How to write a formal letter in the UK style

The easiest way is to start from the UK letter template in Write by Zaweba, which sets the page out the British way for you. Fill in the addresses, insert the date in a UK format, write a short, clear letter and choose the right sign-off. Then print it or export it as a PDF.

The shape of a British formal letter

A formal letter in the UK follows a familiar pattern. Your own address sits at the top right, without your name. The date goes beneath it, written as day, month and year, such as 3 November 2026. The name and address of the person you are writing to go on the left, a little lower down. Then comes the greeting, a heading line in bold if you want one, the body of the letter in short paragraphs, the sign-off, a space for your signature and your name typed underneath.

The sign-off depends on the greeting. If you know the person's name and began "Dear Mrs Patel", end with "Yours sincerely". If you began "Dear Sir or Madam" because you do not know who will read it, end with "Yours faithfully". Only the first word of the sign-off takes a capital.

Starting from the template

In Write, choose File, then New from template, and pick the UK letter. The template gives you the layout above, ready to fill in, on an A4 page. Replace the placeholder text with your address, the recipient's details and your letter.

For the date, use Write's date and time insert, which offers UK formats. You can type the date in as fixed text, which is right for a letter that is a record of a particular day, or insert it as a self-updating field if you are making your own reusable letter.

Writing the letter itself

Keep it plain. Say why you are writing in the first paragraph, give the details in the middle, and say what you would like to happen in the last. Refer to dates, reference numbers and account numbers exactly as the other side uses them, so the letter goes to the right place.

Write's spelling checker uses UK English as standard, so organise, colour and cheque come out right, and the red squiggles appear as you type. Right-click a word for suggestions, or press F7 for the Spelling dialog to go through the whole letter. AutoCorrect fixes common slips as you type and gives you curly quotes. If you would prefer straight ones, switch that off in Tools, then AutoCorrect options.

Envelopes, copies and sending

Write's templates include a DL envelope, the size that takes an A4 letter folded in three. Fill in the address and print it, so the envelope matches the letter.

If you are emailing the letter, Export as PDF keeps the layout exactly as it looks on screen, with real text and the fonts embedded, which is what most offices expect. Save the document itself too, as .zawr or .docx, so you have an editable copy for your records. Write autosaves every minute to a recovery folder, but a proper save with a clear file name, such as the date and who it was to, is what you will want to find next year.

When you write the same letter to many people

If the letter is going to a whole list, such as club members or tenants, Write's mail merge can make one copy per person. It reads a group from the Labels by Zaweba address book or a CSV file, and produces a merged .docx, a PDF or prints straight to the printer. The layout stays the same British letter for every copy, with each person's name and address in place.