To Whom It May Concern Letter: 7 Examples and the Rules
By Mustafa Tarabya, founder of CVBooster · Published · Updated
8 min read
A "To Whom It May Concern" letter is a formal letter addressed to an unknown reader, and the correct form capitalizes every word and ends with a colon. Use it only when the letter will be read by someone you genuinely cannot name, such as a verification letter that will be passed around. Guidance below is quoted from the Purdue OWL, the Cambridge Dictionary grammar pages and plainlanguage.gov, fetched in September 2026. Seven complete letters come first, then the punctuation rules, the four alternatives and the lines that get a letter ignored. Written by Mustafa Tarabya, who hired for his own company, read every application himself and now writes CVBooster's guides.
Seven complete letters, ready to adapt
Change the names, dates and detail. Leave the structure alone, because the structure is what makes an unaddressed letter readable.
Job application cover letter, no named recipient (107 words)
To Whom It May Concern:
I am applying for the warehouse team leader position advertised on your careers page, reference WTL-118, closing 30 September.
I have led a four-person picking team at Halliwell Distribution for three years. We moved from 96 to 99.4 percent pick accuracy after I rebuilt the shift handover into a single written checklist. I hold a counterbalance forklift license and a first aid at work certificate, both current until 2028.
I can start with four weeks of notice and I am available for interview any weekday after 15:00. My resume is attached with two contactable referees.
Sincerely,
Amara Osei 917 555 0312 [email protected]
Employment verification letter, written by an employer (101 words)
To Whom It May Concern:
This letter confirms the employment of Daniel Rusk at Norstad Climate Services.
Mr. Rusk has been employed as a Service Technician since 4 April 2022. His position is permanent and full time at 38 hours per week. His current annual salary is 58,400 dollars, paid monthly. He remains in active employment as of the date of this letter.
This letter is issued at Mr. Rusk's request for the purpose of a rental application. Please contact me directly if you require confirmation of any detail.
Sincerely,
Petra Lindqvist Operations Manager, Norstad Climate Services [email protected], 917 555 0221
Character reference letter for a formal process (111 words)
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing in support of Joseph Abara, whom I have known for eleven years as a neighbor and as a volunteer at the Wellsford Community Center.
Joseph has run the Saturday food collection at the center since 2019. He handles donated cash, keeps the ledger and hands it to our treasurer each month. In eleven years I have never known him to miss a commitment or to handle money carelessly.
I am content for this letter to be read in full by any party to the matter, and I am willing to speak to it in person.
Sincerely,
Margaret Halloran Trustee, Wellsford Community Center [email protected]
Landlord reference letter for a former tenant (104 words)
To Whom It May Concern:
I am the owner of 14B Pallister Road and I let that property to Iris and Tomas Blake from 1 June 2021 to 31 August 2026.
The monthly rent was 1,150 dollars and it was paid in full and on time for all 63 months of the lease. There were no arrears, no complaints from neighbors and no breaches of the agreement. The property was returned clean and the full deposit was released within ten days.
I would let to them again without hesitation. Please contact me if you need anything further.
Sincerely,
Rowan Keeley [email protected], 917 555 0145
Letter of recommendation for a student (88 words)
To Whom It May Concern:
I write in support of Leila Farhan, who was a student in my second-year statistics module at Brantford College during the 2025 to 2026 academic year.
Leila finished the module with a mark of 84 and the highest coursework score in a cohort of 112. She rewrote the group project's data cleaning step after finding an error nobody else had caught. She asks careful questions and accepts correction well.
I recommend her without reservation.
Sincerely,
Dr. Samuel Odede Senior Lecturer, Brantford College [email protected]
Business letter to an unnamed department, billing dispute (79 words)
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing about account 4471-2298 in the name of Corinne Adeyemi, regarding the invoice dated 12 August 2026 for 486 dollars.
The invoice charges for two service visits, on 3 and 17 July. Only one took place, on 3 July, and your technician's signed job sheet records it. That job sheet is attached.
Please issue a corrected invoice within 14 days. I have paid the undisputed 243 dollars today.
Sincerely,
Corinne Adeyemi [email protected]
Letter of introduction to a company with no named contact (82 words)
To Whom It May Concern:
I am a self-employed finish carpenter based in Queens and I am writing to introduce my work to your site management team.
I have fitted finish carpentry on 19 residential projects since 2020, including two eight-unit conversions for Marrow Group. I carry general liability cover of two million dollars, a current OSHA 30 card and a clean driving record.
I would welcome ten minutes with whoever manages your subcontractor list.
