How to End a Letter (With Closing

Examples)

How you end a business letter is important. Your letter closing needs to leave the reader with a
positive impression of both you and the letter you have written. In closing your letter, it is
important to use an appropriately respectful and professional word or phrase.

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 you're writing to will shape
which closing you choose.

Read below to find out some of the most common closing options available, and get help finding
out which ones are appropriate in which correspondence.

Letter Closing Examples

The following are letter closings that are appropriate for business and employment-related
letters. Read below for information on when to use each of them.

Sincerely, 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
an inquiry.

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 back 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 you are writing to.
Here are more examples to choose from.

Best,
Cordially yours,

Fond regards,

In appreciation,
In sympathy,

Kind regards,
Kind thanks,
Kind wishes,

Many thanks,

Regards,
Respectfully,
Respectfully yours,

Sincerely,
Sincerely yours,

Thanks,
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,

Capitalization

Capitalize the first word of your closing. If your closing is more than one word, capitalize the
first word and use lower case for the other words.
Letter Closings to Avoid

There are certain closings that you want to avoid in any business letter. Most of these are simply
too informal. Some examples of closings to avoid are listed below:

Always,
Cheers,
Love,
Take care,
XOXO,

These are too informal, and some (such as “Love” and “XOXO”) implies a level of closeness
that is not appropriate for a business letter.

Avoid these kinds of sign-offs, which are more appropriate for messages to friends or loved
ones.