A personal letter is one you write as yourself to someone you know, or to someone you want to know you: a thank-you, an apology, congratulations, condolences, an invitation, a letter to a friend who has moved away. The layout is lighter than a business letter and the tone is yours. Copy the template, replace the square brackets, and cut anything that feels stiff.
The template
The plain-text template shows the blocks in order; on the page, your address and the date sit at the top right.
[Your address, top right, optional if the reader already has it] [Your town] [Your postcode] [Date: 3 March 2026, or just "Tuesday" to a close friend] Dear [first name, or title and surname for someone you know less well], [Opening: why you are writing, or a line about them. "Thank you so much for the weekend." "I was so sorry to hear about your father."] [Middle: the news, the thanks, the apology, the memory. As long or short as it needs to be. Paragraphs when the subject changes.] [Closing: look forward. "Let's find a date in April." "Give my love to the children."] [Sign-off that matches the relationship: With love / Best wishes / Yours / Kind regards], [Your name]
Making it your own
Addresses and date
Put your address at the top right if the reader might want to write back and may not have it. The recipient’s address is not needed inside a personal letter; it goes on the envelope. Write the date in full for anything that might be kept, such as a letter of condolence or a letter to a godchild. A day of the week is fine for a note to a friend.
The greeting
Use the name you would use out loud. For a friend or relative that is a first name: Dear Anna. For someone older or someone you know only slightly, a title and surname is safer: Dear Mrs Shah, Dear Dr Hughes. If you are not sure, the title and surname is never wrong, and the reply will often tell you to use a first name next time.
The opening
Start with the reader, not with yourself. A thank-you letter begins with the thanks; a letter of sympathy begins with the loss; a letter of congratulations begins with the news. Save “I hope you are well” for the second line, if you use it at all.
The middle
This is the part that makes the letter worth keeping. Be specific: not “thank you for the lovely present” but “the blue scarf has been round my neck every morning this week”. Not “I am sorry for your loss” but one memory of the person who has died. Not “congratulations on the new job” but what you admire about how they got there. Specific details are what people reread.
The closing
End by looking forward: a plan to meet, a promise to write again, a wish for the coming months. Then choose a sign-off that matches the relationship. “With love” to family and close friends, “Best wishes” or “Warm regards” to friends and acquaintances, “Kind regards” to someone you know in a semi-formal way. “Yours sincerely” is for business letters and reads coldly here.
Four common personal letters
Thank-you letter
Three short paragraphs: the thanks and what for; what the gift, visit or help meant and how you used or enjoyed it; something about the reader and when you will next see them. Send it within a week or two.
Letter of apology
Say sorry in the first sentence, name what you did without excuses, say what you will do differently, and leave the reader room to respond in their own time. Do not ask for forgiveness in the same letter; that is theirs to offer.
Letter of condolence
Keep it short. Say you are sorry, share one memory or one quality of the person who died, and offer specific help rather than “anything you need”: a meal, a lift, a walk next month. Do not explain or compare the loss.
Invitation
Give the what, when, where and how to reply in the first paragraph, then the warmth. Include the date by which you need an answer.
Letter to a friend
The loosest of all. Start with something about them, tell your news in the order it happened or in the order it matters, ask two or three questions they can answer in their reply, and end with a plan. There is no wrong length, but a page of the small things (what you cooked, what the dog did, the book you could not put down) is worth more than a paragraph of headlines.
Handwritten or typed?
A handwritten letter carries more weight for thanks, sympathy and apologies, because it costs time. Type it if your handwriting is hard to read, or if the letter is long. Either way, write a rough draft first, read it once as the recipient would, and then write it out properly.
Related guides
The full guide to tone, conventions and layout is on the Personal Letters page. For anything formal, use the Business Letter Template. General advice on planning and structure is in How to Write a Letter.