Sincerely,
Declan Moore [email protected], 917 555 0876
The punctuation rules, settled
- Capitalize every word: To Whom It May Concern. It is a salutation, not a sentence.
- End with a colon in American business style. A comma is acceptable in British personal correspondence.
- Never use "Concerned", "Concern," on its own line, or "Whom" in lower case.
- One blank line after the salutation, then the first paragraph.
The Purdue OWL sets the same rule for the salutation generally: "Use the same name as the inside address, including the personal title" and, when the reader is unknown, "If you don't know a reader's gender, use a nonsexist salutation, such as their job title followed by the receiver's name" on its basic business letters page.
The grammar is not optional either. The Cambridge Dictionary grammar pages state that "Whom is the object form of who" and that "We use whom to refer to people in formal styles or in writing, when the person is the object of the verb". "To Who It May Concern" is wrong because "whom" is the object of "to".
When it is the right choice
- A verification or confirmation letter shown to parties you cannot name.
- A letter that goes into a file rather than to a person: a rental pack, a visa bundle, a court exhibit.
- A formal complaint where no individual owns the case.
- A letter of introduction left at a reception desk.
When it costs you the job
For a job application it is almost always wrong, because the name is usually findable in four minutes. Check the job ad footer, the team page, a search for the job title plus employer, and the switchboard.
Some employers state the requirement outright. The USAJOBS Help Center says you must submit a resume that "meets all requirements listed in the job announcement" on its resume help page. If the announcement names an addressee, an unaddressed letter is a failed requirement, not a style choice.
See how to write a cover letter for the addressed version, professional cover letter examples for full letters with named recipients, and letter of introduction for a job for the cold approach.
The four better alternatives
| Instead of the unaddressed form | Use when |
|---|---|
| Dear Hiring Manager: | A job ad with no name, one clear hiring owner |
| Dear Recruitment Team: | An agency or a large employer with a shared inbox |
| Dear Claims Department: | A department owns the case, not a person |
| Dear Dr. Odede: | You found the name, which you usually can |
Plain address beats formal fog. The rule on Plainlanguage.gov reads: "The Plain Writing Act of 2010 established the requirement that content for the public is written for its specific audience". An unaddressed letter has no specific audience, which is exactly the problem.
What gets the letter ignored
- "I hope this letter finds you well", which spends your first line on nothing.
- No reference number, account number or date, so nobody can file it.
- No named action and no deadline at the end.
- A signature block without a phone number.
- Background before the ask.
Tip: Put the reference number in the first line and the ask in the last. An unaddressed letter is read by a stranger in a hurry, and those are the two lines they need.
See reference letter and character reference letter for longer formats.
Frequently asked questions
When should I use To Whom It May Concern?
Use it when the reader is genuinely unknown and the letter gets passed between parties. Employment verifications, landlord references and court exhibits all qualify. For a job application, find the hiring contact's name first, because the job ad footer or team page usually carries it.
What can I use instead of To Whom It May Concern?
Use "Dear Hiring Manager:" for a job ad with no name, "Dear Recruitment Team:" for a shared inbox, or the department name for a complaint. If you can find the individual, use their title and surname with a colon. That always reads better.
Should To Whom It May Concern be capitalized?
Yes, capitalize all four words. It functions as a salutation, so it follows salutation capitalization rather than sentence case. Lower-case forms such as "to whom it may concern" read as a typing shortcut, and "To Whom it May Concern" is the most common half-corrected version.
Do I use a colon or a comma after To Whom It May Concern?
Use a colon in American business letters, which is the standard for any formal or transactional letter. A comma is acceptable in British personal correspondence and in informal email. Never use a full stop, and never leave the salutation with no punctuation at all.
Is To Whom It May Concern still acceptable?
It is still correct for verification and reference letters, where no single reader exists. It is no longer acceptable on a job application. The name is almost always findable, and its absence reads as a letter sent to everyone.
How do I find the hiring manager's name?
Check the job ad footer and reference code, the employer's team page, and a search for the job title plus company name. If none work, call the switchboard and ask who manages the vacancy. Then spell that name correctly.
Related articles
- Reference Letter Examples: Five Letters and the Rules
- Character Reference Letter: How to Write One That Is Taken Seriously
- Reference Letter: What to Write, and What to Refuse
- Notice Letters Sample: Five Templates and the UK Rules
More articles
- Is a 2-Page Resume OK? When and How to Do It
- Stating Visa Status on a UK CV Without Losing the Job
- Warehouse Resume: Certs, Throughput, Safety
Looking for a worked example for your job title? Browse the resume examples by job title.