What’s the best way to end a letter or email message? Your closing needs to leave the reader with positive feelings about you and the letter you have written. Most formal letter closing options are reserved but note that there are degrees of warmth and familiarity among the options. Your relationship with the person to whom you’re writing will shape which closing you choose:
If you don’t know the individual to whom you’re writing, stick with a professional formal closing.If you’re writing to a colleague, business connection, or someone else you know well, it’s fine to close your letter less formally.
Above all, your closing should be appropriate. Choose the right letter closing, and your reader likely won’t remember how you ended your letter. Ideally, your message will resonate instead of your word choice.
The Best Options To End a Letter
Review the best way to end a letter and review formal, business, or personal letter closings, sample signatures, letter examples, and writing tips.
Letter Closing Examples
The following are letter closings that are appropriate for business and employment-related letters.
Sincerely, Sincerely yours, Regards, Yours truly, and Yours sincerely
These are the simplest and most useful letter closings to use in a formal business setting. These are appropriate in almost all instances and are excellent ways to close a cover letter or a job inquiry. “Sincerely” is a classic way to end a letter or email, and if you’re not sure about options, it’s a good one to choose.
Best regards, Cordially, and Yours respectfully
These letter closings fill the need for something slightly more personal. They are appropriate once you have some knowledge of the person to whom you are writing. You may have corresponded via email a few times, had a face-to-face or phone interview, or met at a networking event.
Warm regards, Best wishes, and With appreciation
These letter closings are also appropriate once you have some knowledge or connection to the person to whom you are writing. Because they can relate to the content of the letter, they can give closure to the point of the letter. Only use these if they make sense with the content of your letter.
More Letter Closing Examples
When you’re ending your letter, be sure to choose a letter closing that is appropriate to the topic of your letter and to your personal situation and relationship with the person to whom you are writing. Here are more examples to choose from:
Best,Best of luck,Best wishes,Cordially yours,Fond regards,In appreciation,In sympathy,Kind regards,Kind thanks,Kind wishes,Many thanks,Regards,Respectfully,Respectfully yours,Sincerely,Sincerely yours,Stay well,Stay safe and well,Thanks,Thanks again,Thank you,Thank you for your assistance in this matter,Thank you for your consideration,Thank you for your recommendation,Thank you for your time,Warm regards,Warm wishes,Warmly,With appreciation,With deepest sympathy,With gratitude,With sincere thanks,With sympathy,Your help is greatly appreciated,Yours cordially,Yours faithfully, Yours sincerely,Yours truly,
Letter Closings To Avoid
There are certain closings that you want to avoid in any business letter or email. Most of these are simply too informal. Casual doesn’t work with professional correspondence. Some examples of closings to avoid are listed below:
Always,Cheers,Hugs,Later,Love,Peace,Rgds,See ya,Talk soon,Take care,Thx,TTYL,XOXO,
Some closings (such as “Love” and “XOXO”) imply a level of closeness that is not appropriate for a business letter. Slang or acronyms aren’t appropriate either.
How To Capitalize a Closing
Capitalize the first word of your closing. If your closing is more than one word, capitalize the first word and use lowercase for the other words. For example:
SincerelySincerely yoursRegardsBest regards
How To Format a Letter Ending
Once you have chosen a word or phrase to use as a send-off, follow it with a comma, some space, and then include your signature. Printed letter: If you are sending a hard-copy letter, leave four lines of space between the closing and your typed name. Use this space to sign your name in ink. Email message: If you’re sending an email, leave one space between the complimentary close and your typed signature. Include your contact information directly below your typed signature.
What To Include in Your Signature
Beneath your letter closing, include your signature. If this is a physical letter, first sign your name in ink, and then list your typed signature below. If this is an email letter, simply add your typed signature below your send-off. If this is a physical letter, your contact information will be at the top of the letter. However, if this is an email, include that information beneath your typed signature. This will allow the recipient to respond to you easily.
Signature Examples
Hard-Copy Letter Signature
Email Message Signature Example
Handwritten signature (for a printed letter) Typed signature Typed SignatureEmail AddressPhoneLinkedIn URL (if you have a profile)
