Formal Letter Format
A formal letter set out the way offices, businesses and examiners expect — addresses, date, subject, greeting, body and the matching sign-off.
Details
formal letter formatRed highlights mark what is still blank. Everything stays on this device.
Respected Sir / Madam,
[your letter — one paragraph per line: why you are writing, the details, and what you would like to happen]
What is a Formal Letter?
A formal letter is a written message to an office, business, official or editor, set out in a fixed order: your address, the date, the recipient’s designation and address, a subject line, a greeting, the body and a matching sign-off. The formal letter format lets a busy reader see at a glance who is writing, when, to whom and about what. Get it wrong and the letter can land in the wrong pile, or an examiner can mark you down for format.
Students write formal letters in school English papers and board exams, where the layout is assessed along with the content. Adults write them to a bank manager about a wrong charge, to a municipal commissioner about a blocked drain, to a company about a faulty product, to a college for a document, or to a newspaper editor. Anyone writing to someone in an official role — even someone they know — is writing a formal letter. It is also the frame for more specific documents, such as applications, complaints and requests for certificates, which add their own details to the same layout.
The layout is not the same everywhere. Indian school exams, under CBSE and the State boards, expect the sender’s address first, then the date, the receiver’s designation and address, the subject, the salutation, the body, the complimentary close and your name. Boards publish sample papers, so follow the layout in your current syllabus or sample paper rather than any one website. In India, the UK and Australia, the sign-off depends on the greeting. US and Canadian business letters use block format, with every line starting at the left margin and ‘Sincerely’ as the close whatever the greeting.
A formal letter is a container, not a lever. Writing to your bank in the correct layout does not oblige it to reverse a charge, and a neat letter to the municipal office does not replace a complaint form or portal that a scheme or law sets out — ask the office which channel it accepts. Nor does the letter prove it arrived: if the date may matter later, keep a copy and get an acknowledgement or proof of posting. And formality does not mean stiffness; ‘I beg to state’ adds nothing a plain sentence cannot.
What to put in a Formal Letter
These are the details this template asks for. Anything left blank is marked in red on the preview so you can see what is still missing.
| Field | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Your name | For example: Jordan Miller |
| Your address | For example: 42 Oak Street, Columbus, OH 43215 |
| Recipient (name or designation) | For example: The Permit Services Manager |
| Organisation | For example: Riverside Township Building Department |
| Their address | For example: 200 Civic Center Drive, Columbus, OH 43215 |
| Subject | For example: Request to reschedule the October 14 building inspection |
| Greeting optional | Leave blank for the usual greeting where you are |
| Your letter | One paragraph per line |
| Sign-off | Yours faithfully after Dear Sir or Madam, Yours sincerely after a name; Sincerely in the US and Canada |
| Enclosures optional | One per line |
How to write a Formal Letter
Start with your address and the date
Put your address at the top without your name; the name goes at the end, under the sign-off. Include the PIN code, because any reply comes back to this address. The date sits directly beneath it. In an exam, use the name and address the question supplies rather than your own, and place them exactly where your board’s sample paper does.
Name the recipient, organisation and address
Use the person’s name if you know it; otherwise the designation — The Branch Manager, The Principal, The Municipal Commissioner. Below that, write the organisation and its full postal address, including branch and PIN code, as it would appear on an envelope. A designation outlasts a transfer: the letter reaches whoever holds the post, even if the officer you met last month has moved on.
Write a subject line, then the greeting
The subject line lets an office route the letter before anyone reads the body. Name the matter and any reference you hold: ‘Subject: Service charge debited twice from my savings account in July’ does the job; ‘Subject: Complaint’ does not. Then the greeting: ‘Dear Sir or Madam’ when you have no name, ‘Dear Ms Rao’ when you do. Give each its own line.
Keep the body to one matter
Open with who you are and why you are writing. Give the facts in order — dates, amounts, reference numbers, what you have already tried — in short paragraphs. Close the body by saying what you want to happen next: a refund, a written reply, a repair visit. One subject and, where possible, one page; a second issue deserves a second letter, because an office sends each letter to one desk.
Sign off to match the greeting
After ‘Dear Sir or Madam’, close with ‘Yours faithfully’; after a named greeting, ‘Yours sincerely’. For a US or Canadian reader, ‘Sincerely’ covers both. Leave room for your signature and print your name beneath it. If you attach copies — never originals — of bills, receipts or IDs, list them under ‘Enclosures’, so the reader can tell at once if anything is missing.
Common mistakes
- Pairing ‘Dear Sir or Madam’ with ‘Yours sincerely’ mixes two conventions, and in a board exam the mismatch can cost you marks for format.
- Writing the date as 5/3/2026 in a letter to a US company leaves the reader unsure whether you mean March or May, which matters when the letter disputes a payment date.
- Packing a refund request, a staff complaint and a change of address into one letter means the office acts on one point and files the rest.
- Ending the body without a clear request — no refund, no reply, no action named — gives the recipient nothing to do except file the letter.
- Addressing the letter to an organisation with no designation or department sends it to a general mail desk where no one is responsible for answering it.
Frequently asked questions
What is the format of a formal letter?
In order: your address, the date, the recipient’s name or designation, the organisation and its address, the subject line, the greeting, the body, the sign-off, your signature and printed name, then any enclosures. Indian boards teach this sequence. US and Canadian business letters use a similar order in block format, with every line starting at the left margin. For an exam, check the layout in your board’s current sample paper.
How do you start and end a formal letter?
Start with a greeting that matches what you know: ‘Dear Sir or Madam’ if you have no name, ‘Dear Mr Reddy’ or ‘Dear Dr Iyer’ if you do. Make the first sentence say why you are writing. End the body by stating what you want done, then use the matching close — ‘Yours faithfully’ or ‘Yours sincerely’ in India, the UK and Australia, ‘Sincerely’ in the US and Canada — followed by your signature and name.
Where does the date go in a formal letter?
In the Indian exam layout, the date goes directly below your address and above the recipient’s details. US and Canadian block-format letters also place it below your address or letterhead, against the left margin. Some older British layouts set your address and the date on the right; follow whichever layout your board or employer uses. Write the month as a word — 5 March 2026 — because 5/3/2026 reads as May in the US.
Yours faithfully or yours sincerely — which is correct?
Both are correct; they pair with different greetings. In India, the UK and Australia, use ‘Yours faithfully’ when you opened with ‘Dear Sir or Madam’ because you do not know the reader’s name, and ‘Yours sincerely’ when you greeted a named person, such as ‘Dear Ms Rao’. The pairing shows the reader you know the convention. US and Canadian letters sidestep the choice and close with ‘Sincerely’ either way.
What is the difference between a formal and an informal letter?
The reader and the purpose. A formal letter goes to an office, business, official or editor about a single matter, carries a subject line and closes with a set phrase such as ‘Yours faithfully’. An informal letter goes to a friend or relative, skips the subject line, can move between topics and ends however you like — ‘With love’ or ‘See you soon’. The tone follows: no slang, abbreviations or emoji in a formal letter.
This page explains general practice and is not legal advice. Requirements differ between countries and, in some cases, between states — check what applies where the document will be used.