Do you know the correct letter format for a business letter? This skill will come in handy when you need a job or information from a business or government office.
Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jun 12, 2024 • 15 min readWhat comes to mind when you hear the phrase business letters? Do white envelopes with fancy letterheads and stuffy writing come to mind? In most cases, you’d be right.
Even if almost everything is done via email nowadays, business letters aren’t extinct or considered totally out of style, so it still pays to know how to write and format them properly.
That's why I'll show you how to write a formal business letter with a letterhead. Just follow the steps below. You'll see how easy it is to nail the form for a business letter so you can start writing more professionally.
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As you probably learned in primary school, business letters are composed of different parts. This section covers what’s included in each part and the proper business letter format.
It’s important to know how to address a business letter properly, especially if you’re expecting a reply.
This section includes your complete address, phone number, and email address. Some people like to include their complete name at the top of this list, but others say it’s redundant because you’ll be signing the letter with your name anyway. You don’t need to include this if the paper you’re using has a letterhead.
What to include and formatting:
Spell out the month and include the complete year. Write the month, date, and year if sending a business letter in the U.S., but start the date with the day (e.g. 18 October 2018) if you’re sending a letter in the U.K. or Australia.
Include the recipient’s information, starting with their name, followed by their job title and complete address. Address the recipient using Ms., Mr., or use any job-appropriate title as necessary
The salutation used in the addressee section doesn’t have to be the same as the one used here. It all depends on how close or familiar you are with the addressee, and the context of your letter. The Dean at the College of Sciences may be your aunt, but if you’re writing to her in an official capacity, it’s best if you use the salutation “Dean (Last Name)” or “Dr. (Last Name)” because there’s a chance that other people handle her correspondence. Military and religious titles should be written as is.
Not sure of the recipient’s gender? Don’t use Mr. or Ms.—just write “Dear” followed by their full name. If you don’t know who the exact contact person is, “To Whom it May Concern” will do. You can also address the department or group that'll handle your letter, such as “Members of the Hiring Committee” or “Condominium Association Management.”
Always end the salutation with a colon, not a comma.
The body of the letter is usually composed of one to three brief paragraphs, each with a specific intent and organized for clarity.
The closing includes one or two sentences that request the recipient to take whatever action is requested in your letter and thank them for reading it.
Examples of business letter closing:
The complimentary close is a sign-off phrase inserted before your signature. You've got lots of options here, but in general you should avoid those that denote appreciation or thanks in letters where you’re not requesting anything.
Examples
Sign the letter below the complimentary close. Make sure to leave at least four single spaces between your name and closing so there’s enough room for your signature. You may want to include your job title, phone number, and email address below your full name too.
Before the age of email, people wrote “Enclosures” at the bottom of business letters to indicate that the envelope included other documents. Think of it as the print version of “see attachment” for emails.
Enclosures are noted at the bottom left of the letter, a couple of spaces below your signature, followed by a list of the documents included. For example:
There are typically three proper forms for a business letter: full block, modified, or indented. While there’s no right or wrong format, there are instances, like university applications, where a specific format is required. If you’re not sure which format to follow, just check previous letters you’ve received from the institution and follow the same formatting.
Full block is the most common format for business letters because it’s the easiest one. You don’t have to worry about indents, and everything is left justified. Single spacing is used instead of indents for new paragraphs.
Below is an example of proper full block letter format from the University of North Carolina Writing Center:
The modified business letter format is a bit hard to remember because not everything is left-justified. The addressee, salutation, and the body of the letter are left justified, while the sender’s address, date, complimentary close, and signature are aligned to the right.
In the example below, there are two spaces between the sender’s address and the date when the letter was written and three spaces between the recipient’s address and salutation. There are also two spaces between the first paragraph of the letter body and salutation and two spaces for every new paragraph.
The complimentary close, signature, and the last paragraph of the letter are all two spaces apart.
Below is an example of a business letter in modified format from Savvy Business Correspondence:
The indented or semi-block format is similar to the modified format, except that the start of every paragraph is indented.
Your business letter needs to make a good first impression because in some cases reading that letter will be the first time the recipient encounters your company.
Companies aren’t the only ones that have formal letters with letterheads. Solopreneurs, job applicants, and anyone who wants to make a brand can use a letterhead to make their letters unique. Proper letterhead formats can also be used to verify the document’s authenticity to the recipient, which is often the case for government letters and bank letters.
Proper letterhead design formats vary, but there are consistent elements. They must include your company’s name and logo, address, and contact information. If you don’t have a logo or company name, just replace this part with your full name. Since business letters are formal, pair them with a letterhead design that’s not so busy or colorful that it detracts from the message you’re sending.
Want to send a business letter with a proper letterhead format you created yourself? Check out these templates from Envato:
It’s good to save trees, but don’t squeeze so much text into one page that there’s no margin left. Leave 1” to 1.5” per side.
Avoid fancy fonts and hard-to-read cursive. Stick to Verdana, Arial, Courier New, or Times New Roman, with a minimum font size of 12.
