In this work a new procedure, based on the Hellmann-Feynman theorem, is presented to calculate dipole moments. The procedure is valid for semi-empirical methods that use the ZDO approximation. In this context a new atomic dipole parameter eta(A) is introduced. We apply our expression in MNDO calculations of molecules composed of atoms H, B, C, N, O, F and Cl. We present the value of the dipole parameter eta(A) and calculate the dipole moments of molecules involving these elements. From the results, we can conclude that our expression can be used to calculate molecular dipole moments with better accuracy than that currently in use. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.