How to address a cover letter when you have a name
A name is the best salutation, and a greeting that uses one shows that the letter was written for this job. Use the person's title and surname when you are sure of both: Dear Ms. Okafor, or Dear Dr. Chen,. When you are not sure how the person identifies or which title they use, write the first and last name together, Dear Rowan Ellis,. That is accepted in every case, and it avoids guessing a title or a gender. Never shorten to a first name unless the ad, or the person, has used a first name with you. Copy the spelling exactly from the source, because a misspelled name in the first line is the most visible mistake a letter can make.
Finding the hiring manager's name
If the ad does not give a name, look for one before you fall back to a role. It usually takes a few minutes, and it is worth it for any job you really want. Check these places in order.
- The ad itself and the application page, including the contact line, the recruiter's signature and the file name of any attached brief.
- The company's own team or about page, which often lists department heads.
- A professional networking search for the company plus a title such as head of marketing, or the title the ad says you will report to.
- The company's main phone number or reception: ask who is hiring for the position, and how to spell their name.
Address the person who would manage the role, not the most senior person you can find. If you find two plausible names and cannot tell which is right, use the role instead of guessing; a wrong name is worse than none.
How to address a cover letter without a name
When no name can be found, write to the role or team the letter is for. The wording below fits most situations; choose the one that names something real.
| Situation | Greeting to use | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Name unknown, department known | Dear Finance Team, | It names a real group of people who will read it |
| Name unknown, job title known | Dear Hiring Manager, | It is the standard no-name greeting and reads as written to a person |
| Job posted by a recruiter | Dear Recruiter, or Dear Ms. Patel, | Use the name in the recruiter's email if you have one |
| Small company, no listed contact | Dear Hiring Team at Larkspur Studio, | It names the company and keeps the tone warm |
| Internal application | Dear Tomas, | Use the name you would use in the office, first name if that is the norm |
When no name turns up, Dear Hiring Manager is the safest answer, so spend your effort on the opening sentence, not the greeting.
Dear Sir or Madam and To Whom It May Concern: when they fall short
These two older greetings are still seen, and they are not wrong, but they are weak. To Whom It May Concern is used for general letters such as a reference or a certificate, and at the top of a cover letter it signals that the writer did not try to find the reader. Dear Sir or Madam assumes the reader is one of two genders and sounds stiff; it is still the normal form in formal UK and Indian business letters when the name is not known, and in those settings it is not a mistake. In the US, replace both with Dear Hiring Manager or a team name. The one case where To Whom It May Concern is reasonable is a letter with no job at all, such as a general reference letter, not an application.
Titles, punctuation and the closing that goes with the greeting
The cover letter salutation has three parts to get right: the title, the punctuation and the matching sign-off. In the US, titles take a period (Ms., Mr., Dr.) and the greeting traditionally ends in a colon in a formal letter and a comma in an email; either is accepted, and the comma is the more common today. In British English the period after the title is dropped (Ms, Mr, Dr). Match the sign-off to the greeting. In the US, Sincerely or Best regards works with every greeting above. In the UK, the convention is Yours sincerely after a name and Yours faithfully after Dear Sir or Madam. Whatever you choose, use the same style of title and punctuation throughout the letter. The wording of the sign-off itself is covered in the guide to writing a cover letter.
Special cases
Several recipients. Address the group, Dear Selection Committee,, or name each person: Dear Ms. Okafor and Mr. Tran,. Applying through an online form. The system rarely tells you who reads it, so use Dear Hiring Manager. Sending by email. The greeting goes at the start of the email body or of the attached letter; the file and email details are in the format guide. A name that could be read either way. Use the full name and no title. An application letter for a government or university post. Follow the format the posting gives, which often specifies a committee or office. For the format of the rest of the letter, see the cover letter format guide.
Greetings that cost you the first line
Skip “Hello” and “Hi there” for a first contact, and “Dear Sirs”, which excludes half the readers. Do not use “Dear Mr. or Ms.”, and do not address the letter to the wrong company, a mistake that appears when a letter is reused from another application. Do not use all capitals or exclamation marks. And do not spend long on the greeting at the expense of the first line: the opening sentence is the part a reader remembers, so write it for this employer.
Sources
Checked on 12 October 2026.