The German Application Letter: Structure, Rules and Length

Where does the date go? Is the subject line still underlined? And how much space belongs between the closing formula and your name? If you are writing a German application letter, the formal questions usually trip you up before the content does. The good news: there is a clear rule for almost everything, because application letters in Germany follow the business-letter standard DIN 5008. This guide covers the structure from top to bottom, the rules that matter, and the right length and layout — in plain language.

Application letter, cover letter, letter of motivation: the terms

In Germany, „Bewerbungsschreiben“ and „Anschreiben“ mean the same document: the one-page letter that accompanies your application and argues why you fit the role. Job ads use both words interchangeably — there is no difference in content. The only document to keep apart is the letter of motivation: an additional page mainly requested for university places, scholarships and public-sector roles. This article deals with the form of the application letter; wording and argumentation are covered in our guide to writing a cover letter.

The structure from top to bottom

A German application letter is formally a business letter, so the order of its elements is fixed:

Letterhead: [First name Last name], [Street and number], [Postcode City], [Phone], [Email] — your details, at the very top

Recipient: [Company name], [First name Last name of the contact person], [Address] — left-aligned

Date: [City], [4 June 2026] — right-aligned

Subject line: Application for the position of [Position], reference [Number] — bold, without the word „Subject“

Salutation: Sehr geehrte Frau [Last name], — ideally with a name rather than the generic form

Body: 3 to 5 paragraphs — opening, fit for the role, why this company, closing

Closing formula: Mit freundlichen Grüßen

Signature: [First name Last name] — handwritten or scanned

Enclosures note: Anlagen — optional, as the final line

Stick to this order and half the formal work is done: German recruiters read letters with exactly this structure every day and stumble over any deviation.

DIN 5008 in plain language: the rules that count

DIN 5008 is the German standard for business letters. Nobody expects you to know it by heart — these basics are enough:

Element	Rule
Page margins	2.5 cm on the left, at least 2 cm on the right
Date	right-aligned; „4. Juni 2026“ or „04.06.2026“
Subject line	bold, not underlined; the word „Betreff“ is omitted
Spacing	two blank lines between subject and salutation, one after the salutation
Paragraphs	separated by blank lines, no indentation
Signature	about three blank lines between closing formula and typed name

Reassuringly, no recruiter measures your margins with a ruler. The standard is simply a tool for a tidy layout — follow it roughly and you look professional. Underline the subject line and glue the date to the left, however, and your letter looks dated.

Length and layout

One A4 page — no exceptions. 250 to 400 words are plenty; anything beyond that gets cut, not shrunk:

• ❌ Reducing the font to 9 points so everything fits → ✅ Cut one argument — that hurts less than an unreadable letter.
• ❌ Playful typefaces or several colours → ✅ One professional font (Arial, Calibri, Garamond) at 10.5 to 12 points — identical to your CV.
• ❌ Justified text with huge gaps between words → ✅ Left-aligned ragged text, line spacing 1 to 1.15.

Letter and CV should look like one set: same font, same letterhead, same colour accents.

What goes into which paragraph — the overview

1. Opening (2–3 sentences): your strongest argument or your connection to the company — never „I hereby apply“.
2. Body (4–6 sentences): the two most important requirements from the ad, each backed by evidence from your experience.
3. Why this company (2–3 sentences): a concrete reason rather than flattery.
4. Closing (1–2 sentences): an active request for an interview; start date and salary only if the ad asks for them.

How to phrase these paragraphs — including alternatives to the usual stock phrases — is covered in detail in our cover letter guide. This article is about form; that one is about content.

The most common formal mistakes

1. Subject line introduced with „Betreff:“ or underlined — both abolished decades ago
2. An outdated date — gives away last week's copied application
3. Misspelled contact person or company name — the most embarrassing mistake of all
4. Two pages — often not read to the end
5. Inconsistent typography — letter in Calibri, CV in Times New Roman
6. Missing signature — looks unfinished, even in a digital application

Checklist: verify the form in 60 seconds

• Letterhead, recipient, date, subject, salutation, body, closing, signature — all present, in this order?
• Date current and right-aligned?
• Subject line bold, without the word „Betreff“, not underlined?
• One page, font size at least 10.5 points?
• Same font as your CV?
• Contact person and company name spelled correctly?
• Signature or typed name in place?

Once the form is right, the content remains. If you would rather not start from a blank page: our AI cover letter generator drafts a first version from your profile and the job ad in the correct German business-letter format — structure and spacing are right automatically, and you only polish the sentences.