How to Write the Date on a Letter

Reviewed by Gerald Posner

Last Updated: December 20, 2024 Fact Checked

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.

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]
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- Cover letters for potential jobs or letters of complaint are typically written in block format.^{[2]
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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]
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- 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]
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- 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]
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- 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]
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- 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.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

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]
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- Semi-formal letters are often used to write to professional people you know well, like a former boss or coworker.
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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]
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- 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.
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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]
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- If you'd like, you may opt to write the date as "2019 January 31."^{[10]
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Writing the Date on an Informal Letter

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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.
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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]
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- 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.
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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]
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- 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]
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- 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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Is it correct to type the date within a letter as "May 21st, 2019"? I always thought the "st" should not be included.

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Whether to write 21st or simply 21 is a matter of personal style and preference, and either is correct.

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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."

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If you often write formal letters for your job, check if there’s a house style guide you should be following.

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