Understanding the Correct Use of “As Per” in Formal Writing
“As per” can sound authoritative, yet many editors flag it as stilted or even wrong.
Knowing when and how to use it prevents miscommunication and protects credibility in formal documents.
Defining “As Per” and Its Core Function
The phrase pairs the preposition “as” with the archaic preposition “per,” creating a meaning of “in accordance with.”
It signals that a statement is grounded in an external source such as a policy, statute, or agreed procedure.
Lexical Origins and Historical Weight
“Per” entered English through Latin commercial texts, carrying the sense “by means of.”
Legal clerks in the 17th century fused “as” and “per” to emphasize compliance, and the collocation stuck in contract language.
Modern corpora show steady usage in finance and law, but rare appearance in conversational registers.
Contemporary Register and Tone
“As per” projects a detached, procedural tone that can feel cold in marketing copy yet reassuring in compliance memos.
Replacing it with “according to” softens formality without altering denotation.
Choose the phrase when impersonality is strategic, not accidental.
Grammatical Anatomy of “As Per”
Grammatically, the phrase is a compound preposition followed by a noun phrase or nominal clause.
It never tolerates a finite verb directly after it; instead, it requires a noun, gerund, or wh-clause.
Subject–Verb Agreement Implications
Because “as per” introduces a prepositional phrase, the main clause’s subject and verb remain unaffected.
Writers sometimes mistakenly let proximity dictate agreement: “The invoices, as per the contract, is attached” should read “are attached.”
Positioning Within the Clause
Front position (“As per Section 4, payment is due within 30 days”) foregrounds the source.
Mid-position (“Payment, as per Section 4, is due within 30 days”) slows the reader and adds parenthetical emphasis.
Avoid end-position after the verb; it sounds afterthought-like and weakens authority.
Common Misuses and How to Correct Them
Writers often treat “as per” as a synonym for “because of,” which it is not.
Another error is coupling it with personal wishes: “as per my convenience” sounds self-centered and non-standard.
Redundancy Traps
Phrases like “as per the agreement agreed upon” repeat the concept of agreement.
Delete the second “agreed upon” or switch to “as stipulated.”
Ambiguous Reference Sources
“As per your email” leaves the reader wondering which part of the email.
Specify: “as per your email dated 12 May regarding late fees.”
Precision deflects future disputes.
Context-Driven Alternatives
“According to” suits academic prose and journalism.
“Pursuant to” is sharper in legal instruments.
“In line with” fits internal policy statements without sounding legalistic.
Subtle Nuance Map
“As per” implies strict adherence.
“In accordance with” suggests harmony but allows minor deviation if reasonable.
Select the shade that matches the level of obligation.
Industry-Specific Defaults
Investment banks favor “as per the Indenture” in trustee reports.
Healthcare administrators prefer “per protocol” for clinical pathways.
Match the jargon of your sector to avoid jarring readers.
SEO Best Practices for “As Per” in Digital Content
Search engines treat “as per” as a low-competition long-tail keyword, useful for niche legal or technical articles.
Place it once in the H2, once in the first 100 words, and in at least one image alt attribute for semantic reinforcement.
Keyword Variation Strategy
Use close variants such as “as per the guidelines” and “as per ISO 9001” to capture intent without stuffing.
Avoid clustering more than two instances per 300 words; Google sees dense repetition as spam.
Schema Markup for Compliance Pages
Wrap regulatory references in schema.org/Citation markup to enhance rich-snippet eligibility.
This silently boosts topical authority for queries like “as per GDPR requirements.”
Practical Editing Workflows
Run a concordance search in your manuscript for every “as per” to audit context.
Flag each occurrence with a color code: green for statutory citation, amber for guideline, red for conversational misuse.
Checklist for Final Proof
Confirm that the noun phrase after “as per” is explicit and singular.
Verify parallel structure when listing multiple sources: “as per Sections 4, 5, and 6,” not “as per Section 4, 5, and 6.”
Replace any “as per me” or “as per us” with “in my view” or “in our opinion.”
Automation With Regex
Use the regular expression bass+pers+(?!the|section|clause)b to catch informal uses.
Pair the regex with a style-guide macro in Microsoft Word for one-click correction.
International English Variations
British legal drafting retains “as per” more readily than American.
Australian contracts often shorten it to “per” alone, risking ambiguity without “as.”
Localisation in Translations
French “selon” and German “gemäß” do not carry the same archaic flavor; adapt tone accordingly.
Translate “as per the bylaws” into French as “conformément aux statuts” for natural formality.
Back-translation checks prevent legal mismatch.
Usage Frequency Heat Map
Corpus data show Singapore English uses “as per” at triple the rate of US English in annual reports.
Factor this into global style guides to avoid sounding foreign to American stakeholders.
Case Study: From Draft to Publication
A fintech white paper originally opened with “As per our roadmap, we will deploy Phase 2 in Q3.”
The revision substituted “Following our published roadmap” to reduce stiffness and improve engagement metrics.
Page dwell time rose 18 %, illustrating the impact of minor phrase shifts.
Stakeholder Feedback Loop
Compliance officers flagged the change as “less precise,” so the sentence was rewritten to “Phase 2 will launch in Q3, following the roadmap approved by the Board on 15 March.”
This satisfied both legal clarity and reader friendliness.
Measurable Outcomes
Organic clicks on the white paper increased for the key phrase “fintech roadmap compliance.”
The phrase “as per” appeared only in an appendix citation, where its formality was contextually appropriate.