Business Letter Date: Placement, Format, and Examples

In a standard business letter, place the date near the top, aligned with the left margin, below the sender’s address and above the recipient’s address. Write the date clearly—often with the month spelled out—so the reader can tell when the letter was prepared without guessing which number represents the month.

Where the Date Goes in a Business Letter

In full block style, the most common layout for professional correspondence, every part of the letter begins at the left margin. The date follows the sender’s address, with a blank line separating them, and comes before the recipient’s name and mailing address. The greeting, body, closing, and signature follow farther down the page. For example, the order is sender’s address, date, recipient’s address, greeting, message, closing, and signature.

If your letterhead already displays the sender’s address, do not repeat that address just to create a place for the date. Put the date beneath the letterhead, leaving a comfortable blank line before the recipient’s address. If you are using a simplified letter format that omits the inside address and greeting, the date still normally appears near the top, before the subject line or message.

Other traditional layouts may indent some elements or place them differently, but consistency matters more than imitating an unfamiliar style. Follow a workplace, school, or organization’s instructions if it provides a required format. In the absence of specific instructions, a left-aligned date in block style is a clear, widely understood choice.

How to Format the Date Clearly

For ordinary correspondence, spell out the month and include the day and year. For example, write October 6, 2026 in a U.S.-style letter, or 6 October 2026 in a common British-style format. Both are easy to read. The comma after the day is customary in the U.S. version; the day-first version generally does not use a comma between the month and year.

Avoid relying on a short numeric date such as 06/10/2026 when the recipient’s date convention is unknown. Depending on the country, that could mean June 10 or 6 October. A spelled-out month removes that ambiguity. If a form or organization specifically requests a numeric format, use its stated convention rather than substituting your preferred style.

Include the full year in formal letters. A date such as October 6 may be understandable in a casual exchange, but the year helps identify the correspondence later, especially when it is printed, filed, forwarded, or referred to after a delay. Do not add ordinal endings such as “th” or “rd” in the date line: write October 6, not October 6th.

Keep the date visually consistent with the rest of the document. Use the same typeface and general text size as the letter, and avoid decorative styling. The date is useful identifying information, not a heading that needs special emphasis.

Which Date Should You Use?

Use the date the letter is finalized and sent, or the date it is formally issued if it is being delivered through an established process. Do not automatically use the day you first began drafting it. If you prepare a letter in advance, check the date again before sending so the document does not appear to have been issued earlier than it was.

For a letter delivered by post, the date is usually the date you send or issue it, not an estimate of when it will arrive. For a letter handed over in person, use the date you give it to the recipient. When an organization prepares a letter for later release, use its normal procedure for dating outgoing correspondence. The key is that the date should accurately represent the document’s issuance, rather than being chosen to create a misleading impression.

When several people review a draft, the draft date and the final sending date may differ. Update the date on the final version if the letter is issued on a different day. If you are replying to an earlier letter, your new letter gets its own date; the earlier correspondence can be identified separately in the subject line or opening sentence if that context is useful.

• Sending today: use today’s date.
• Preparing a draft: add the date when the final letter is approved or sent.
• Replying to an earlier message: date the reply on the day you issue it, not the day of the message you are answering.

How Layout and Letter Style Affect Placement

The date’s exact position can vary with the letter’s layout. In full block style, it is aligned with the left margin. In modified block style, the date and closing may be positioned toward the center or right, while the address and paragraphs remain left-aligned. If you choose a modified layout, place the date consistently with the style used by the rest of the letter; do not move it merely to fill empty space.

Letterhead changes the visible order slightly because the sender’s address may already appear at the top of the page. In that case, the date generally follows the letterhead, then the recipient’s address. A preprinted date field on an organizational form may have its own position, so use the field provided. For a one-page letter, leave enough space between sections to make them distinct without pushing the message onto an unnecessary second page.

