Ghanaian offices still run on formal letters: to a landlord, a head teacher, a district assembly, a bank, an employer. The layout is the one taught in schools here, and a letter that follows it is read as serious before a word of it is read.

The template

                    [Your address]
                    [Town]
                    [Phone number]
                    [Email]
                    [Date: 9th November 2026]

[Title and name of recipient]
[Their position]
[Organisation]
[Address]
[Town]

Dear Sir / Madam,

[HEADING IN CAPITALS, SAYING WHAT THIS IS ABOUT]

[First paragraph: why you are writing, in one
or two sentences.]

[Second paragraph: the facts - dates, reference
numbers, what happened.]

[Third paragraph: exactly what you are asking
for, and by when if it matters.]

[Last paragraph: one line offering more
information, with how to reach you.]

Yours faithfully,

[Signature]

[YOUR FULL NAME]

Why each part is there

  • Your address top right, theirs on the left. That is the Ghanaian school layout, and it is what the reader expects to see. Putting both on the left is also accepted, and is easier in a word processor.
  • The date written out - 9th November 2026 - so nobody reads 09/11 as September.
  • The heading in capitals, or underlined, under the salutation. It is how a busy office sorts its post. Make it say what you want: “REQUEST FOR REFUND OF DEPOSIT”, not “LETTER”.
  • One subject per letter. Two requests in one letter get one answer.
  • “Dear Sir / Madam” goes with “Yours faithfully”; when you name the person (“Dear Mrs Mensah”), close with “Yours sincerely”.
  • Your name in capitals under the signature, so it can be read whatever the signature looks like.

Sending it

  • Keep a copy, and ask for the receiving copy to be stamped and dated - most offices do this at the front desk, and it is your proof of delivery.
  • If it goes by email, attach the signed letter as a PDF and put the heading in the subject line.
  • If it encloses documents, add “Enclosed:” and list them under your name.

— Application letter for a job — Resignation letter — Statutory declarations