How to Write a Letter | Formal Format & Layout

To write a letter—such as a cover letter for a job application or internship, a letter of recommendation or reference letter, a letter of interest, or a resignation letter—you need to include the following elements.

• Your address and contact information
• The recipient’s name and address
• The date
• A salutation such as “Dear Dr. Doe” or “Dear Hiring Team”
• The main body of the letter, separated into paragraphs
• A complimentary close
• Your signature
• Your name
• Your job title and company, if applicable
• A list of enclosures, if applicable

How to write a formal letter

Formal letters are typically written in a style that avoids slang, contractions, and verbosity. They adhere to specific conventions of formatting and language.

Follow the steps below to write a formal letter in “block format.” You can also use QuillBot’s AI writer to quickly draft a formal letter in the appropriate format.

Block format letters

The block format is a simple layout for formal, business, and professional letters that is commonly used in the US. This format uses a conventional font such as Times New Roman, Cambria, Arial, or Helvetica with a font size of 10–12 points and single line spacing. All the text aligns with the left margin, including the start of paragraphs, and you leave an empty line between each element of the letter.

Address of sender and recipient

Your address goes at the top of the letter (i.e., the sender’s address). If you’re using your work address, include the name of your company or institution above the street address (if you’re not using letterhead paper that already includes it). It isn’t necessary to include your name or job title here because they come at the end of the letter, but include your telephone number and email address.

Leave a line of space, and then write the recipient’s name followed by the name of their company or institution and their job title if applicable, and then the recipient’s address (aka inside address).

Nowadays, it’s common to leave out the recipient’s address if you’re sending the letter by email (e.g., as a PDF).

All of this aligns to the left.

Date

Write the date on which you intend to send the letter after the recipient’s address. Write the month first, then the day (using the cardinal number rather than the ordinal number), followed by a comma and then the year (e.g., July 1, 2025).

Salutation

If you are writing a formal letter to a specific person, you can use one of the following formal salutations (followed by a colon rather than a comma).

If you don’t have the name of a specific person to write to, you can use one of the following salutations.

• Dear [Job Title]:—e.g., “Dear Sales Manager,” “Dear Head of Marketing,” etc.
• Dear [X Team]:—e.g., “Dear Sales Team,” “Hiring Team,” etc.
• Dear [Company + Team]:—e.g., “Dear Mario’s Plumbing Team,” “Dear Top Quality Packaging Team,” etc.
• Dear [Panel/Committee]:—e.g., “Dear Plumbing Awards Committee,” “Dear Packaging Council Executive Committee,” etc.
• To Whom It May Concern:

Body of the letter

You need to capitalize the first word of the body of your letter—even if you use a comma rather than a colon after the salutation (e.g, “Dear Ms. Doe,” rather than “Dear Ms. Doe:”).

Don’t indent the body paragraphs for block format letters, but you should leave an empty line between each paragraph.

Complimentary close

In American English, formal letters to someone you don’t know typically end with the complimentary close Sincerely or Yours sincerely, followed by a comma. Don’t capitalize the word “sincerely” if you’re signing off with “Yours sincerely.”

Less formal complimentary closes include “regards,” “kind regards,” “best regards,” and “warm regards.”

Signature

After the complimentary close (e.g., “Sincerely”), leave about four lines of empty space for your signature. Then write your full name, followed by your job title and the name of your company or organization on separate lines, if applicable.

Enclosures

If you include additional items in the envelope of your formal letter, such as documents or photographs, leave a line of space after your name (and job title if applicable) and write “Enclosures,” followed by a colon and then a list of the items separated by semicolons.

How to write an address on a letter

Write the delivery address (i.e., the recipient’s address) in the center of the envelope from left to right but starting slightly below the center from top to bottom. If you don’t have the ZIP Code, you can look it up using the United States Postal Service’s ZIP code lookup tool.

Write the return address (i.e., the sender’s address), using smaller letters, in the top left corner of the envelope.

The postage (e.g., stamp) goes in the top right corner of the envelope.

To reduce the risk that the automated systems will misread the addresses and cause a delay, write the addresses in all capital letters with no punctuation (except the dash in a ZIP+4 Code such as 12345-1234), and use ink rather than pencil if you’re handwriting them.

Write the following components of the addresses on separate lines, in this order.

• Name
• Job title
• Department/division name (if you’re writing to someone who works for a large organization)
• Company/Organization name
• Street number and street name (with apartment number, room number, etc., if applicable)
• City, state, and ZIP code

You can leave out non-essential elements such as job title and department name in the return address.

How to write an address on a letter example

Frequently asked questions about how to write a letter

How do you start a cover letter greeting?

Start a cover letter greeting with a formal or semi-formal salutation. “Dear” is a good option for starting a cover letter.

To address your cover letter to a specific person, use the person’s full name (e.g., “Dear Diane Smith,”). Avoid gendered titles like “Mr.” or “Ms.”

To address a cover letter without a name, direct it to the relevant team (e.g., “Dear People Team,”), or to a generic position (e.g., “Dear Hiring Manager,”).

Regardless of who you’re sending your letter to, make sure it’s error-free by using QuillBot’s Grammar Checker.

How do I sign off a cover letter?

Sign off a cover letter with a complimentary close (e.g., “Regards” or “Sincerely yours”) on a line after your conclusion. Place a comma after the complimentary close. On the next line, type your full name.

You can also add one blank space between “Sincerely” and your name when you end a cover letter.

Have you tried QuillBot’s free Grammar Checker for your cover letter or resume? It will automatically find and fix mistakes so that you can make the best possible impression.

What’s the difference between Miss and Ms.?

“Miss” is a title used for a young unmarried woman or girl (e.g, “Miss Muffet”). It is not used for a married woman. “Miss” is often considered dated, so it is preferable to use “Ms.”

“Mrs.” is a title used for a married woman.

“Ms.” is a title for woman who is married or whose marital status is unknown, for an older unmarried woman, or for situations where marital status is not emphasized. It can be used both for married and unmarried women in the same way that “Mr.” is used for unmarried and married men. Nowadays, “Ms.” is the most common way to address a woman, as it is unrelated to marital status.

What’s the difference between “To Whom It May Concern” and “Dear”?

“To Whom It May Concern” is a formal greeting used to address a nonspecific person or multiple readers, particularly if you do not anticipate receiving a response (e.g., when making an announcement).

“Dear” is a neutral greeting that can be used in both formal and informal contexts. “Dear” is followed by the name of the recipient and a comma (e.g., “Dear Biran,”).

You can automatically rewrite your sentences to express your intended meaning using QuillBot’s tools.

What is a letter subject line?

A letter subject line is an optional line near the top of a formal letter that states the main subject of the letter.

In the US, the subject line typically appears after the date but before the salutation, with a line of blank space before and after it.

Subject lines often start with “Subject:” (e.g., “Subject: Plumbing Awards 2025”) or “RE:” for “regarding” (e.g., “RE: Your table at the Plumbing Awards 2025”).

QuillBot’s free AI Humanizer can help you to improve AI-generated letter content.