Type "Enclosure" (or the short form "Enc.") at the left margin, on the second line below your signature block. If you add reference initials, the enclosure line goes on the first or second line below them, and any cc line comes after it. For more than one item, write "Enclosures (3)" or list each item under the notation. Then name each enclosure in the body of the letter too, so your reader knows what to look for.
Sincerely,
{{signer_name}}
{{signer_title}}
Enclosure: Signed services agreementThat line does a second job people tend to forget. It tells the person opening the envelope what should be inside, which makes it your checklist before the envelope closes.
Check the packet before you seal it#
The notation is a promise about the envelope, so check the paper against it before you mail:
- Count the items. "Enclosures (3)" means three things in the envelope, and a listed item has to match its line.
- Stack them in the listed order. The letter goes on top, then each enclosure in the order your notation names it.
- Count the sheets. A thick packet can need a bigger envelope or more postage. If you're stamping it yourself, check how many stamps a heavier letter needs.
- Keep a file copy. Save the letter and every enclosure exactly as sent, so you can answer "what did you send us?" later.
If the enclosure is a signed agreement, mailing a signed contract covers which copy the other side needs and what to keep.
If you're sending it with Postmarkr, the enclosures are simply more pages in the same PDF: the letter first, then each item in the order your notation lists it. Upload the PDF and we print and mail the whole packet by USPS First-Class Mail. The price follows the page count: $2.05 for a one-page black-and-white letter, $2.26 for two pages, $2.47 for three. Black-and-white prints in grayscale, and our print partner adds a small code strip in the bottom-left margin of each page.
Up to six sheets, counting the address page we add in front, fold into a #10 double-window envelope. Postmarkr prints double-sided unless you switch it off, so six pages are three sheets plus the address page and fit the #10 for $3.08. Watch the jump if you choose single-sided: with the address page, a six-page single-sided packet is seven sheets, so it travels flat in a 9×12 envelope for $5.66, against $2.88 for five pages. Your account keeps a PDF of exactly what printed, which gives you the file copy.
Where the enclosure line goes#
The standard order at the bottom of a business letter is signature block, then reference initials, then the enclosure line, then the cc line. Canada's Writing Tips Plus model letter (opens in new tab) sets it out that way, and MIT's writing guide (opens in new tab) and a Michigan Bar Journal plain-language column (opens in new tab) for legal assistants show the same order. The Hartford's guide allows the cc line before the enclosure line, so if your office template does that, follow your office template.
Here is the full bottom block, ready to copy:
Sincerely,
Dana Ortiz
Office Manager
DO/kl
Enclosures (2)
cc: Priya Shah, Controller (with enclosures)"DO/kl" are reference initials: the writer's in capitals, the typist's in lower case. Leave them out if you typed your own letter. All of these lines sit at the left margin.
Enclosure, Enc. or Enclosures (2): which to write#
Every form below is accepted. Pick one and use it the same way across your office's letters.
Notation | Example | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
Enclosure or Enc. | Enclosure | One item, already named in the body |
Enclosure with a title | Enclosure: Form W-9 | One item you want named on the page |
Count | Enclosures (3) or Encs. 3 | Several items, each named in the body |
List | Enclosures: then one per line | Items the body doesn't name, or items that matter |
Attachment or Att. | Attachment: Price schedule | The item is stapled or clipped to the letter |
The forms come from Canada's enclosure notation page (opens in new tab). MIT's guide also lists "Encl." and "Enclosure:", and the US National Archives' correspondence guide (opens in new tab) uses "Enclosures (3)".
The deciding question is whether the body already names each item. If it does, a count is enough. If it doesn't, or if the items carry weight (a signed agreement, a tax form, a statement someone will check), list them. The National Archives guide asks for a list "when enclosures have special importance or are not cited in the letter."
On a job-application cover letter, it's the same: "Enclosure: Résumé".
How to list several enclosures#
Put a colon after the notation, then one item per line. Number them in the order they sit in the envelope, and use each document's own title and date so nobody has to guess which version you sent.
Enclosures:
1. Lease renewal, signed October 20, 2026
2. Certificate of insurance
3. Form W-9Mention it in the body, without "please find enclosed"#
The notation backs up the body; it doesn't replace it. MIT's guide puts it plainly: "always refer to your enclosures explicitly within the text of the letter."
"Please find enclosed" and "enclosed herewith please find" still get the point across, but they read stiffly. The Michigan Bar column for legal assistants suggests dropping them for a sentence that says what the item is and why it's there:
- "I've enclosed the signed lease renewal for your records."
- "Enclosed as requested is a copy of the March invoice."
- "Enclosed for your records are the certificate of insurance and our Form W-9."
Each one names the document, so the reader can match it to the enclosure line and to the paper in their hand.
Enclosure or attachment?#
The difference is physical. The Chicago Manual of Style Q&A (opens in new tab) puts it simply: if the document is fastened to the letter with a paper clip or staple, it's attached; if it isn't, it's probably enclosed. A file sent with an email is an attachment.
So for a printed letter with loose pages behind it in the envelope, write "Enclosure". Use "Attachment" or "Att." when the item is stapled or clipped to the letter; Canada's guide gives those as the matching notations.
When a cc'd person gets the enclosures too#
A cc line tells your reader who else got the letter. Add a short note to say whether that person also got the enclosures. The Michigan Bar column's sample letter writes "(w/enclosure)" after each copied name that gets the enclosures and leaves it off the one that doesn't; spelled out works too:
cc: Priya Shah, Controller (with enclosures)
Sam Lee, Facilities (letter only)A copy marked "with enclosures" needs its own full packet, so build each one the same way and check it against the same list. If you're mailing those copies, send each copy to its own address in one checkout.
For where the cc line goes and how to format several names, see how to write cc on a letter.
Where Postmarkr fits
Good for: a letter plus the paper enclosures you have as a PDF, such as a signed agreement, a form, a statement or an invoice copy. Send it to one recipient, or put up to 10 different letters in one Cart checkout, each to its own US address, by USPS First-Class Mail.
Not for: wet-ink originals, checks, stamped return envelopes, or anything that isn't a page in your PDF; we print what you upload. Not for mail outside the US, Certified Mail or proof of mailing either. When you need a paper trail, a certified letter template covers what to send and what to keep.
Questions about enclosure notation#
What is the abbreviation for enclosure on a letter?#
"Enc." for one item and "Encs." for several, per Canada's Writing Tips Plus. "Encl." is also common; MIT's guide lists it. Whichever you choose, use it the same way every time.
Does the enclosure line go before or after cc?#
Before. The usual order is reference initials, enclosure, then cc, as in Canada's model letter and MIT's guide. Some templates put cc first; if your office has one, match it.
Is "please find enclosed" still OK?#
It's understood, but it sounds stiff. A plain sentence such as "I've enclosed the signed agreement" or "Enclosed as requested is the March invoice" does the same job and names the document.
Do I need an enclosure line if the letter already mentions the document?#
Canada's guide calls the notation optional. Most offices use it anyway, because it's the reader's checklist and yours. If the body names every item, "Enclosures (2)" is enough; if it doesn't, list them.