How to Fold a Letter and Put it in an Envelope

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You may think that folding the letter and putting it in an envelope is fine, but that’s not the case. There are certain conventions about the proper folding of mail, especially transactional correspondence. It’s a good idea to spend some time learning the different types of letter folding before putting it in an envelope.

Table of Contents

Fold American Standard Business Mail for Regular Business Envelopes

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Write envelopes. If you plan to write the recipient’s information on the envelope, you need to do this before you put the letter in to avoid imprints on the letter.

If you want your envelope to look more professional, you can print the address on the envelope using a printer.
You should write the recipient’s address about the middle of the front of the envelope (for example, if in the US, these would be: name, address, city, state, postal code), and sender address ( name, address, city, state, and postal code) in the upper left corner of the envelope.

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Place the letter on the table. Before folding the letter, you need to check the address on the letter and on the envelope to match. Make sure you have signed the letter below.

The lettered side of the letter should face you as if you were reading the letter.

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Fold the bottom edge of the letter up. Fold the letter up so that the bottom edge of the paper is about 1/3 of the page from the top.

If you’re not sure how much to fold, you can place the envelope under the letter in the middle for a leveling.

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Align so that the edges of the paper are aligned. Before folding the letter, you need to make sure the outer edges of the letter are properly aligned to avoid crooked folds.

If the edges of the paper are not aligned, the folds will be crooked, and the letter may not fit in the envelope.
Once you’ve made sure that the edges of the paper are aligned, use your fingers to carefully make the crease.

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Fold the top edge of the paper down. The next step is to fold the top edge of the paper down to about 1 cm from the bottom edge of the (folded) letter.

This time too, you can use the envelope as a level line. When you place the envelope underneath the letter, you can make sure the letter fits in the envelope by aligning the top and bottom folds of the letter with the top and bottom edges of the envelope.

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Smooth folds. Don’t forget to align the top and bottom creases of the page so that the folds are neat and tidy.

If desired, you can hold the ruler tilted and use the thin edge of the ruler along the paper to create sharp creases.

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Put the letter in the envelope. Hold the letter so that the folds are facing out, and the top fold of the letter coincides with the top edge of the envelope. Hold the envelope with the flap facing you and open it. Carefully insert the letter into the envelope without creasing the paper.

Recipients will take the message out and open it without having to turn it around to read it properly.

Standard American business letter folding for envelope number 10 with “window box”

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Make sure the letter is formatted correctly. If you use envelopes with a transparent “window” to see the recipient’s name and address in the message, it’s important that you format the letter properly so that this information stays in place. ^{[1] X Research Source}

To format a message, you first need to align in a word-processing program so that all the edges of the paper are 2.5 cm from the margins. Remember to align the left margin of the page when typing the date and address of the recipient.
Paragraphs should have a single line spacing, except for spaces between paragraphs. Spacing between paragraphs should be double spaced. The entire letter should be left-aligned.
The first line of text (date) should be about 5 cm from the top edge of the paper.
Type the date in full text (for example, April 1, 2016 instead of 1/4/16).
Type the enter key twice to separate the space between the date and the recipient information.
Type the recipient’s full name (eg Mr. Nguyen Van An), type enter, type the recipient’s address, type enter again and type the recipient’s city, state and postal code.
Remember to leave a blank line between the recipient’s contact information and the greeting.

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Fold the letter in a “Z pattern”. To take advantage of the envelope’s window, you need to fold the letter so that the recipient’s name and address are facing out. ^{[2] X Research Source}

While it’s not as private as inward folding, you’ll need it if you want the recipient’s name and address to be seen through the envelope’s window.
If the message contains sensitive information, it is best to use a regular envelope without a window.

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Place the letter on the table with the printed side facing down. This will make it easier to see the location of the recipient’s name and address while folding.

If done correctly, you will not be able to read the body of the message.

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Turn the letter upside down. Turn the letter upside down so that the recipient’s name and address are close to you.

If done correctly, when you peek underneath the letter, you’ll see the recipient’s name and address near you.

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Fold the top edge of the paper down. Fold the top 1/3 of the paper down towards you.

If you’re not sure how much to fold, you can place the envelope underneath, in the center of the page, for a leveling.

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Fold the bottom edge up. Fold 1/3 of the page from the bottom up towards your body.

You can now see the recipient’s name and address.

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Put the letter in the envelope. Hold the letter with the recipient’s name and address facing the front of the envelope. Place the letter in an envelope so that this information can be read through the window.

If you can’t see the recipient’s information, you may have put the letter face down when you put it in the envelope. If so, you need to take the letter out and turn it over (the recipient information should face the window of the envelope).

American Standard Business Mail Fold for Small Business Envelopes

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Check the address. Before you fold your letter, you need to make sure the address in the letter matches the address printed on the envelope.

This step helps you avoid confusion.
Don’t forget to check if you signed the letter below.

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Put the letter on the table. Place the writing side up and down. This is your last chance to re-read the message and check if you’ve forgotten anything.

For example, have you entered the date? Are there any spelling and grammatical errors in the letter?

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Fold the bottom edge of the letter up. Fold the bottom edge of the letter up so that it is about 1 cm from the top edge of the paper.

You can place the envelope underneath the letter to make a mark. Remember that when folded, the letter should be small enough to fit in the envelope.

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Hit the road quickly. Make sure the outer edges of the paper are aligned before folding so the folds don’t get crooked. The folded letter may not fit in the envelope.

Use a ruler to create nice and neat folds. You can hold the ruler tilted and use the thin edge of the ruler along the fold to create a sharp, flat crease.

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Fold the right half of the paper inward. Now you will fold the right side of the paper inward to about 1/3 of the width of the paper.

Align the bottom and top edges of the letter, then smooth the fold.

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Fold the left half of the paper inward. Fold the other side of the paper inward to about 1/3 of its width, similar to the right side.

Align the bottom and top edges of the letter so that they are perfectly aligned before dragging down.

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Turn the folded letter horizontally and put it in the envelope. The last fold will be inserted first and reach the bottom of the envelope. Place the letter so that the folded sides are facing the back of the envelope.

This way of leaving the envelope will make it easier for the recipient to find a place to start opening the letter.

Advice

Check the letter before putting it in the envelope to avoid blunders.
You can create sharp folds with a flat edge using a ruler.
Don’t forget to put a stamp before you put your letter in the mailbox.
If you’re using an envelope with pre-glued glue, be sure to wet the entire layer of the glue, but don’t get it too wet, because the glue that’s too wet won’t stick.
If you are putting a letter or card in half in an envelope, be sure to fold the bottom of the envelope first to prevent the recipient from accidentally tearing the letter when they use the envelope opener.

Warning

When sending a letter with multiple pages, you should consider taking it to the post office. Postage may be higher if the weight of the mail exceeds the allowable limit.

Steps

Fold American Standard Business Mail for Regular Business Envelopes

Standard American business letter folding for envelope number 10 with “window box”

American Standard Business Mail Fold for Small Business Envelopes

Advice

Warning

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