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Cover Letter Header: What to Include and How to Format It
Everything that belongs at the top of your cover letter — name, contact details, the date, and employer info — with copy-paste examples and the rules that keep it matched to your resume. No sign-up required.
What should a cover letter header include?
A cover letter header is the contact block at the top of the letter. It lists your name, city and state, email, phone, and LinkedIn, followed by the date and, for a formal letter, the hiring manager’s name and the company. Match it to your resume header so both documents read as one application.
The header is the first thing a recruiter sees and the fastest way to look either organized or careless. Get it right and the reader knows who you are, how to reach you, and that your resume and letter belong together. This guide covers exactly what goes in the header, how to format each line, and how to keep it identical to your resume.
Here is what belongs in the header, top to bottom:
| Line | What goes here | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Your name | Your full name, slightly larger or bolder than the body text | Jane Doe |
| Location | City and state only — no full street address | Austin, TX |
| A professional address you check daily | [email protected] | |
| Phone | A number with voicemail set up | (512) 555-0142 |
| LinkedIn / portfolio | A clean URL, when it is relevant to the role | linkedin.com/in/janedoe |
| Date | The day you send the letter, month spelled out | March 3, 2026 |
| Employer details | Hiring manager, company, and city (formal letters only) | Ms. Lee, Brightline, Austin, TX |
Cover letter header examples (copy and paste)
The header changes shape depending on whether you upload the letter or paste it into an email. Start from whichever example matches how you are applying, then swap in your own details.
Formal / uploaded letter
Jane Doe
Austin, TX · [email protected] · (512) 555-0142 · linkedin.com/in/janedoe
March 3, 2026
Ms. Priya Lee
Brightline Marketing
Austin, TX
Dear Ms. Lee,
Letter in the email body
Subject: Application: Marketing Manager — Jane Doe
Dear Ms. Lee,
[Your opening paragraph starts here. Put your name, phone, and email in the email signature instead of a header block.]
Want the header inside a finished layout instead of a blank block? Start from a formatted cover letter template, or see how the header reads in a full letter across our cover letter examples.
Cover letter header, line by line
Every line in the header has one job. Here is what goes in each and how to format it.
1. Your name
Put your full name on the first line, formatted a little larger or bolder than the body text so it anchors the page. Use the exact same version of your name that appears on your resume — if your resume says “Jane Doe,” the letter should not say “Jennifer A. Doe.”
2. Location (city and state)
Add your city and state on the next line. A full street address is optional in 2026 — employers rarely mail candidates, and dropping it saves space. City and state still help for roles that mention on-site work or a specific metro area.
3. Email address
Use a professional, name-based email you check every day. “[email protected]” reads as serious; a nickname address from years ago does not. Make sure the inbox is not full and that replies will not land in spam.
4. Phone number
List one reliable number with a working voicemail and a professional greeting. Format it consistently with your resume, and skip a second or third number — one point of contact is cleaner and easier to act on.
5. LinkedIn or portfolio
Add a LinkedIn URL when your profile is current, and a portfolio link if the role is in design, writing, development, or another field where work samples matter. Shorten the URL to the clean form (linkedin.com/in/janedoe) and skip links that are not relevant to the job.
6. The date
Leave a blank line after your contact details and write the date you send the letter on its own line. Spell the month out in full — “March 3, 2026,” not “3/3/26” — which is the US business-letter standard and reads cleanly if the letter is ever printed.
7. The employer’s details (inside address)
For a formal, uploaded letter, add the hiring manager’s name, the company name, and the company’s city and state a line below the date. If you are applying through an email body and do not have these details, skip this block and go straight to the greeting.
How do you match a cover letter header to your resume?
Copy the contact block from your resume into the top of your cover letter and keep the name, details, font, and separators identical. When both headers use the same layout, the two documents look like one coordinated application instead of two unrelated files — which is exactly the impression you want a recruiter to have.
- Copy your resume’s contact block. Use the same name, city and state, email, and phone, in the same order, so nothing looks copied from a different application.
- Match the font and size. Set the header in the same typeface as your resume at a similar size, so the two documents read as one.
- Keep the same separators. If your resume uses dots or pipes between details, use the same characters in the letter’s header.
