How to Write a Formal Letter in German

When You Need a Formal Letter in German

A formal letter (ein formeller Brief) is one of the most practical writing skills in German — and one of the most heavily tested. You need it whenever you write to someone you address with the formal Sie: a company, a landlord, an authority (Behörde), an insurer, a school, or an employer.

In the exam, it is unavoidable. The Goethe-Zertifikat B1 dedicates Schreiben Teil 3 entirely to a formal letter, and formal letters appear throughout the B2 writing module and in the telc exams too. Getting the structure right is half the battle, because examiners score whether your letter follows the conventions of formal German correspondence.

This guide covers the complete structure. For the two parts learners get wrong most often, we link to dedicated deep-dives: the formal salutation (Anrede) and the closing (Grußformel).

The Seven Parts of a Formal German Letter

Every formal German letter is built from the same seven elements, in this order:

1. Absender — the sender's address (yours), top of the page.
2. Empfänger — the recipient's address, below the sender.
3. Ort und Datum — place and date, right-aligned (e.g. Berlin, den 10. August 2026).
4. Betreff — a short subject line summarising the letter.
5. Anrede — the salutation, ending in a comma.
6. Hauptteil — the body: an opening sentence, the content, and a closing sentence.
7. Grußformel und Unterschrift — the closing phrase and your name.

Layout and Formatting (DIN 5008)

German business letters follow DIN 5008, the national standard for written correspondence. You do not need to memorise the millimetre measurements, but you should know the vertical order:

• Your own address goes at the top left.
• The recipient's address sits a few lines below it, also on the left.
• The place and date are aligned to the right, above the subject line.
• The Betreff (subject) is separated from the salutation by a blank line. Modern German letters no longer write the word "Betreff:" — the subject stands on its own, often in bold.
• A blank line separates every major block: address, date, subject, salutation, body, and closing.

The single most important formatting habit is generous use of blank lines. A German formal letter should look clean and well-spaced, never cramped.

The Exam-Simplified Version

In the Goethe and telc exams you usually do not need full postal addresses — there is no envelope to address and the word count is tight (around 80 words at B1). A letter that scores full marks in the exam typically contains only:

• Place and date (one line, e.g. Hamburg, den 10.08.2026)
• Betreff — a short subject line (recommended, though some tasks do not require it)
• Anrede — the salutation
• Hauptteil — the body that addresses every content point
• Grußformel — the closing and your name

The task prompt tells you the sender's name ("Sie heißen Maria Fischer") — always use that name, never your own. When you practise for real life, add the full address block; when you practise for the exam, focus your limited words on the body.

Step by Step

1. Write the subject line (Betreff)

Keep the Betreff short and noun-based — a headline, not a sentence, and with no full stop at the end:

• Beschwerde über meine letzte Stromrechnung
• Anmeldung zum Deutschkurs im September
• Kündigung meines Vertrags (Kundennummer 12345)

A precise subject line signals to the reader exactly what the letter is about before they read a word of the body.

2. Choose the salutation (Anrede)

Use Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, when you do not know the recipient, or the named form (Sehr geehrter Herr Müller, / Sehr geehrte Frau Schmidt,) when you do. The salutation always ends with a comma, and the body then begins on the next line with a lowercase letter. This trips up almost every learner — see the full rules and every variant in our guide to the formal letter opening.

3. Write the body (Hauptteil)

Open by stating your purpose immediately — the examiner already knows it is a letter, so do not write Ich schreibe Ihnen einen Brief. Then work through the content:

• Address every content point. In the exam these are the Leitpunkte listed in the task. Missing even one is the fastest way to lose points, because task fulfilment (Inhalt) carries the most weight.
• One idea per paragraph, joined with connectors such as außerdem (in addition), deshalb (therefore), jedoch (however), and da (since).
• End the body with a clear request or expectation — what do you want the reader to do next?

4. Close with the Grußformel

Finish with Mit freundlichen Grüßen on its own line, followed by a blank line and your full name. Crucially, there is no comma after the German closing (unlike English "Kind regards,"). For the full set of closings and the polished pre-closing sentences that raise your score, see our guide to the formal letter closing.

