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Business letter

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A business letter is a letter written in a formal language, usually used when writing from one business organization to another, or for correspondence between such organizations and their customers, clients and other external parties. Business letters usually follow a block format.

Parts of a Business Letter

Business Letters in the United States usually contain the following information (in this order):

  • Letterhead or sender's address
  • Date
  • Inside address
  • Salutation or Greeting
  • Letter body
  • Complimentary closing
  • Signature, printed name, and position of sender

In some situations, a business letter may also include the following optional information:

  • Reference (RE:)
  • Carbon Copy Recipients (CC:)
  • Enclosures (ENC:)
  • Reference Initials

Business Letter Layout Guidelines

Addresses

The address is generally written from the most specific information (i.e. the recipient's name) to the most general (i.e. the city, state, ZIP Code or country). If you know the recipient's gender, include a courtesy title (Mr. or Ms.).

Example of Address Line:

Mr. Bill Duffy
Director of Marketing
Acme Industrial, Inc.
PO Box 148761
Shirley, New York 11967

Dates

The date typically goes before the inside address. In formal business writing, it is best to completely write out the date to avoid confusion. For example, you should write October 8, 2002 instead of 10/8/02. One reason for writing out the date is because 10/8/02 is August 10, 2002 in some countries. You do not need to include the 'th', 'st' or 'rd' at the end of the number for the day.

Salutation

The salutation addresses the reader of your letter. It follows one of the following formats: 'Dear [Courtesy Title (Mr., Ms., Mrs., Dr., etc.)] [Name]' or 'Dear [Title]'. The salutation is followed by a colon in formal writing or a comma in informal writing. Do not include a courtesy title if you do not know the gender of the recipient. Keep in mind that many names are gender neutral.

Body

The body of your letter should be written clearly and concisely. It includes as many paragraphs as are necessary to communicate the information.

If you are enclosing any additional documents with your business letter, mention these enclosures in the body of your letter.


Different countries, different styles

Culture and society influence styles. Especially in the German speaking countries, formal rules are considered very important. An extreme example is the German industrial norm DIN 5008, which prescribes how to write German business letters in every detail from letterhead to closing.

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