German cover letter (Anschreiben): format guide in English

A German cover letter, the Anschreiben, is one A4 page laid out as a business letter. It carries your address, the employer's address, place and date, a short subject line, a greeting, three or four paragraphs, a closing formula and your signature. It says why you fit this job, when you can start, and your salary expectation only if the ad asks for it.

It sits on top of the application. In Germany the full set usually also includes a CV and copies of references and certificates. The state portal Make it in Rhineland-Palatinate says to send copies, never originals.

Length: one page

Make it in Rhineland-Palatinate and the University of Duisburg-Essen's career service both say the letter should not run past one A4 page. Ulm University's career service puts the ideal length at one page. Hochschule Darmstadt's career centre allows up to one and a half, so treat one page as the target.

The layout, top to bottom

1. Your name, address, phone and email at the top. Ulm University's template sets this block to the right.
2. The employer's address on the left: company, department, and the contact person's name if you have one.
3. Place and date, aligned right, for example: Berlin, 03.11.2026.
4. The subject line (Betreff), flush left: what you are applying for and the reference number. Duisburg-Essen's guide says to keep it to two lines at most, allows bold, and says the old "Re:" prefix is no longer used. Example: Application for the position of Data Analyst, Reference No. 4471.
5. The greeting. In German: "Sehr geehrte Frau Weber," to a named person, or "Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren," when you have no name. In English: "Dear Ms Weber" or "Dear Sir/Madam".
6. The body, three or four paragraphs (see below).
7. The closing formula. In German, Ulm University's template lists "Mit freundlichen Grüßen" among the usual closings. In English, Duisburg-Essen's guide pairs "Yours sincerely" with a named person and "Yours faithfully" with "Dear Sir/Madam".
8. Your signature, then your typed name. Hochschule Darmstadt asks for a handwritten signature in ink; for email and online applications, scan the signed letter.
9. Enclosures. Duisburg-Essen's guide says to write "Encl." at the end; you do not have to list every document.

What goes in the paragraphs

• Opening: how you found the vacancy and why you are interested. Mention any contact you have already had with the company, such as a job fair or a phone call. Duisburg-Essen's guide gives an example that opens by thanking the reader for a phone call the week before.
• Why you fit: link what the ad asks for to what you have done. Duisburg-Essen's guide warns against repeating your CV or listing courses; Darmstadt says to give a short preview and keep the details in the CV.
• Skills the ad names: language and computer skills, tied to the job. Make it in Rhineland-Palatinate adds that employers may want to know why you have come to Germany or want to work there, and that a residence permit, if you have one, belongs in your application.
• Gaps in the requirements: Darmstadt suggests saying plainly that you are ready to train, for example on German language level.
• Close: your earliest start date, salary only if the ad asks for it, and a request for an interview.

Salary expectation

Leave it out unless the ad asks. Hochschule Darmstadt, Duisburg-Essen and the University of Münster's career service all say the same. When you do give it, Münster says to state it as gross pay per year, and that a range leaves room to negotiate: for example, "My salary expectation is between €52,000 and €58,000 gross per year." The numbers here are only an illustration; check pay for your role and city before you write yours.

A short sample in English (fictional)

Subject: Application for the position of Data Analyst, Reference No. 4471. Dear Ms Weber, thank you for the call last Tuesday about the analyst team in Hamburg. As agreed, I am sending my application. In my current role at a logistics company in Pune, I rebuilt the weekly delivery report in SQL and Power BI, which cut it from a day of manual work to an automatic refresh each Monday. Your ad asks for SQL, Python and experience with route data; I have used all three daily for three years. My German is at B1 and I attend an evening course towards B2. I can start on 1 March 2027, and I already hold a residence permit that allows me to work in Germany. I would be happy to discuss the role in an interview. Yours sincerely, Priya Nair. Encl.

Write your Anschreiben from your resume with Germany selected: the letter gets the subject line, the date after the recipient's address, and dates as 03.11.2026. The default English sign-off is "Kind regards"; change it to "Yours sincerely" or "Yours faithfully" if you prefer the British pairing above. Then check the letter in the cover letter checker. The CV that goes with it is covered in German CV format (Lebenslauf).