LetterAgent
Mail physical letters by just asking your AI assistant.
Home > Guides > Ending a formal letter
End a formal letter with "Sincerely," followed by your signature and a typed signature block with your name and title. Capitalize only the first word of the closing ("Sincerely yours," not "Sincerely Yours"). If you can't decide among the options, "Sincerely" is the one that's never wrong.
| Closing | Tone | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Sincerely, | Neutral, professional | The default. Safe for any business or official letter. |
| Respectfully, | Deferential | Government officials, judges, military officers, anyone you address by rank or office. |
| Regards, / Best regards, | Warm but professional | Business contacts you know slightly; warmer than "Sincerely" without getting casual. |
| Thank you, | Grateful | Requests and applications where the reader is doing you a favor. |
| Cordially, | Friendly formal | Invitations and community or nonprofit correspondence. |
Two rules of thumb. First, match the closing to the relationship, not just the topic: a demand letter to a stranger wants "Sincerely," even if the content is sharp. Second, avoid closings that belong in other registers: "Cheers," "Take care," "Warmly," and "Love" have no place in a formal letter, and "Yours truly" reads a touch old-fashioned next to plain "Sincerely."
Capitalize only the first word of the complimentary close. "Sincerely," is right; "Sincerely," followed by lowercase "yours" in "Sincerely yours," is also right; "Sincerely Yours," is wrong. The same goes for longer closings: "With best regards," not "With Best Regards." The error is common because people assume a closing works like a title, but grammatically it's the start of a sentence fragment, so only the first word gets the capital. A comma always follows the closing, never a period.
Leave about four blank lines between the closing and your typed name, and sign in that space. Then type your full name, and put your title and company on the lines below it. The layout looks like this: "Sincerely," then your handwritten signature, then "Jordan Ellis", then "Operations Manager, Northwind Supply Co." If the recipient knows you only by role, the title line is what they'll file you under, so don't skip it.
Two practical notes. Sign in blue ink if you can: a blue signature instantly reads as an original rather than a photocopy, which matters when a letter might be scanned, copied, or disputed later. And if you're signing on someone else's behalf, put "pp" (short for the Latin "per procurationem", meaning "through the agency of") before your signature, then your name: it shows you signed with authority rather than forging the boss's signature.
Ready to mail it? Send your letter with LetterAgent: describe it to your AI assistant, approve the exact quoted price, and it's printed and mailed.
LetterAgent is a working name. Prices include print, postage, and our service fee. US prices in USD, Canadian prices in CAD (Canadian prices exclude applicable sales tax, added at checkout). Currently in private testing.
Need help? Ask your assistant: it can check a job's status any time. If it ever can't handle something: hello@getletteragent.com