Acknowledgment Letter Writing – Simple but Effective Tips with Format and Free Samples

Acknowledgment Letter
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An acknowledgment is an act of confirming the fact that an individual has received some document or goods. In order to acknowledge something formally, an acknowledgment letter is written by the recipient. Basically, the acknowledgment letter is a formal letter that acts as the acknowledging receipt of the material(s) you’ve received.

On the other hand, the letter of acknowledgment may also refer to the specific meeting(s) or discussion(s) over the phone or in person. In such a scenario, the acknowledgment letter confirms the things discussed and agreed on the meeting or discussion. The possible confusions in the future can be prevented by the acknowledgment.

What is an Acknowledgment Letter?

An acknowledgment letter can be termed as the receipt letter! This kind of letters is basically written in a short and formal way with the main aim of serving the legal purpose. A letter of acknowledgment is a legal confirmation of the fact that a particular document or good has been received. Therefore, it comes in handy for preventing any confusion or misconception in the future.

However, the acknowledgment letter is not only a legal receipt but it’s also one kind of informal thank you. The acknowledgment letter, written by you, also shows an immense amount of gratitude to the person on the opposite end.

Whom an Acknowledgment Letter is for?

The acknowledgment letter is undoubtedly an essential part of business dealing and commercial territory but the letter of acknowledgment is also necessary for an individual who has received anything from goods, documents to emails.

So, whether it’s an organization, company, or an individual, an acknowledgment letter will come in handy for all till you are receiving anything that requires a confirmation from your end. So, acknowledgment letter has a great requirement.

Reasons for Writing a Proper Acknowledgment Letter

Some may think that the acknowledgment letter is just a confirmation which only contains “I acknowledge.” But the reality is completely different – the letter of acknowledgment carries a strong essence of professionalism and competence. So, you should never risk your reputation. Below are the most viable reasons why an acknowledging letter is written.

  • The acknowledgment letters are a receipt of your confirmation. Thus, it particularly becomes vital for you to craft the confirmation properly. During the notification of receiving a product or a document or a letter, the acknowledgment acts as a receipt.
  • The letter of acknowledgment also serves as the public relation. When you are replying with a further purpose than just giving a receipt or confirmation, the acknowledging letter becomes a matter of public relation.
  • On top of all, the letter of acknowledgment is a professional courtesy too when it comes to the corporate world.

Benefits of an Acknowledgment Letter

There are multiple benefits that come with the acknowledgment letters. If you are not acknowledging your emails or letters properly or at all, you should start acknowledging immediately! The following points are the evidence of the humongous benefits of the letters of acknowledgment.

  • When you write an acknowledgment letter, it builds a healthy professional relationship.
  • This kind of letters helps you inform and communicate. The information can be associated with the debt, donation, complaint, follow-up, payment, project, etc.
  • This letter shows that you value the sender’s time and efforts.

However, in most cases, the acknowledgment letters confirm the receiving order, request, or inquiry.

How to Write Acknowledgment Letter

The acknowledgment letters inform the other person on the opposite end to know that you value his/her effort and time. These letters are equipped to effectively communicate your inputs to dictate further action. These letters confirm, clarify, and create trust and goodwill. So, you should start recognizing the procedure to write the letter of acknowledgment.

Create an Outline

An outline becomes tremendously important while crafting any letter and especially when it comes to the acknowledgment letters. Before starting to writing, think and line up all the things you need to incorporate into the piece of letter. There are multiple aspects that need to be considered.

  • Keep the documents of a product near to you if you want to acknowledge a product.
  • Double-check the dates of the product delivery along with the product order/request date.
  • Come up with a detailed list of the important points such as your satisfaction and dissatisfaction to name a few.
  • Organize the points logically in a serial.

These are the ways which would help you craft a remarkable outline for your acknowledging letter.


Now, it’s time to move to the second stage of acknowledgment letter writing if you are done with the outline part. Now, you are going to draft your letter. Drafting is basically a rough prequel of your final letter. Below is the process that should be followed for drafting.

  • Remember the points you have outlined? Pen down the information into short paragraphs in your draft.
  • Considering the fact that it’s a draft, you should write whatever relevant pops up in your mind irrespective of the grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, spelling and others.
  • Now, read the whole letter aloud to yourself once you finish writing it. Find out how it sounds.
  • You’ll hardly be able to make it perfect at the first attempt. Go through the whole content several times find out whether the content matches your outline and objective.
  • The main objective of drafting a letter is to come up with a concise matter for the final letter and that calls for making your ideas and thoughts cohesive.

The Beginning and Conclusion

The most important parts of an acknowledgment letter are the beginning and the conclusion. The opening of the letter should always lead to the subject (body) of the letter. The opening should never break the transition and should always maintain the continuum. And when it comes to the ending, this portion of your letter of acknowledgment should sum up the whole matter in a brief and end with a positive impression that reflects gratitude.


Sincerity is crucial for your letter since it will create such a feel that will provide the letter a sheer amount of genuineness. In order to be sincere, think like a reader; write from the readers’ perspective and consider what the reader would have thought while reading the letter. Now, an important aspect of showing sincerity is that it should not look like you are doing it for formality or faking it. If the reader is experienced enough, he/she will be able to detect the dishonest statements in the flutter of the eyelashes!

Address to the Right Person

One of the most vital factors for acknowledgment letters is that you need to address the letter to the right person. In the quest for doing so, you should find out the person to be acknowledged. This will particularly make it easy for you to address the letter to the concerned individual. If you address the letter directly in the name of an organization or company, it has fewer chances to be impactful, as much as it would have been if a particular individual was addressed.

Keep the Letter Brief and To-the-Point

While crafting an acknowledgment letter, make sure you are avoiding all the exaggeration and unrequired stretching of the details. The letter of acknowledgment is particularly focused on the affirmation of any receival and that’s why it should be short and specific to the subject. Ensure that you are mentioning the subject and never repeat any information which is already known to the reader(s).

Always remember one fact – an acknowledging letter with simple words is far better than the letters with chunks of complicated and complexly phrased letters. In this kind of letter, you should always put yourself in the shoes of the reader and think about what you might have wanted to read and what you would have felt irritated about while reading the letter.

Make Use of a Letterhead

If the acknowledgment letter is official, it should always have a letterhead on the top margin of the letter. The letterhead typically comprises the name of a company or an organization placed at the right, left or middle of the top margin. However, while writing a personal letter, the letterhead is not needed. A personal letter of acknowledgment can be written on behalf of an organization based on the requirement and intention.

Show Politeness

As applied to all the letters of other genres, harshness has no place in the acknowledgment letters as well. Being polite is the foremost rule of any letter and the letters come under the acknowledgment category are no exception! Follow the basic courtesy and start the letter with a positive note, thanksgiving, and gratitude; and use a polite tone throughout the letter. If you are not even satisfied, still you need to keep the politeness and positivity intact.

Even use a positive tone to ask for resolving your issues. Without the proper courtesy here, the recipient may get offended or dissatisfied. You need to be specifically polite if any damage, miscommunication or problem has been caused by you. In such a case, your acknowledgment letter should reflect an apology and a quick solution.

Timely Acknowledgment

Time is one of the greatest factors when it comes to the letter of acknowledgment. A timely reply not only can make you professional but it can also resolve the issue in the most efficient manner. It will be best if you send the letter within a few days of a receival. When you delay the acknowledgment letter, it never conveys your care; rather shows a fake gesture.

However, it’s always better to be late than never! If a delay happens for acknowledgment, you should always take a step ahead to apologize for the delay.

Proofread Your Entire Letter

Now, you have gone through each and every aspect of the acknowledgment letter writing. Now is the time to check the whole letter and correct the flaws in it. A letter should convey your knowledge and seriousness for a certain matter. And any silly mistake in the letter would ultimately make the reader(s) assume that you are not serious or knowledgeable!

Go through the letter and look for any grammatical mistake, spelling errors, typos, improper sentence structure, and other components. If you find one, correct it. Moreover, try to remove any slang (which may not be heard or known to everybody). Eliminate the abusive words from your letter, make use of a formal tone, and keep the fonts used in the letter immensely formal (such as Times New Roman or Arial). Put the dates, times, and signature properly.

Important Key Phrases of an Acknowledgment Letter

An acknowledgment letter builds a healthy relationship further. Also, it works as the proof of receiving any particular document or belongings. The letter of acknowledgment also plays a pivotal part in handling the legal situations. So, it becomes quite a vital task to include a certain set of key phrases into your letter. Below are some of the examples.

  • I am writing to notify that…
  • I’d like to thank you for sending me the (invoice or document or anything else)
  • This letter is a confirmation of our telephonic discussion
  • Don’t hesitate to let me know if I can be of any assistance
  • This letter is an acknowledgment of the receipt of the following documents
  • The receipt of the following documents is hereby acknowledged
  • This is an acknowledgment letter for the return shipment of (product)

Acknowledgment Letter Format

We are providing the neutral format of an acknowledgment letter. You will be able to craft your letter properly by following the format.

1. The header of the Letter

  • Sender’s Name
  • Sender’s Address
  • Name of the Recipient (a person or an organization)
  • Address of the Recipient
  • Date

2. Letter Body

  • Subject
  • Salutation with the Recipient’s name

3. First Paragraph

  • A gesture of acknowledgment followed by additional details to the received documents or products.

4. Second Paragraph

  • Applicable points
  • Clarify Your Objective
  • The confirmation receipt of the service or product
  • Thanksgiving to the addressing person or organization
  • Insinuation for communication in the future

5. Letter Closing

  • Salutation like ‘Yours Sincerely’ or ‘Thanking and Regards’ or ‘Thanking You’

6. Signature

  • Full Name
  • Handwritten signature (if required)

Following the above format would help you cultivate the finest acknowledgment letter. This format is tried and tested, and will add utmost professionalism to your letter. On the other hand, you can add beyond the format depending on your individual requirement.

An acknowledgment is one of the most professional ethics and etiquettes to follow. In the world of commerce, we more often come up with a requirement of an acknowledgment letter and we get confused what to include and what not. However, not only is the business that suffers from a lack of knowledge while writing an acknowledgment letter, the personal use of such letters is at rise. So, you must follow the expert guidelines to nurture the best possible letter of acknowledgment.

Above is every required aspect you should know for acknowledging letter writing. You can also find different acknowledgment letter samples on our website. Use them in need and save yourself from unprofessionalism and legal hassles.