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I read a couple of blog posts regarding cover letter format in Germany where they mention the German national standard DIN 5008 but all blog posts provided different examples regarding the sender and recipient information.

From the following examples, which one is more recommended to use when sending a cover letter electronically?

Example 1

Closer to the DIN 5008. Recipient in the left and sender in the right. Recipient and sender side by side.

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Example 2

Sender in the right followed by, in a new "paragraph", the recipient in the left.

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Source: https://www.simplegermany.com/german-cover-letter/

Example 3

Sender in the left and recipient in the right. Recipient and sender side by side.

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Source: https://www.berlitz.com/blog/how-to-write-a-letter-german

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2 Answers 2

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Berlitz has sender and recipient mixed up. I've never seen this before.

What you can do however is putting the sender address on the top left, the recipient below that, on the left, and sender city, date on the top right. Like this:

Max Mustermann                                                  Berlin, 13.08.2024
Pappelzeile 56
12345 Berlin


Autohaus Hampel
Im Oberfeld 4
98765 Heringen


Roter Audi A6 Bj. 2020, 45.000 km, Nr. 16872618 bei autoscout

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,

…
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  • Seriously oldschool. I was taught this format in the early nineties (though I suspect it was outdated even then) and will use it until my last day. It is appropriate for private persons (which I am) but not for business correspondence. Commented Aug 16, 2024 at 21:42
  • @SebastianKoppehel: FWIW, I was taught in the nineties at school that the format where you put the recipient on the right was outdated, and the "modern" way (now that everyone had been writing letters with a personal computer for some years) is just to write everything left-aligned. Commented Sep 12, 2024 at 18:01
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If you want to format a business letter like German businesses do – according to DIN 5008, more or less – then none of your examples passes muster. DIN 5008 is very precise about the placement of all elements down to the last millimetre, but the general principle is:

  • At the top of the page is the header with the company logo, etc.
  • Below, the sender and recipient address are on the left hand side.
  • The sender address comes first and takes only little vertical space; usually it is on one single line, in small print. The recipient address is in several lines and in a normal font size; there are no empty lines or other forms of emphasis (in the old days, it was common to put an empty line before the postal code + town, which was also sometimes bolded).
  • To the right of this is space for information, sometimes about the sender business in general, often about the letter, e.g. file reference, customer and invoice number, phone number, email address, etc. This should also include the date of the letter.
  • Below all this, in bold print, comes the subject line. There is no word indicating that it is the subject (in the old days, it was common to have an underlined Betr.: in front of the subject).
  • Then follows the actual text of the letter.
  • At the bottom of the page are a few lines with legal and financial information about the company, including data that certain types of company are legally required to include in every letter. This is where you will usually find a bank account number as well.

A very clear example can be found on DIN-5008-konformer Geschäftsbriefbogen - DIN 5008 (neu) (with which I have no affiliation). Wikipedia (entry on DIN 5008) has the measurements (Form A, Form B).

From living in Germany and receiving quite a bit of business correspondence, it is my impression that the precise measurements specified by DIN 5008 are widely ignored, but the general layout is typically adhered to.

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    I think the basic idea of the measurements is to fulfill the requirements for envelopes with a "window" where you can read the recipient. The other thing is if you fold it twice, the "Betreff" (subject) should still be on the first "page". Things like that... Commented Aug 18, 2024 at 0:12

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