Number Abbreviated as "No." followed by a Colon
As I understand it, the preferred abbreviation for Number is "No."
If we want to then follow that abbreviation with a colon, like in a form for instance, what does style dictate we do?
Is it:
-
"No.: 0123456789" (i.e. we preserve the period and add a colon) or;
-
"No: 0123456789" (i.e. we remove the period and add a colon) or;
-
"No. 0123456789" (i.e. we preserve the period and do not add a colon)
Is there a strict rule one should follow in this scenario?
Which is preferred stylistically?
Does the convention vary between British and American English?
Clarification
It's worth mentioning that I'm interested in how this applies to lists of data that use the following format:
First Name: John
Last Name: Doe
ID No.: 0123456789
ID No: 01223465798
ID No. 0123456789
...
Solution 1:
Don’t abbreviate. Abbreviations are not standardized and don’t scale to a worldwide audience. Be explicit in order to be understood.
Just write:
First Name: John
Last Name: Doe
ID Number: 0123456789
Same with acronyms. Don’t write “CIA” and assume people will read “Central Intelligence Agency” because CIA also means “Culinary Institute of America” and thousands of other things. So you want to write “Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)” the first time and then “CIA” after that.