Use single spacing between paragraphs to make the letter easier to read. You should also use at least one line space between all elements of the letter, except between your signature and printed name, where four line breaks are required.
Business letters should be concise enough to only need one page, but that’s not always the case. Legal contracts, complaints, and some advisory letters may require additional pages.
To avoid confusion in case the letter pages get separated, the second and subsequent pages should include a letterhead and a page number at the top. You may also want to include the date and the recipient’s name.
Business letters are sent for all sorts of reasons. Businesses send it to their customers or to other businesses they work with, such as vendors or logistics partners. Individuals write business letters for business and less formal purposes too.
Here are some examples of types of business letters:
Not all complaints can be aired and addressed properly on social media. Some topics are a little sensitive or embarrassing, and you don’t want to run the risk of the message going viral. Then there are complaints where a call to the company’s customer service hotline isn’t enough. For all these complaints, a printed letter of complaint is the answer.
Make your complaint brief, to the point, and polite. Don’t just make it about what the company did wrong—tell them exactly what you want them to do about it.
A resignation letter is what an employee sends to their boss when they want to quit their job. In most cases, you’ll need to allow at least 14 days or two weeks before your official departure date from the company.
Below is an example of a resignation letter from American Recruiters:
If you don't know the gender of the person who'll receive your letter, it's better to use a generic greeting like "to whom it may concern" than to use "Mr./Ms." or "Sir."
A printed cover letter is sent along with a resume to briefly explain why you’re a good candidate for the job. Good cover letters are like appetizers in that they give recruiters a sense of what they can expect from you, without necessarily repeating what’s already on your resume.
Read these guides for more information about writing a cover letter:
Recommendation letters are sent to verify an applicant’s good standing with a previous employer or manager. In some cases, these recommendations are nothing more than a template generated by someone from HR after filling in the blanks about an employee’s start and end date. If you’re writing a cover letter for a good employee, however, it’s better if you go beyond the template to show that you appreciate the time you worked together.
Check out this guide if you need any help with writing a recommendation letter:
Letters requesting for information are often sent to businesses by individuals or representatives of other businesses when they want information on a particular product or service. These letters can also be written to government offices when requesting information about applying for a permit or inquiring about a government procedure.
Have you ever received a letter stating your phone bill’s due date was adjusted or that the amount you’re paying has been changed? That’s an adjustment letter. It’s not all about dates and amounts, though—adjustment or change letters are also sent when businesses want to notify customers about changes in the product or service they bought.
Below is an example of a due date adjustment letter from Corporate Finance Institute:
Stockholder letters, new product announcements, and charity events are business letters. Letters announcing a new CEO, an IPO, and even those inviting you to a convention also fall under business announcement letters. These letters are either sent as an internal memo so all employees are aware of changes within the company, or as an announcement to company stakeholders.
Here’s an example of a business invitation for an educational seminar from Letters.org:
Using the right justification and including all the right elements isn’t enough for a good business letter. Even more important is to strike the right tone and ensure that your recipient understands your letter’s intent.
Keep the following tips in mind next time you write a business letter.
Avoid highfalutin words and flowery descriptions. Keep the first paragraph brief. If you’re not sure how to start, just write “I’m writing in reference to…” and then explain your request from there.
It’s easier to get the recipient’s cooperation if you write a letter with their benefit in mind. Emphasize what you can offer them instead of what you want them to do.
What's the purpose of the letter you’re sending? Are you expressing thanks, sympathy, or demanding payment for debt? Whatever it is, you've got to establish the right tone so the recipient understands the urgency of your request.
Avoid jargon unless you’re absolutely sure the recipient will understand what you’re talking about.
Even if this is a business letter, it’s okay to use personal pronouns like you, I, we, and us. Stick with “I” if you’re writing based on your opinion, and use “We” if you’re writing on behalf of the company.
Did you know that “CC” means courtesy copy? Back in the day when letters were typed, “CC” meant carbon copy because that’s what typists use when making duplicates. Either way, this is the abbreviation you should include below the enclosure line if you plan to send a copy of the letter to someone else.
If you’re sending a courtesy copy to more than one person, list the second name underneath the first without the “CC.”
Example:
“Cc: Mark Smith, Chief Financial Officer XYZ Widgets”
When you're in a professional setting, it's great to know the proper business letter format with and without a letterhead. But there's more to learn about formal writing. To discover more about how to format email messages and other types of letters, study the following tutorials:
Are you writing professionally? Then you'll want letterheads, email signatures, and presentations that look the part. You can always spend hours and days designing, revising, and designing again. Or you can use the professionally crafted assets from Envato.
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There are many types of business letters to send, but learning proper letter heading format will help you maintain a professional image.
Remember to use a business envelope if you’re sending a letter via post. Use an envelope with your company’s logo so the recipient can immediately recognize it’s from your company and to prevent your letter from getting trashed along with other promotional junk they receive.
If you’re not sure whether your handwriting is legible, use your printer and word processor to print the address on the envelope. Send important documents and time-sensitive letters via courier.
Now that you've learned how to format a letter, you can start sending out your own business letters with professional letterheads.
