UK cover letter: the British layout, greeting and sign-off
A UK cover letter fits on one A4 page. Address a named person as "Dear Ms Surname" and sign off "Yours sincerely"; if no name can be found, write "Dear Sir or Madam" and sign off "Yours faithfully".1
Written 13 October 2026. CitedCV. How we write our guides
What makes a covering letter British
The content of a cover letter travels well between countries: the job, why you want it, evidence, a close. What does not travel is the frame around it. A British reader notices the greeting, the sign-off that has to match it, the date written out in words and a reference line under the greeting. Those small forms are what this page is about.
The pairing everyone searches for
Yours sincerely goes with a letter that opens with a person's name. Yours faithfully goes with a letter that opens without one. The National Careers Service (NCS), Prospects and De Montfort University's careers toolkit all give the same pairing, and none of them treats it as optional.
What this page leaves to other guides
The general anatomy of a cover letter, the four parts and when you need one, is in the guide to what a cover letter is. The UK CV itself has its own page, and so does the visa sponsorship line.
Before you write: find a name
The greeting decides the sign-off, so the first job is a search, not a draft. Both UK sources treat a named reader as the default and the generic greeting as a fallback.
- Read the advert again. Prospects says it often names a contact.
- Check the employer's website for the head of the department, the head of HR or a recruitment manager, as the NCS suggests.
- Search LinkedIn or the web for the hiring manager, or phone the organisation and ask; Prospects lists both.
- For a job through a recruitment agency, address the consultant handling it, not the client company (Prospects).
- Only after all of that, use a general greeting and the matching sign-off.
How the British greeting and sign-off work
| You know | Greeting | Sign-off | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| The reader's name and title | Dear Ms Okafor / Dear Dr Patel | Yours sincerely | NCS; Prospects; DMU |
| No name, after searching | Dear Sir or Madam | Yours faithfully | NCS; DMU |
| No name, general greeting | Dear Hiring Manager | Yours faithfully | Prospects |
Title and surname, not the first name
The NCS asks you to use the person's preferred title, such as Dr, Mr, Mrs or Ms, and their job title. Every sample letter in the Prospects and De Montfort material uses title and surname: Dear Mr Smith, Dear Ms Wentworth. If the advert gives a full name and you cannot tell which title the person uses, the safest course is to check their profile or the company site rather than guess.
Dear Sir or Madam, or Dear Hiring Manager
Here the two main sources differ. The NCS gives Dear Sir or Madam as the fallback. Prospects gives a general greeting such as Dear Hiring Manager, and only once every other route has failed. Both pair the generic greeting with Yours faithfully. Either is correct; pick one and make sure the sign-off follows it.
Punctuation in the greeting
The Prospects samples write Dear Mr Smith with no full stop after Mr, and the De Montfort samples leave the greeting and the sign-off without commas. The GOV.UK style guide also drops full stops from abbreviations. A comma after the greeting is not wrong; what matters is doing the same thing at the top and the bottom.
Length, date and delivery
One page
Prospects sets the ceiling at one A4 page in three to five short paragraphs; the NCS says usually three to five paragraphs. Use the same font and size as your CV, which both sources ask for, so the two documents look like a set.
How to write the date
Write the month as a word. The Prospects samples use 5th January 2026; the GOV.UK style guide drops the ordinal and writes 4 June 2017 with no comma. Both read the same way to a British reader, and both avoid 05/01/2026, which an American reads as 1 May.
The Re: line
Both Prospects samples put a subject line between the greeting and the first paragraph, in the form Re: Logistics graduate scheme. Add the reference number from the advert if there is one, so the letter reaches the right file.
Post, email or upload
The De Montfort samples are postal letters, with the sender's address at the top right and the employer's name and address on the left. The Prospects samples, written for email and upload, keep only a line of contact details under the name. When you apply by email, Prospects suggests pasting the letter into the body rather than attaching it, and saving any uploaded copy as a PDF unless the advert asks for something else.
Salary, disability and dates you are away
Prospects says to mention salary only when the employer asks, in a short paragraph before the close. Disclosing a disability is your choice; the NCS links to Disability Rights UK for advice on how to do it, and Prospects suggests focusing on strengths and any adjustments you need. Dates you cannot attend an interview go in the closing paragraph.
Annotated skeleton of a UK cover letter
Each line below says what goes there and why. The sample applicant is invented: Selin, a data analyst in Ankara applying for a junior analyst role in Leeds through the employer's website. Replace everything in square brackets.