Some short business notes omit the recipient’s full address, particularly when delivered internally or by email. The date may still be included if the note needs to function as a formal record. For informal, routine email, a separate date line is usually unnecessary because the email system records when it was sent. Choose the format based on the purpose and delivery method, not simply on the fact that the message is professional.

Business Letter Date Template

International and Special-Use Letters

Date conventions differ across countries, so consider the reader’s location when choosing between month-first and day-first order. A fully written month is a practical choice for cross-border correspondence because it avoids the most common numeric-date confusion. Use the spelling and punctuation customary for the audience where appropriate, while keeping the date easy to interpret.

For a letter that will be archived or included in a record, make sure the date is complete and matches the final document. If the letter refers to a deadline, meeting, or earlier exchange, write that event’s date clearly in the body as well; the date at the top tells when this letter was issued, not necessarily when the event will take place. Avoid using a date line to imply a deadline or commitment that the message itself does not explain.

Some formal documents have separate fields for the date signed, date received, or effective date. These labels do not all mean the same thing. A standard business letter’s date line generally identifies when the letter was prepared or issued. If a form or process defines a different date, follow that instruction and label the date accurately rather than assuming that the ordinary letter convention applies.

Common Date-Line Problems to Avoid

A few small errors can make a polished letter look unfinished or create uncertainty about its timing. Before sending, check both the date itself and its position in the document.

• Using an ambiguous numeric date: write the month as a word when the reader’s regional convention is not certain.
• Leaving off the year: include it in formal correspondence so the letter remains identifiable later.
• Keeping an old draft date: update the date if approval or delivery happens later than planned.
• Placing the date below the recipient’s address: in the usual block layout, the date comes before that address.
• Adding unnecessary ordinal endings: use “October 6,” rather than “October 6th.”
• Mixing formats: do not use one date style in the header and a different style elsewhere without a reason.

Also check that the date is not accidentally copied from a previous letter. This is especially easy to overlook when reusing a document. A quick final review of the date, recipient, subject, and signature can prevent an otherwise professional letter from appearing careless.

Printed Letters, Email, and Date Lines

A printed or attached business letter normally benefits from a visible date near the top because the page may be separated from its envelope or email. The date then helps a reader identify the document without relying on the delivery channel. If the letter is attached to an email, the email’s timestamp does not always replace the date line inside the attachment; include the line when the attachment is meant to stand alone as formal correspondence.

A routine email usually does not need a manually typed date above the greeting. Its sending time is shown in the message details, and adding a second date can become inaccurate if the draft is saved and sent later. However, if the email contains a formal letter in the message body or is intended to be printed and filed as a letter, a date line may make sense. Use the same principle throughout: include a date when it helps the document remain clear and usable on its own.

If you are unsure whether a date line is expected, consider the recipient’s instructions and the document’s purpose. A cover note to a colleague may not need one; a formal notice, request, or letter intended for a paper file often does. When an organization has a required template, use it rather than adding or removing fields based on personal preference.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the date go above or below the address?
In the standard block-style business letter, the date goes below the sender’s address and above the recipient’s address. If letterhead contains the sender’s address, place the date beneath the letterhead.

Should I write the date as 06/10/2026?
Only if the recipient or organization expects that numeric format. It can mean different dates in different regions, so spelling out the month—such as October 6, 2026—makes the meaning clearer.

Do I need a date on a business email?
Usually not for a routine email because the message records its sending time. Include a date in an attached or embedded formal letter when the document should make sense as a standalone record.

Should I use the date I wrote the letter or sent it?
Use the date the finalized letter is issued or sent. If you drafted it earlier, update the date before sending so it reflects the actual timing.

Is a comma needed in the date?
In common U.S. style, write “October 6, 2026,” with a comma between the day and year. In a common day-first style, write “6 October 2026,” without that comma.

Should the date be centered?
Not in the usual full block format, where it is left-aligned. A modified block layout may position it differently, but keep the placement consistent with the rest of that layout.

If your organization specifies a required dating procedure, follow its instructions; for a situation that requires legal interpretation, ask a qualified professional.

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