Numbers, dates and times that cannot be misread

A misread word costs a resident a minute. A misread date or time costs them a missed hearing, a late fee or a wasted trip. Numbers are the part of a notice people act on, so they get the most care.

Dates: weekday, month, day, year

Write dates so nobody has to work them out:

• Tuesday, May 5, 2026

Each part does a job. The month name avoids the 5/6 problem: in the United States that is May 6, and in much of the world it is June 5. The year keeps an old page from looking current. The weekday is a check: if you typed "Tuesday, May 6," a careful reader will notice the mismatch and ask.

Inside a long notice, the weekday can drop after the first mention, as long as the date stays.

Never write a relative date on a web page

"Tomorrow," "next week" and "this Friday" are right only on the day they were written. A web page stays up. A resident who finds it in a search three weeks later reads "this Friday" as a date that has not happened yet.

Use the date. If you want the friendliness of "this Friday," say both: "this Friday, May 8."

Times: noon, midnight and a.m. and p.m.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) says 12 a.m. and 12 p.m. "are ambiguous and should not be used." People disagree about which is noon.

• Write noon and midnight in words.
• For deadlines, NIST suggests 11:59 p.m. or 12:01 a.m. so the day is clear: "by 11:59 p.m. Friday, May 15."
• Write a.m. and p.m. the same way every time, and drop ":00" when you can: 9 a.m., 5:30 p.m.

For a range, use "to": "9 a.m. to 5 p.m.," and "Monday to Friday." A hyphen between times is easy to miss on a phone and is read out oddly by some screen readers.

Deadlines need three facts

A deadline is a date, a time and a rule about what "by" means.

• "Due Friday" leaves out two of them.
• "Must arrive at Town Hall by 4:30 p.m. Friday, May 15, 2026" covers all three.
• For mail, say which: "postmarked by" or "received by." They are different deadlines.
• For online forms, say whose clock counts, if residents in other time zones apply: "11:59 p.m. Eastern time."

Money, counts and phone numbers

• Money: "$25," not "twenty-five dollars." Say what it covers: "$25 per dog, per year."
• Numbers people act on are numerals: "3 copies," "bring 2 forms of ID." Numerals stand out when someone scans.
• Phone numbers in full, with the area code: 555-555-0142. A phone number on a web page is something people tap, so include the area code even if everyone is local.
• Addresses with the room or entrance: "Town Hall, 10 Main Street, Room 104 (use the side door on Elm Street)."

One fact, one place

When a date appears on several pages, it will eventually be wrong on one of them. Keep each date in one place, such as the event calendar or one meeting page, and link to it from the others. If you must repeat it, keep a list of where, and update all of them together.