| Line | Sample text | Why it is there |
|---|---|---|
| Your name and contact line | Selin Arslan · Ankara, Türkiye · +90 532 000 00 00 · selin.arslan@example.com | Same details as on the CV; the NCS asks for them to match. |
| Date | 7 November 2026 | Month in words, no ordinal, as in the GOV.UK style guide. |
| Greeting | Dear Ms Hughes | Title and surname of the person named in the advert. |
| Re: line | Re: Junior Data Analyst, ref. DA-2611 | Job title and reference, as in the Prospects samples. |
| Paragraph 1: the role | I am applying for the Junior Data Analyst role advertised on your careers page, and could start in January 2027. | Prospects opens with the role, where you saw it and when you can start. |
| Paragraph 2: matching evidence | At [employer] I built the weekly sales dashboard in Power BI used by [number] regional managers, which is the reporting your advert describes. | Skills and experience matched to the person specification (NCS; Prospects). |
| Paragraph 3: why this employer | Your [named project or service] is the kind of work I want to do next, because [one specific reason]. | What you know about the organisation and what draws you to it (Prospects). |
| Optional line: work status | I will need a Skilled Worker visa; your company appears on the register of licensed sponsors. | DMU: special circumstances such as a work permit may be stated in the letter. |
| Closing paragraph | Thank you for considering my application. My CV gives more detail, and I would welcome the chance to discuss the role at interview. | Thanks, a pointer to the CV and the request for an interview (NCS; Prospects). |
| Sign-off | Yours sincerely | Matches a named greeting; Yours faithfully only after Dear Sir or Madam. |
| Name | Selin Arslan | Typed name; on paper, sign above it as the Prospects samples show. |
The sample lines show a shape, not text to copy. Prospects and the NCS both say to write a new letter for every application.
What each source says, read 13 October 2026
The Prospects pages are dated May 2025. The NCS page shows no date. The De Montfort toolkit is an older brochure, still published on the university's site; its sample dates read 20XX.
| Point | NCS | Prospects guide | Prospects samples | De Montfort toolkit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No-name greeting | Dear Sir or Madam | A general greeting such as Dear Hiring Manager, as a last resort | Not shown; samples are named | Dear Sir/Madam, less preferable than a name |
| Sign-off | Sincerely with a name, faithfully with Sir or Madam | Sincerely with a named contact, faithfully with a general greeting | Yours sincerely | Sincerely with a name, faithfully with Dear Sir/Madam |
| Date | Not covered | Not covered | 5th January 2026 | 22 September 20XX |
| Addresses | Not covered | Not covered | Contact line only | Sender top right, recipient left |
| Delivery | In the email body when applying online | In the email body; PDF when uploading | Not covered | Postal |
Where this page stops
- NHS posts may ask for a supporting statement inside an application form instead of a separate letter; the NHS nurse guide covers that format.
- Whether you need a visa sponsor, and how to check the register, is the subject of the international applicants guide; the letter only states the fact in one line.
- Academic posts and master's applications use their own letters and statements; the UK master's guide covers the second.
- If the advert says not to send a letter, or gives its own word limit, that instruction wins.
Next steps
- If you hear nothing after two weeks, Prospects suggests a short email to the hiring manager to confirm the application arrived. It should not become a second letter.
- Students and recent graduates can ask their university careers service to read a draft, as Prospects suggests.
- Keep a copy of every letter you send; both the NCS and Prospects point out that interviewers may ask about it.
- CitedCV writes cover letters once you buy any credit pack, only from facts you have on file. For UK letters the greeting and sign-off come from fixed rules: Yours sincerely with a named reader, and Dear Hiring Team with Yours faithfully without one; the date is written as 7 November 2026.
Questions people ask
Yours sincerely or Yours faithfully on a cover letter?
Yours sincerely if you addressed a named person, Yours faithfully if you wrote Dear Sir or Madam. The National Careers Service and Prospects both give this pairing.
How do you start a cover letter in the UK with no name?
With Dear Sir or Madam, after you have tried to find a name. The National Careers Service gives that form; Prospects accepts a general greeting such as Dear Hiring Manager. Close with Yours faithfully.
Can I use Dear Hiring Manager in a UK cover letter?
Yes, as a last resort. Prospects suggests a general greeting like Dear Hiring Manager only after checking the advert, the website, LinkedIn and phoning, and pairs it with Yours faithfully.
How long should a cover letter be in the UK?
One A4 page at most, in three to five short paragraphs, according to Prospects. The National Careers Service also says usually three to five paragraphs.
How do I write the date on a UK cover letter?
Write the day, the month in words and the year, such as 7 November 2026. Prospects samples add an ordinal (5th January 2026); the GOV.UK style guide leaves it out.
Do I put my address on a UK cover letter?
Only on a posted letter, where it goes at the top with the employer's address below. For email or upload, Prospects samples show just your name, email, phone and town.
Should I mention my visa in a UK cover letter?
Yes, in one factual line if you need sponsorship. De Montfort's careers toolkit says special circumstances such as a work permit may be stated in the letter.
Should I mention salary in a UK cover letter?
Only if the employer asks for it. Prospects suggests putting it in a short paragraph between the paragraph on why you suit the role and the close.
Sources
- National Careers Service: Covering letternationalcareers.service.gov.uk/careers-advice/covering-letter
- Prospects: How to write a cover letter (May 2025)www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/cvs-and-cover-letters/cover-letters
- Prospects: Sample cover letter (May 2025)www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/cvs-and-cover-letters/cover-letters/sample-cover-letter
- Prospects: Cover letter by an international graduate (May 2025)www.prospects.ac.uk/careers-advice/cvs-and-cover-letters/cover-letters/cover-letter-by-an-international-graduate
- De Montfort University Careers: Cover letters and exampleswww.dmu.ac.uk/documents/study-documents/undergraduate-study-documents/employability-and-careers/cover-letters.pdf
- GOV.UK: A to Z style guide (dates, abbreviations)guidance.publishing.service.gov.uk/writing-to-gov-uk-standards/style-guides/a-to-z-style-guide/