Use the Formal Register: Sie, not du

A formal letter is defined by its register. Always address the reader with the capitalised formal pronouns — Sie, Ihnen, Ihr — never du. Politeness is carried by modal verbs and the Konjunktiv II:

• Könnten Sie mir bitte mitteilen, ... (Could you please let me know ...)
• Ich würde mich über eine schnelle Antwort freuen. (I would be glad of a quick reply.)
• Ich bitte Sie, ... (I ask you to ...)

Slipping into du, or using casual vocabulary, is a register error that examiners penalise immediately.

A Complete Worked Example

Here is a full formal letter — a complaint (Beschwerde) about a defective product — showing every part in place:

Max Mustermann
Musterstraße 12
10115 Berlin

Elektro Haus GmbH
Kundenservice
Hauptstraße 45
10827 Berlin

Berlin, den 10. August 2026

Beschwerde über meine defekte Waschmaschine (Bestellnummer 48291)

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,

vor zwei Wochen habe ich bei Ihnen eine Waschmaschine bestellt, die
am 28. Juli geliefert wurde. Leider funktioniert das Gerät nicht
einwandfrei: Bereits beim ersten Waschgang trat Wasser aus, und das
Display zeigt eine Fehlermeldung an.

Da die Maschine noch Garantie hat, bitte ich Sie, das defekte Gerät
kostenlos zu reparieren oder gegen ein neues auszutauschen. Über eine
schnelle Rückmeldung würde ich mich sehr freuen.

Für Rückfragen stehe ich Ihnen gerne zur Verfügung.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen
Max Mustermann

Notice how the letter states its purpose in the first sentence, keeps one idea per paragraph, uses the formal Sie, ends the body with a concrete request, and closes with Mit freundlichen Grüßen — no comma, name on the next line.

Copy-Ready Template

Use this blank template as a starting point. Replace everything in brackets:

[Ihr Vorname und Nachname]
[Ihre Straße und Hausnummer]
[PLZ und Ort]

[Name des Empfängers oder der Firma]
[Abteilung, falls bekannt]
[Straße und Hausnummer]
[PLZ und Ort]

[Ort], den [TT. Monat JJJJ]

[Betreff: kurzes Stichwort, ohne Punkt am Ende]

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,

[Einleitung: Warum schreiben Sie? Nennen Sie sofort Ihr Anliegen.]

[Hauptteil: Gehen Sie auf alle Inhaltspunkte ein — ein Gedanke pro
Absatz. Verwenden Sie Konnektoren wie „außerdem", „deshalb" und „jedoch".]

[Schluss: Was erwarten Sie? Eine Bitte, eine Frage oder eine
Handlungsaufforderung.]

Mit freundlichen Grüßen
[Ihr Name]

Common Formal Letter Types

Most formal letters fall into a handful of recurring scenarios. Each has its own conventions and useful phrases:

• Complaints — for example a complaint about an apartment, a product complaint, or a hotel complaint.
• Cancellations — such as cancelling a subscription or a gym membership.
• Applications and inquiries — including a job application and a course registration.
• Appointments and requests — for instance arranging a doctor's appointment.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Using the wrong register — slipping into du instead of Sie.
• Skipping content points — every Leitpunkt in the task must be addressed.
• Capitalising the first word of the body after the comma of the salutation (an English habit).
• Adding a comma after the Grußformel — German uses none.
• Forgetting the Betreff, or writing it as a full sentence with a full stop.

For the mistakes specific to greetings and closings, see the dedicated lists in the Anrede and Grußformel guides.

Practise Formal Letters on Deutsch Fox

On deutschfox.com, you can write formal letters in the exact format of the Goethe B1 and B2 exams and get instant, examiner-style feedback. The AI checks your structure, register, salutation, and closing, and flags whether you have addressed every content point. The error memory feature tracks the mistakes you repeat, so the conventions of the formal German letter become second nature well before exam day.