- Add the date and employer details. Below your matched header, add the date and, for a formal letter, the hiring manager, company, and city.
- Export both as PDF. Save the resume and the cover letter as PDFs so the header layout holds on any device. Fresume exports both to PDF, and the resume builder keeps the two headers in sync.
Email cover letter header vs. document header
The header you use depends on how you send the letter. An uploaded or attached letter keeps the full business-letter header; an email drops the contact block and lets the email fields do that work. The paragraphs of the letter stay the same either way.
| Uploaded / document header | Email header | |
|---|---|---|
| Contact block | Full block at the top (name, city, email, phone) | In your email signature, not the body |
| Date | Included on its own line | Handled by the email timestamp; omit it |
| Employer address | Hiring manager, company, and city | Omit; the “To” field covers it |
| Greeting | After the header block | The first line, right after the subject |
| Subject line | Not applicable (set in the portal) | “Application: [Role] — [Your Name]” |
Tip. When you attach a PDF, still put a short header-style signature at the bottom of the email with your name, phone, and LinkedIn. The reader should never have to hunt through the attachment just to find how to reach you.
Common cover letter header mistakes
- Using a different name format, font, or contact details than your resume, so the two files look mismatched.
- Padding the header with a full street address the employer will never use.
- Listing an unprofessional email instead of a clean, name-based address.
- Centering or over-designing the header so a recruiter has to hunt for your name and number.
- Forgetting to update the company name after copy-pasting a header from a previous application.
- Leaving your phone or email out of the header entirely, or shrinking them into unreadable text.
Once your header is right, focus on the rest of the letter. Follow the full cover letter format for margins and structure, avoid the wider cover letter mistakes that sink strong candidates, or let the cover letter generator draft a formatted, tailored letter — header included — from your resume and the job posting.
- Cover letter formatMargins, spacing, and a section-by-section structure guide.See the format →
- Cover letter templatesClean, ATS-friendly layouts with a header that matches your resume.Get a template →
- Cover letter examplesFull sample letters by job title you can copy and adapt.Browse examples →
- Resume builderBuild the matching resume header in the same place.Build a resume →
Fresume builds the whole application in one place: a free ATS resume checker that scores your resume against a pasted job description, 50+ ATS-friendly resume templates with matching cover letter layouts, an AI cover letter generator, a Chrome extension that autofills applications on LinkedIn, Indeed, Workday, and Greenhouse (plus generic forms), and voice-based AI interview practice in 16 languages. The core tools are free, and Premium is $17.49/month. Get the header right first — it is the first thing a recruiter sees.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
01What should a cover letter header include?
A cover letter header includes your name, city and state, email, phone, and, when relevant, a LinkedIn or portfolio link, followed by the date and, for a formal letter, the hiring manager’s name and the company. Keep it to three to five lines and match it to your resume header so the two documents look like one application.
02Do you put your address on a cover letter header?
A full street address is optional in 2026. Include your city and state, email, and phone — employers rarely mail candidates, and dropping the street address saves space. Keep the date and the employer’s contact details if you are sending a formal, uploaded letter rather than a plain email.
03How do you write a cover letter header for an email?
For an email, drop the block of contact details at the top and start with the greeting. Put your name, phone, and email in the email signature instead, and let the subject line name the role, such as “Application: Marketing Manager — Jane Doe.” The email’s “To” field replaces the employer’s inside address.
04Should your cover letter header match your resume?
Yes. Use the same name, contact details, font, and layout in both headers so your resume and cover letter read as one coordinated application. A matched header looks deliberate and professional; a mismatched one makes the two files look like they belong to different people.
05What is the difference between a cover letter header and heading?
They are two names for the same thing: the contact block at the top of your cover letter. Some guides call it the “heading” and others the “header.” Either way it holds your name and contact details, the date, and the employer’s information on a formal letter.
06Do you need the hiring manager’s name in the header?
Use the hiring manager’s name when you can find it on the company site or LinkedIn, both in the header’s inside address and in the greeting. When you truly cannot, address the company or team instead. A real name is better, but a missing one is not a reason to delay a strong application.
Build a resume and cover letter that match.
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