How to end a cover letter: final paragraph, sign-off and signature

The end of a cover letter is short, but it is the part the reader sees last, just before deciding whether to open your CV. It has three parts, always in this order:

1. The final paragraph. Two or three sentences: why you fit, a thank-you, and a request to meet.
2. The sign-off, also called the valediction or complimentary close: ‘Yours sincerely,’ or ‘Yours faithfully,’ followed by a comma.
3. Your signature: your full name, typed, with space for a handwritten signature on a printed letter.

The National Careers Service sums up the final paragraph in a few lines: thank the employer for considering your application, let them know they can find more detail in your CV, say you look forward to hearing from them, and tell them how best to contact you.

British letters follow a simple rule, given by both the National Careers Service and Prospects: if you know the name of the person you're writing to, end with ‘Yours sincerely’. If you've opened with ‘Dear Sir or Madam’, end with ‘Yours faithfully’. The greeting decides the sign-off, so choose them together.

Some recruiters no longer mind which formal sign-off you use, but a mismatch such as ‘Dear Sir or Madam’ followed by ‘Yours sincerely’ is still a classic error that a careful reader will notice. Getting it right costs nothing.

‘Yours sincerely’ to a named person reads better than ‘Yours faithfully’ to nobody in particular. The National Careers Service suggests checking the job advert first, then the company website: look for the head of the department, the head of human resources or a recruitment manager. Use their name and preferred title. Only if you still cannot find a name should you start with ‘Dear Sir or Madam’.

The last paragraph of a covering letter is where you ask for the next step. Keep it to two or three sentences and make each one do a job:

• Tie it back to the role: one sentence on what you would bring, without repeating the paragraphs above.
• Point to your CV: ‘My CV, attached, gives more detail on my experience at…’
• Ask for a meeting, and give your availability: ‘I would welcome the chance to discuss the role at interview, and I am available from 1 December.’
• Thank the reader: ‘Thank you for considering my application.’

Write in the present or future tense: ‘I look forward to hearing from you’ sounds more confident than ‘I would hope to hear from you’. And keep the tone professional rather than pushy. ‘I will call you on Monday to arrange an interview’ assumes too much for most adverts.

Each example below chains the final paragraph, the sign-off and the signature. All names and companies are fictional.

For a complete letter from greeting to signature, see our cover letter for a job application. The full letter below shows where the ending sits on the page.

Example letter

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Example

Amira Hassan

Leeds

amira.hassan@example.com

07700 900147

Mr Daniel Reid

Store Manager

Northgate Home & Garden

Leeds

3 November 2026

Application for Assistant Store Manager, ref. NHG-114

Dear Mr Reid,

I am writing to apply for the Assistant Store Manager role advertised on your careers page. I have shopped at your Kirkstall store for years, and the way your team gives practical advice on every aisle is the kind of service I want to lead.

For the past three years I have been a supervisor at a busy DIY store in Bradford, where I run weekend shifts for a team of twelve. I organise the rota, handle customer complaints and train every new starter on the tills and the returns process. Last year our store moved from eighth to second in the region for customer satisfaction, and I led the training plan behind that change.

My experience running weekend shifts matches what you are looking for in an assistant store manager. My CV, attached, gives more detail, and I would welcome the chance to discuss the role with you. I am available for interview at any time and can start after a four-week notice period. Thank you for considering my application.

Yours sincerely,

Amira Hassan

When the cover letter is the body of your email, the same rule applies, but the tone can be a little lighter. ‘Kind regards’ is the safe choice for most emails; ‘Yours sincerely’ still works if you opened with a full name and title. Prospects suggests putting the text in the body of the email rather than in an attachment when you apply electronically, to avoid spam filters.

In an email, your signature does the work of the letter header: put your phone number and email address under your name, and a LinkedIn profile if it is up to date. If the advert asks for a separate letter, attach it as a PDF and keep the email itself to two or three lines.

• Printed or posted letter: leave four or five blank lines under the sign-off, sign by hand in that space, then type your full name below.
• PDF uploaded to a portal: type your full name. A scanned handwritten signature is optional, not expected.
• Email: your full name, then your phone number.
• No titles or job descriptions after your name, unless you hold a professional registration the employer will look for, such as a nursing PIN or chartered status.

Your contact details belong in the header at the top of the letter, not after the signature. The National Careers Service reminds you to check they match the ones on your CV.

• Mixing up the pair: ‘Dear Sir or Madam’ with ‘Yours sincerely’, or a named greeting with ‘Yours faithfully’.
• Capitalising both words: ‘Yours Sincerely’ is wrong; ‘Yours sincerely’ is right.
• Using an American close: ‘Sincerely,’ on its own or ‘Sincerely yours,’ reads as US English in a British application.
• Being too casual: ‘Cheers’, ‘Thanks!’, ‘Best of luck’ or a kiss have no place in a cover letter.
• Adding two sign-offs: ‘Kind regards, Yours sincerely’. Pick one.
• Ending on an apology: ‘Sorry for the long letter’ or ‘I know I may not have all the experience’ undoes the paragraphs above.
• Forgetting to ask for anything: without a request to meet, the reader has to guess what you want next.

Kandiq's cover letter generator writes the body of your letter from the job advert and your CV (2 AI credits per letter, 5 credits when you sign up). The greeting, the sign-off and your signature sit in their own fields, separate from the body, and the AI never writes them. Set the greeting to the person's name and the sign-off to match it, using the rule above, and the letter prints them in the right place.

Before you send, the review checks the letter without any AI: the company named in the body, the length on one page, three to five paragraphs, a number to back up your claims, and no placeholders left behind. You read the full letter and its review before paying anything; downloading the PDF is part of Kandiq Pro.