body merely to shorten the document. Clear structure helps reviewers evaluate the substance; it cannot resolve an unsupported policy decision.

Review the output before routing

1. Review the substance. Confirm the facts, authorities, policy decisions, assigned roles, and referenced documents with the responsible reviewers.
2. Review the structure. Check section order, numbering, internal references, enclosure labels, and that no material was omitted during rebuilding.
3. Review the final file. Open the editable document in Word and inspect page breaks, headings, tables, headers, footers, and signature details.
4. Follow command coordination. Complete the required local review and approval process. A generated or repaired file is still a draft until that process is complete.

For an existing damaged document, Yeomanize can help rebuild the working structure. Preserve your source copy and compare the rebuilt file against it.