Cover Letter Heading: Templates, Rules, and 4+ Sample Headers

The heading of your cover letter might seem like such an irrelevant detail.

After all, it’s the main body that matters, isn’t it?

Sure, but— 

(And it’s a huge but!)

The cover letter header is the first thing a hiring manager sees. 

Mess it up and it will make your whole application look sloppy and unprofessional. And yourself—unfamiliar with the business etiquette.

That, for most jobs, is a dealbreaker. But don’t worry.

Using the proper cover letter header format is very easy. You’ll learn everything you need to know from this guide. But before we move on, consider this—

One way to step up your cover letter game is to match your cover letter to your resume. Here’s an example of a matching set made using our cover letter templates:

Sample cover letter and resume with matching headers made with our builder. Pick a template and write your cover letter here.

Wondering how to create an email cover letter heading? The rules are slightly different. Find out more: Email Cover Letter: Proper Formatting (Examples)

To learn about the formatting of your whole cover letter, see: The Only Good Way to Format a Cover Letter

Proper Cover Letter Heading Format: Two Main Rules

Actually, all you need to know is this—

1. What to include in the cover letter header:

• Your full name
• Your job title (optional)
• Home address (optional)
• Phone number
• Email address
• LinkedIn profile
• Other relevant social media handles such as Twitter or Github (optional)

You can write your name in a larger font than the rest of the cover letter contents.

Your contact details can be left-aligned, center-aligned, written in two columns, or in a single line, one next to the other. 

There are no strict rules here, but take some time to make your header well-balanced and legible.

See these examples for reference:

Sample Cover Letter Header (Zety’s Builder)

Example of a Cover Letter Heading Made in MS Word

If you don’t feel too confident about your typographic skills, simply left-align all the contents of your cover letter header. You can copy and paste this template and fill it in with your info.

Cover Letter Header Template to Copy and Paste

All that comes below is not part of your header. 

The rest of the contents at the top of your cover letter should be left-aligned and written in the same typeface and font size as the main body.

That includes all details that should appear right below the cover letter header:

• The date and city, typed a double-space below the last line of the heading. You can write the full date (June 26, 2019), or a shortened version in the MM/DD/YYYY format (06/26/2019).
• The addressee’s full name and the inside address—you can adjust the line spacing between the date and the inside address to produce a nicely-balanced page.
• The salutation: typed a double-space below the last line of the inside address (followed by a colon, not a comma).

See this full example of the top of a cover letter page for reference:

Cover Letter Heading and the Addressee’s Contact Details Format

And finally, the second rule—

2. Should your cover letter have the same header as the resume?

Yes. 

The heading of your cover letter should match the heading of your resume. Use the same setup, fonts, and margins. It shows your professionalism and attention to detail. 

Plus, if the hiring manager prints out multiple cover letters and resumes and they get disorganized, it will be easy to spot your documents—you’re guaranteed bonus points in such case.

Speaking of resumes, no matter how great your cover letter, you still need a pitch-perfect resume. Learn how to write one from our resume 101: How to Write a Resume for Any Job

Want to save time and have your resume ready in 5 minutes? Try our resume builder. It’s fast and easy to use. Plus, you’ll get ready-made content to add with one click. See 20+ resume templates and create your resume here.

Sample resume made with our builder—See more templates and create your resume here.

Key Takeaway

There are just two things you need to remember about the cover letter header:

1. Include just your basic contact information: your full name, job title, home address, phone number, email address and LinkedIn profile.
2. Make your cover letter heading identical to the one on your resume.

If you have any more questions, drop me a line in the comments, I’ll get back to you straight away!