Formal Letter Builder
Fill in sender, recipient, subject, salutation, body and closing to get a block-format formal letter as a PDF on US Letter or A4 paper. How it works
Use the Formal Letter Builder
Today's date is used and is not saved, so it is never out of date next time.
Three blank lines are left for a handwritten signature, then your sender name is typed.
Your letter appears here as you fill in the fields.
Preview. The PDF uses the same lines on US Letter (8.5 x 11 in) paper with 1 inch margins. In a text PDF a line is never split across two pages; in the image fallback (used only when a field has characters the text PDF font cannot print) the PDF is a picture of this preview, date format included, and page breaks avoid cutting a line where they can.
About the Formal Letter Builder
A block-format formal letter starts every part at the left margin, in this order: sender's name and address, date, recipient's name and address, subject line, salutation, body, closing, space for a signature and the typed name. The formal letter builder lays out what you type in that order and saves it as formal_letter.pdf on US Letter or A4 paper.
The parts of the letter, in order
| Part | Example | Left out when |
|---|---|---|
| Sender | Jane Doe (bold) ⏎ 12 Oak Street ⏎ Springfield, IL 62701 | Sender name and address are empty |
| Date | October 12, 2026 | You clear the date field (until then today's date is used) |
| Recipient | John Smith (bold) ⏎ Acme Corp ⏎ 1 Main Street ⏎ Chicago, IL 60601 | Recipient name and address are empty |
| Subject | RE: Request for a refund (bold) | Subject is empty |
| Salutation | Dear Mr. Smith, | Salutation is empty |
| Body | Your paragraphs, with blank lines kept between them | Body is empty |
| Closing | Sincerely, ⏎ three blank lines ⏎ Jane Doe | Closing and sender name are empty |
⏎ is a new line. A blank line separates the parts. The date shown is the en-US format; the preview uses your browser's format.
Text PDF or page images
| Text in the letter | Characters the PDF font cannot print | |
|---|---|---|
| José Müller | Text | (none) |
| Zoë Ørsted | Text | (none) |
| €100 – “quotes” | Text | (none) |
| Œuvre | Text | (none) |
| Łódź | Page images | Ł ź |
| Dvořák | Page images | ř |
| İstanbul | Page images | İ |
| Привет | Page images | П р и |
| Ελλάδα | Page images | Ε λ ά |
| Thanks 😀 | Page images | 😀 |
The text in a text PDF can be selected and searched. One character outside the standard PDF font set turns the whole letter into page images; the page names the field and up to three of the characters.
The date in the PDF by browser language
| Browser language | Date written in the PDF |
|---|---|
| English (US) | October 12, 2026 |
| English (UK) | 12 October 2026 |
| German | 12. Oktober 2026 |
| French | 12 octobre 2026 |
| Spanish | 12 de octubre de 2026 |
| Turkish | 12 Ekim 2026 |
| Polish | October 12, 2026 (English) |
| Russian | October 12, 2026 (English) |
| Japanese | October 12, 2026 (English) |
For 12 October 2026. When the browser's date has a character the text PDF font cannot print, the PDF uses the English date and the page says so; the preview keeps your format.
How to use this tool
- Fill in the sender and recipient names and addresses. Leave the date alone to use today's, or pick another.
- Type the subject (the builder adds "RE:" unless you typed it), then the salutation, the body and the closing.
- Check the preview, choose US Letter or A4 under Paper size and press Download as PDF.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the format of a formal letter?
- In block format, which this builder uses, the whole letter is left-aligned and single-spaced with a blank line between paragraphs, as Purdue OWL describes it. The parts run sender, date, recipient, subject, salutation, body, closing, signature space and typed name. Indented formats are not offered.
- Does it have templates for a cover letter or a resignation letter?
- No. Every field starts empty and you write every word; the sample text shown in empty fields (Dear Ms. Smith, Yours sincerely,) is only a placeholder. The builder handles the layout and the PDF.
- Why is my PDF made of images instead of text?
- The standard PDF font can print English and Western European letters, curly quotes, dashes and €, but not letters such as Polish ł, Czech ř, Turkish İ, Cyrillic, Greek or emoji. When the letter has one, the preview is saved as page images, so the text cannot be selected or searched, and the page names the field and the characters.
- What paper size and margins does the PDF use?
- US Letter (8.5 × 11 in) by default, or A4, with 1 inch margins and Helvetica 11 pt on a 15 pt line. That fits up to 43 lines on a Letter page and 46 on an A4 page, and a line is never split across two pages.
- Is the letter saved?
- Yes, in this browser's storage until you press Clear Saved Values. The date is saved only if you typed it; otherwise the letter carries the current date each time you open it. The PDF is made in your browser and the letter is not uploaded.
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