Does a Cover Letter Need a Date?

A cover letter date tells the employer when you applied and signals that the letter was written for a specific opening — not copied from an old template sitting in your drafts folder. In most cases, the date on a cover letter belongs near the top of your letter, just below your contact details.

Getting the date right is a small detail, but small details often separate a careful application from a rushed one. The wrong cover letter date format, an outdated year, or a missing date can quietly undermine the professional impression you are trying to build.

This guide covers whether a cover letter needs a date, where to place it, the correct format for US and international applications, when you can leave it off, and answers to common questions about cover letter dates.

Does a cover letter need a date?

Yes — in most cases a cover letter should include the date you send it.

Adding a cover letter date places your application in time and keeps your letter consistent with standard business correspondence. A dated cover letter shows an employer you took the time to apply for their specific opening, and it gives recruiters a useful reference point for when you applied and when to follow up.

There is one common situation where the date becomes optional. When you apply through a company's online system, the applicant tracking system records your submission date automatically, so the date line is no longer essential to the document itself.

A quick gut check before you decide:

• Applying for a specific, named role: Include the date.
• Submitting through a portal that timestamps your application: The date is optional.
• Writing a letter you intend to reuse: Add the date only on the day you actually send it.

The cost of getting this wrong is low, but an outdated or missing date can quietly undermine the impression of care you are trying to build. Treat it as the final box you tick before sending, alongside the recipient's name and the company.

Where do you put the date on a cover letter?

The date sits near the top of your cover letter, directly below your name and contact information and above the recipient's details.

A cover letter follows standard business letter structure, so the date acts as the dividing line between your information and the employer's. Left-align it, in line with the rest of your header.

University career offices teach the same placement. UC Santa Barbara Career Services lists the date in Month Day, Year form, positioned after your contact details and before the name and address of the person you are writing to (UC Santa Barbara Career Services).

Here is how the top of your cover letter should look:

Example of a dated cover letter

Theresa Wilmington, CPA
Dallas, Texas | t.wilmington@email.com | (394) 555-3017 | linkedin.com/in/twilmington

August 11, 2025

Agatha Smith
HR Manager
Copper Track Technologies
Portland, OR

Dear Agatha Smith,

[Body of cover letter]

Leaving a blank line above and below the date keeps the header easy to scan, which matters when a recruiter is moving quickly through a stack of applications.

How do you write the date on a cover letter?

Write the date in full, then place it below your contact details and above the recipient's information.

The aim is a date that reads clearly at a glance and matches the tone of the rest of your application. Follow three steps:

1. Use the date you send the letter: Your cover letter date should match the day you actually submit, not the day you started writing. If you draft your application over several days, update the date before you send it.
2. Write the month out in full: Spell out the month and avoid numbers, slashes, or hyphens. Write June 5, 2025 rather than 6/5/25 or 6-5-2025. A fully written date looks more polished and removes any risk of confusion.
3. Follow the date with the recipient's details: Leave a blank line, then add the hiring manager's name, title, company, and location. Leave another blank line before your greeting, such as Dear Agatha Smith or Dear Hiring Manager.

One mistake worth flagging: if you are applying in January or February, double-check the year. Writing the previous year out of habit is one of the most common date errors, and it is exactly the kind of slip an employer notices.

What is the correct date format for a cover letter?

Use the full Month Day, Year format for a US application — for example, June 5, 2025.

Spell out the month, use the full four-digit year, and skip ordinal endings like “st” or “th.” Avoid purely numerical formats, because 06/05/2025 reads as June 5 in the United States but as May 6 in much of the world.

If you are applying internationally, match the convention of the employer's country. The main difference is whether the day or the month comes first.

Spelling out the month works in your favor either way. A written-out month cannot be misread no matter where your reader sits, so when you are unsure of local norms, it is the safest cover letter date format you can choose. This one habit removes the single most common source of date confusion in international applications.

When should you leave the date off a cover letter?

Leave the date off when the submission method already timestamps your application for you.

In these cases the date adds nothing, and a leaner header can look tidier. Two common situations apply:

• Online application portals: When you upload your letter through an applicant tracking system, the platform records your submission date automatically. You can include the date or omit it, and neither choice will count against you.
• Email body cover letters: When your cover letter is the body of an email rather than an attached document, the email itself is timestamped. Here you can skip the formal date line and open with your greeting, or keep a short header with your name and contact details.

The rule of thumb is the one to remember: if the system records the date for you, the date line is optional, but if your letter might be printed, saved, or forwarded between people, keep the date in the document so there is never any doubt about when you applied.

Frequently asked questions about cover letter dates

A few more common questions about handling the date on your cover letter.

Should the date on a cover letter be abbreviated?

No. Write the full date in Month Day, Year form, spelling out the month, such as “October” rather than “Oct.” Abbreviations and numeric formats like 10/24/25 look less polished and can cause confusion across regions, so the full written form is always the safer choice.

Should you put a future date on a cover letter?

No. Your cover letter date should match the day you submit, never a future date. If you prepare your materials in advance, leave the date blank and add the current one on the day you send it. A future date reads as carelessness, which is the opposite of what the date is meant to convey.

Are cover letters still necessary?

Yes. Many employers still ask for a cover letter, and even when one is optional, it gives you room to explain your skills, achievements, and interest in the role. A well-written cover letter can set you apart from candidates who send a resume alone — and if you are applying to multiple roles, learning to tailor your cover letter for each one makes the effort count.

MakeResume.pro offers a cover letter generator, cover letter templates, and cover letter examples to help you format and send a polished application.