\documentclass{letter}
Free LaTeX templates for formal and business correspondence. The letter document class handles address blocks, date, salutation, body, closing, and signature — all precisely spaced to professional standards.
\section{Letter Class Structure}
The LaTeX letter class provides four dedicated commands that replace manual formatting. Each one handles its own typographic rules so you focus on the content.
\address{}Sets the return address printed at the top of every letter in the document. Use double-backslash line breaks inside the braces. Defined once in the preamble.
\signature{}The name and title that appear below the closing. LaTeX reserves space for a handwritten signature between \closing and the printed text.
\opening{}The greeting line — e.g., \opening{Dear Dr. Smith,}. Required at the start of every letter environment. The date is inserted automatically above it.
\closing{}The sign-off line — e.g., \closing{Yours sincerely,}. LaTeX places it flush left followed by vertical space and then the printed signature.
\begin{letter}
A complete formal business letter ready to compile with pdfLaTeX. The preamble loads geometry for 1-inch margins, parskip for paragraph spacing, and microtype for professional-grade microtypographic refinements.
\documentclass[12pt]{letter}
\usepackage[margin=1in]{geometry}
\usepackage{parskip}
\usepackage{microtype}
\signature{Jane Smith\\Marketing Director\\FormaTeX Solutions Inc.}
\address{123 Business Avenue\\Suite 400\\New York, NY 10001}
\begin{document}
\begin{letter}{Mr. John Doe\\Chief Executive Officer\\Acme Corporation\\456 Corporate Blvd\\Los Angeles, CA 90001}
\opening{Dear Mr. Doe,}
I am writing to express our interest in establishing a partnership between
our two organisations. FormaTeX has developed a robust LaTeX compilation API
that enables businesses to generate professional PDF documents programmatically
at scale.
Our platform processes tens of thousands of documents daily with 99.9\%
uptime, delivering pixel-perfect typographic output across all standard LaTeX
document classes---including \texttt{article}, \texttt{report}, \texttt{book},
and \texttt{beamer}---as well as custom document types.
We would welcome the opportunity to discuss how FormaTeX could integrate
seamlessly into your document workflow. Please do not hesitate to contact me
at your earliest convenience to arrange a call.
\closing{Yours sincerely,}
\ps{P.S.\enspace You may try FormaTeX free of charge at
\texttt{https://formatex.io/playground}.}
\end{letter}
\end{document}Tip: The recipient address goes inside the \begin{letter} argument, not in the preamble. This lets you write multiple letters to different recipients in a single .tex file by repeating the letter environment.
\section{Personal Letter}
Personal letters use \name in the preamble instead of a corporate address header. The structure is otherwise identical — same letter environment, same \opening and \closing commands — making it easy to switch between styles by changing a single line.
Key differences from the business template: no microtype dependency, a simpler preamble, and a warmer valediction such as \closing{Warm regards,} in place of \closing{Yours sincerely,}.
\documentclass[12pt]{letter}
\usepackage[margin=1in]{geometry}
\usepackage{parskip}
% Personal letters use \name instead of \address header
\name{Alice Johnson}
\address{42 Maple Street\\Boston, MA 02101}
\begin{document}
\begin{letter}{Bob Williams\\18 Oak Lane\\Cambridge, MA 02139}
\opening{Dear Bob,}
It was wonderful to see you at the conference last month. I have been
meaning to write and follow up on our conversation about the new project.
I think the approach we discussed has real merit, and I would love to
explore it further with you over coffee sometime next week if you are free.
\closing{Warm regards,}
\end{letter}
\end{document}The business letter template is pre-loaded and ready to compile. Edit the addresses, body text, and signature — then download the PDF. No installation required.
\section{Customisation Tips}
The letter class is intentionally minimal. These four adjustments cover the most common customisation requirements without reaching for external packages.
Pass 10pt, 11pt, or 12pt as a class option. The default is 10pt which can feel small for letters; 12pt is standard for most formal correspondence.
\documentclass[12pt]{letter}Redefine \opening to insert a logo with \includegraphics before the salutation. Combine with the graphicx package for precise placement.
\usepackage{graphicx}
\renewcommand{\opening}[1]{%
\includegraphics[width=4cm]{logo}\\[1em]
#1
}Insert \newpage inside the letter environment to force a page break. The letter class automatically re-prints the header on continuation pages.
...end of first page content. \newpage Continued from previous page...
Use \date{} to suppress the automatic date, or \date{1 January 2025} to set a fixed one. Leave it out entirely and LaTeX prints today's date.
% Suppress date
\date{}
% Or set a fixed date
\date{1 January 2025}\section{Related Templates}
\end{letter}
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