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Is It Grammatically Correct to Say as per?
Many wonder whether the as in as per is superfluous. Wouldn’t the phrase “per your instructions” mean much the same thing as “as per your instructions?” In that case, would it be incorrect to insert the extra word?
The fact is that both per and as per have existed in English in the sense “according to” for a very long time–since the 15th and 16th centuries, respectively. The choice of which to use (or avoid) is entirely a matter of taste. The more ponderous as per is often found in business and legal prose, or in writing that attempts to adopt a formal tone. It is not incorrect to use, but some find it overly legalistic and counsel avoiding it for that reason. On the other hand, it has been used to good effect in facetious mock-business-English (“as per the President’s shiny new Environmental Policy Act”). As in so many matters of diction, the tonal needs of a particular passage should guide your choice.
Examples of as per in a Sentence
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 17 Sep. 2025
Owners store the meals in the refrigerator or freezer and serve them as per instructions.
—Kasey Caminiti, USA Today, 17 Sep. 2025
Student Accused of Mocking Charlie Kirk Death Grant and Blue reported that the window to the boot of the vehicle was smashed, as per the police call.
—Marni Rose McFall, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Sep. 2025
That is, investment in R&D and human capital in SG&A lines are expensed as per US GAAP.
—Shivaram Rajgopal, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for as per
Cite this Entry
“As per.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/as%20per. Accessed 19 Sep. 2025.
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