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Education and Communications
Letters
Letter Writing
How to Write the Date on a Letter Download Article Reviewed by Gerald Posner
Last Updated: October 24, 2025 Fact Checked
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Writing the Date on a Formal Letter
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Writing the Date on a Semi-Formal Letter
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Writing the Date on an Informal Letter
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This article was reviewed by Gerald Posner. Gerald Posner is an Author & Journalist based in Miami, Florida. With over 35 years of experience, he specializes in investigative journalism, nonfiction books, and editorials. He holds a law degree from UC College of the Law, San Francisco, and a BA in Political Science from the University of California-Berkeley. He’s the author of thirteen books, including several New York Times bestsellers, the winner of the Florida Book Award for General Nonfiction, and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. He was also shortlisted for the Best Business Book of 2020 by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. There are 8 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 404,987 times.
There are many different ways to write out the date on a letter. How you write the date depends on what kind of letter you’re writing. For instance, there are very strict rules if you're writing a formal letter, but the location of the date doesn't matter as much in an informal letter. Picking the appropriate format for the date on your letter can be a little confusing, but it’s easy once you understand the differences.
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Method 1 Method 1 of 3:
Writing the Date on a Formal Letter
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1 Put the date flush with the left margin. For formal letters, use a block letter format. In block format, everything is aligned to the left margin of the page to create a neat look. Different parts of the letter are separated by spaces, and there are no indentations.[1]X Trustworthy Source Purdue Online Writing LabTrusted resource for writing and citation guidelines Go to source
Cover letters for potential jobs or letters of complaint are typically written in block format.[2]XResearch source
2 Place your date 1 to 2 lines after the sender’s address. After the sender’s address is written, skip 1 to 2 lines to leave a neat space before writing the date. If you’re typing your letter, hit enter once or twice.[3]XResearch source
Use the same formatting throughout the rest of your letter. For example, if you skipped 1 line between the address and the date, skip 1 line between the date and the recipient’s information. Consistent formatting will make your letter look neat and organized.
If you’re using a professional letterhead that includes the sender’s address in the header, your date will be written first in your letter.
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3 Write out the full date with no abbreviations. For formal letters, don’t use abbreviated months or all numbers. For example, “January” should not be abbreviated to “Jan” or “01.” Be sure to write out the entire month.[4]XResearch source
If both you and your recipient of the letter are in the U.S., Belize, or Micronesia, write your date in month-date-year format. For instance, if your letter were dated 02/23/2019, you would write the date as "February 23, 2019."[5]XResearch source
In much of the rest of the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, or most of Central America, the preferred format is date-month-year, which looks like "23 February, 2019." If both you and the recipient live somewhere where this format is used, opt for this style.[6]XResearch source
If you live where one format is used and the recipient lives somewhere that the other format is preferred, you can choose which one you'd rather use. You can also sidestep the issue by using a year-month-date format, or "2019 February 23," if you'd like.
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Writing the Date on a Semi-Formal Letter
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1 Place the date one tab right of center in semi-formal letters. Semi-formal letters often use modified block format. In modified block format, the sender’s address, date, sign off and signature begin to the right of the center of the page.[7]XResearch source
Semi-formal letters are often used to write to professional people you know well, like a former boss or coworker.
2 Skip 1 to 2 lines after the sender’s address to write your date. Similar to a block format, you’ll want to leave a little space between the sender’s address and the date. Whether you skip 1 line or 2, do the same when spacing between different parts in the rest of your letter.[8]XResearch source
If you’re typing your semi-formal letter, an existing template in a word processing program can help you format your letter.
If you're including the recipient's address, or inside address, as you would in a professional semi-formal letter, it goes 2 lines below the date. If you're omitting that, the next line will be the salutation, including the recipient's courtesy title.
3 Write out the entire date in the format you choose. Write out the month in full, and avoid using abbreviations or numerical formats. For example, the date may look like "31 January 2019" or "January 31, 2019." Don’t write January as “Jan” or “01.”[9]XResearch source
If you'd like, you may opt to write the date as "2019 January 31."[10]XResearch source
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Writing the Date on an Informal Letter
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1 Begin your letter with the date at the top. In an informal letter, you don’t need to write out your name and address first, or the recipient’s address on the letter itself. Begin your letter by writing the date.
2 Align your date to the left or to the right of center. You typically write an informal letter to someone you know well like a friend, so the structure and format is more relaxed. You can choose to left-justify the date or place it one tab to the right of center.[11]XResearch source
After the date, skip 1-2 lines, then write your salutation.
Margaret Shepherd, Epistolary Etiquette Expert
When handwriting a letter, properly formatting the date sets the tone from the outset. Write it out fully in the upper right corner without abbreviations—for example, 'November 30, 2022.' This unambiguous, easily spotted date allows your recipient to instantly contextualize your thoughtful correspondence within the timeline of your relationship.
