Okuzeka
Public Administration vocabulary · Bureaucracy and Procedures

Circular

Meaning in public administration, with examples

/ˈsɜːkjələ/nounCommon term

In public administration, circular means: An official letter or notice sent by a ministry or senior authority to all relevant offices, explaining how a rule should be applied or giving instructions.

In Turkish: genelge, tamim, duyuru yazısı

How it is used

Ministries issue or send out circulars, and offices act in line with them. Turkish genelge is usually translated as circular, for example a presidential circular. Circulars normally explain how existing law is applied rather than create new obligations.

Example sentences

  1. The ministry issued a circular asking all schools to report their heating costs.

  2. According to the latest circular, original documents are no longer required for this application.

Common collocations

  • issue a circular
  • ministerial circular
  • presidential circular
  • in line with the circular
  • regulationAn official rule made by a government body, usually under the authority of a law; also the general activity of controlling an industry or activity through such rules.
  • official gazetteThe government publication in which new laws, regulations, decrees and certain official notices and appointments are formally published, which often makes them legally valid.
  • procedureAn official, fixed set of steps for doing something, such as applying for a permit, handling a complaint or approving a payment.
  • hierarchyA system in which people or units are arranged in levels of authority, with each level reporting to the one above it.

More terms: Bureaucracy and Procedures

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: