To address a letter of intent, use a formal business-letter header: your contact block at the top, the date, then the recipient’s full legal name, professional title, organization’s legal entity name, and mailing address, followed by a salutation that pairs “Dear” with the correct honorific and a colon. Knowing how to address a letter of intent matters more than it does for routine correspondence, because the LOI signals you’re serious enough to move toward a binding agreement. Small errors in the address block or greeting make you look careless at exactly the moment you need to look precise.
Finding the Right Recipient
Address the LOI to someone with authority to act on it. In a business acquisition, that’s usually the CEO, president, or general counsel. For a real estate deal, it’s the property owner or an authorized representative. In an academic or employment context, it’s the department head, hiring manager, or admissions committee chair. Sending an LOI to someone who lacks decision-making authority just adds delay while it gets forwarded to the right desk.
Most states maintain a secretary of state website where you can search business entity records. Those filings list registered agents, officers, and sometimes directors by name. Company websites also publish leadership teams under headings like “About Us” or “Leadership.” If you still can’t identify the right person, call the organization’s main office and ask who handles the type of transaction you’re proposing. A five-minute phone call beats having your LOI sit in a general inbox for two weeks.
Formatting the Header Block
The header is the address block at the top of the page. Keep everything left-aligned and single-spaced. Start with your own contact information at the very top: your full name (or your company’s legal name), street address, phone number, and email. Skip a line, then add the date.
Below the date, after another blank line, place the recipient’s information in this order:
- Full name, using the recipient’s legal name as it appears in corporate filings or on the organization’s website.
- Current professional title, such as Chief Executive Officer or Director of Acquisitions.
- Full legal name of the company or institution, not a nickname or abbreviation.
- The organization’s registered or principal business address.
Match the organization’s name exactly to its legal entity name. Writing “ABC Industries” when the registered entity is “ABC Industries, LLC” introduces ambiguity that can cause problems later, especially if the LOI ends up referenced in a definitive agreement. It looks trivial until a lawyer flags it during due diligence.
Choosing the Right Salutation
When you know the recipient’s name, use “Dear” followed by the appropriate honorific and their last name, then a colon. The colon marks this as formal business correspondence; a comma reads as personal.
- Standard: Dear Mr. Nakamura: or Dear Ms. Patel:
- Academic or medical title: Dear Dr. Franklin: or Dear Dean Cooper:
- Unknown individual: Dear Hiring Manager: or Dear Selection Committee:
Gender-Neutral Options
If you don’t know the recipient’s gender or preferred title, you have several clean options. Using the person’s full name works well: “Dear Jordan Ellis:” avoids any honorific altogether. Addressing them by role, such as “Dear Director of Operations:”, is another reliable choice. For group recipients, “Dear Members of the Board:” or “Dear Acquisitions Team:” keeps the tone professional without forcing a gendered greeting.
Avoid “Dear Sir or Madam,” “To Whom It May Concern,” and similar relics. They signal you didn’t do your homework. If the LOI is going to a specific person, use their name. If it’s going to a committee, name the committee.
When Multiple Parties Are Involved
LOIs in mergers, joint ventures, or multi-party real estate deals sometimes need to address more than one person. List the primary decision-maker first, followed by any secondary recipients. If the letter addresses an entire group equally, use a collective term like “Dear Members of the Partnership:” or list each name on a separate line above the colon. The point is clarity about who you’re writing to, since the LOI may eventually become an exhibit in a final contract.
The Signature Block
Close the letter with a formal sign-off such as “Sincerely” or “Respectfully,” followed by space for a handwritten signature or its electronic equivalent, the signer’s printed name, their title, and the organization they represent. If the LOI involves multiple parties, each party gets its own signature block with a date line.
Make sure the person signing actually has authority to do so. In corporate transactions, that’s usually a C-suite executive, a managing member, or someone with explicit board authorization. A signature from someone without authority can create disputes about whether the LOI was ever validly executed. If you’re unsure about the other side’s signing authority, it’s reasonable to ask.
Sending the Letter
Email Delivery
Most LOIs today are sent by email. Use a clear, professional subject line that identifies the document type and the parties, something like “Letter of Intent — [Your Name / Company], [Transaction Description].” Keep the subject under 50 characters when possible so it doesn’t get truncated on mobile devices. Attach the LOI as a PDF to preserve formatting, and include a brief cover message in the email body that identifies the attachment and invites the recipient to discuss next steps.
Name the PDF logically. Something like “LOI_Smith_Enterprises_2026.pdf” makes it easy for the recipient to find later. A file named “Document1.pdf” or “Final_v3_revised.pdf” is the kind of thing that gets lost in a crowded downloads folder.
Physical Mail
If you’re sending a hard copy, a standard first-class stamp costs $0.78 for a one-ounce letter as of mid-2025, though USPS adjusts rates periodically.1U.S. Postal Service. U.S. Postal Service Recommends New Prices for July 2025 For anything beyond routine correspondence, consider certified mail, which adds a fee of about $5.30 and gives you a tracking number plus proof that the letter was delivered.2United States Postal Service. Certified Mail Guidebook That proof of delivery can matter if there’s ever a dispute about whether the other party received the LOI before a deadline.
For high-value transactions where the LOI accompanies sensitive financial documents, registered mail offers a higher level of security. USPS handles registered items under lock and key throughout transit, requires a signature on delivery, and includes insurance up to $50,000.3USPS FAQ. Registered Mail – The Basics The trade-off is speed: registered mail moves slower because of the manual handling. For time-sensitive deals, email with a follow-up hard copy is the more practical approach.
Professional Couriers
In some transactions, particularly commercial real estate closings or same-day signings, parties use hand-delivery couriers. National rates for document delivery typically range from $65 to $295 depending on distance and urgency. That’s overkill for most LOIs, but when a deal has a hard deadline and both parties need original signatures the same day, courier service earns its fee.
Addressing Mistakes That Weaken the Letter
A few recurring errors undermine an otherwise well-drafted LOI at the address stage:
- Using a trade name or parent company instead of the actual legal entity you’re contracting with. That creates ambiguity about who is bound.
- Addressing a generic inbox. “To Whom It May Concern” on an LOI proposing a seven-figure acquisition tells the recipient you couldn’t be bothered to learn their name.
- Sending the letter to someone without signing authority, which stalls the deal while it gets rerouted internally.
- Mismatching the recipient’s title to their actual role, which can be read as sloppy research on the party you’re proposing to do business with.
An LOI is a handshake in writing. The addressing conventions here aren’t just etiquette; they demonstrate the same attention to detail the other party will expect throughout the rest of the deal. Getting the small things right at this stage builds the credibility you’ll need when the real negotiation starts.