3 Write the date however you’d like. There are no rules on how to write a date properly for a friendly, informal letter. You can choose to write your date in numerical form, like "01-31-2019," or an abbreviated form, like "31 Jan 2019." Pick any format you like.[12]XResearch source
There are a few ways to write the date numerically. You can separate the numbers with hyphens(-), slashes(/) or periods(.). For example, "January 31, 2019" might be written in the US format as "01-31-2019," "01/31/2019," or "01.31.2019."[13]XResearch source
You can also shorten numbers in an informal letter. "January 31, 2019" might be written as "1/31/19," eliminating the zero and part of the year.
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Question Is it correct to type the date within a letter as "May 21st, 2019"? I always thought the "st" should not be included. Community Answer Whether to write 21st or simply 21 is a matter of personal style and preference, and either is correct. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 17 Helpful 51
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Write cardinal numbers (1, 2) rather than ordinal numbers (1st, 2nd). For example, you'd write "November 2, 2019" or "2 November, 2019," not "November 2nd, 2019" or "2nd November, 2019." Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
If you often write formal letters for your job, check if there’s a house style guide you should be following. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
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Reviewed by: Gerald Posner Author & Journalist This article was reviewed by Gerald Posner. Gerald Posner is an Author & Journalist based in Miami, Florida. With over 35 years of experience, he specializes in investigative journalism, nonfiction books, and editorials. He holds a law degree from UC College of the Law, San Francisco, and a BA in Political Science from the University of California-Berkeley. He’s the author of thirteen books, including several New York Times bestsellers, the winner of the Florida Book Award for General Nonfiction, and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. He was also shortlisted for the Best Business Book of 2020 by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. This article has been viewed 404,987 times. 66 votes - 64% Co-authors: 11Updated: October 24, 2025 Views: 404,987 Categories: Letter WritingArticle SummaryX
To add the date to a formal letter, put it 1 or 2 lines below the sender’s address. Write the date out in full rather than using any abbreviations. For example, you would write out the date like “February 19, 2019.” Make sure the date is aligned with the left margin to make it look neat. If your letter is less formal, like to a friend or someone you know well, add the date at the top. You can choose whatever format you’d like for the date, such as using all numbers or abbreviating the month. For tips on how to write a date in a professional letter, such as to a boss or co-worker, keep reading!Did this summary help you?YesNo
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Reviewed by: Gerald Posner Author & Journalist This article was reviewed by Gerald Posner. Gerald Posner is an Author & Journalist based in Miami, Florida. With over 35 years of experience, he specializes in investigative journalism, nonfiction books, and editorials. He holds a law degree from UC College of the Law, San Francisco, and a BA in Political Science from the University of California-Berkeley. He’s the author of thirteen books, including several New York Times bestsellers, the winner of the Florida Book Award for General Nonfiction, and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. He was also shortlisted for the Best Business Book of 2020 by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. This article has been viewed 404,987 times. 66 votes - 64% Co-authors: 11 Updated: October 24, 2025 Views: 404,987 Categories: Letter Writing Article SummaryX
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1 Put the date flush with the left margin. For formal letters, use a block letter format. In block format, everything is aligned to the left margin of the page to create a neat look. Different parts of the letter are separated by spaces, and there are no indentations.[1] 
2 Place your date 1 to 2 lines after the sender’s address. After the sender’s address is written, skip 1 to 2 lines to leave a neat space before writing the date. If you’re typing your letter, hit enter once or twice.[3] 
3 Write out the full date with no abbreviations. For formal letters, don’t use abbreviated months or all numbers. For example, “January” should not be abbreviated to “Jan” or “01.” Be sure to write out the entire month.[4] 
1 Place the date one tab right of center in semi-formal letters. Semi-formal letters often use modified block format. In modified block format, the sender’s address, date, sign off and signature begin to the right of the center of the page.[7] 
2 Skip 1 to 2 lines after the sender’s address to write your date. Similar to a block format, you’ll want to leave a little space between the sender’s address and the date. Whether you skip 1 line or 2, do the same when spacing between different parts in the rest of your letter.[8] 
3 Write out the entire date in the format you choose. Write out the month in full, and avoid using abbreviations or numerical formats. For example, the date may look like "31 January 2019" or "January 31, 2019." Don’t write January as “Jan” or “01.”[9] 
1 Begin your letter with the date at the top. In an informal letter, you don’t need to write out your name and address first, or the recipient’s address on the letter itself. Begin your letter by writing the date. 
2 Align your date to the left or to the right of center. You typically write an informal letter to someone you know well like a friend, so the structure and format is more relaxed. You can choose to left-justify the date or place it one tab to the right of center.[11] 
Margaret Shepherd, Epistolary Etiquette Expert 
3 Write the date however you’d like. There are no rules on how to write a date properly for a friendly, informal letter. You can choose to write your date in numerical form, like "01-31-2019," or an abbreviated form, like "31 Jan 2019." Pick any format you like.[12] 
Community Answer Whether to write 21st or simply 21 is a matter of personal style and preference, and either is correct. Thanks! We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow Yes No Not Helpful 17 Helpful 51 
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