Use a size of 10-12 points, match your font to your resume, and avoid anything decorative or script-style that could confuse applicant tracking systems (ATS).

Here are the fonts that consistently perform well across industries and hiring contexts:

Calibri: A clear sans-serif font and the longtime Microsoft Word default. Highly legible at smaller sizes and a safe choice for almost any role.
Arial: A modern sans-serif with open letterforms. Widely recognized, easy to read on screen, and compatible with virtually every system.
Aptos: Microsoft's current default font since 2023, replacing Calibri. It balances a traditional feel with clean modern lines and reads well at 10-12 points. If you are writing in Word today, this is likely already your default.
Georgia: A serif font designed specifically for screen readability. It carries more personality than Times New Roman without feeling dated, and it holds up well in small sizes.
Garamond: A classic serif option that feels considered and formal. It suits roles in law, finance, publishing, or any field where a more authoritative impression is appropriate.
Cambria: A versatile serif font commissioned by Microsoft for screen and print. It is a reliable alternative to Garamond for those who want a traditional look without the narrow letterforms.
Lato: A sans-serif font created by Google that reads as professional but approachable. It is not bundled with Microsoft Office by default, so check that it renders correctly before submitting.
Verdana: A wider sans-serif with generous letter spacing, making it particularly legible at smaller sizes. It suits text-heavy cover letters well.

One practical consideration worth noting: font availability.

If a recruiter opens your cover letter and your chosen font is not installed on their system, the document may reformat unexpectedly.

Sticking to the examples that come pre-installed with Microsoft Office, or saving your letter as a PDF, removes this risk entirely.

What font size should a cover letter be?

The standard font size for a cover letter is 11 or 12 points for body text.

This range is easy to read on screen, prints cleanly, and signals a well-formatted document.

Use 10 points only if your letter runs slightly over one page and you need to bring it back without adjusting the content.

A few specific guidelines:

Body text: 11 or 12 points. Both are acceptable; 11 works well with modern fonts like Calibri or Aptos, while 12 suits serif fonts such as Georgia or Garamond.
Your name in the header: 14-16 points is appropriate if you want it to stand out visually. This is standard practice in most cover letter header formats.
Minimum size: Do not go below 10 points. Text smaller than this is difficult to read and signals to a hiring manager that the letter is too long rather than well-edited.
Consistency: Use the same font and size throughout. Varying sizes within body text reads as inconsistent and can flag a document as poorly formatted when scanned by ATS software.

One mistake to avoid: shrinking the font to squeeze a long letter onto one page.

If your letter only fits at 9.5 points, the fix is the content, not the size.

Our data shows that 75% of resumes are rejected by ATS before reaching a hiring manager (Resume.io Resume Statistics, 2025) and the same automated screening logic applies to cover letters, where unusual sizing can disrupt text parsing.

Editing the content down is always the better solution.

If you are unsure how long a cover letter should be, one page is the standard, and most letters benefit from being closer to three paragraphs than four.

Cover letter font size and spacing work together.

Single line spacing with a blank line between paragraphs is the standard approach.

Should you use a serif or sans-serif font for a cover letter?

Either works well, and the choice comes down to the impression you want to make and the field you are applying to.

There is no meaningful legibility difference between serif and sans-serif fonts at standard sizes, the idea that serifs are easier to read is a widely repeated claim with limited research support.

The practical distinction is one of tone:

Sans-serif fonts (Calibri, Arial, Aptos, Verdana, Lato) read as modern, direct, and uncluttered. They suit roles in tech, startups, marketing, and most general professional contexts.
Serif fonts (Georgia, Garamond, Cambria) read as formal and authoritative. They are a natural fit for law, finance, academia, consulting, and publishing.

If you are uncertain, match your cover letter font to your resume font.

A consistent font across both documents gives your application a cohesive, considered appearance and it is one of those details that signals care without drawing attention to itself.

Whatever you choose, use one font throughout.

Mixing serif and sans-serif styles in a single document rarely improves the result.

Which fonts should you avoid on a cover letter?

Some fonts actively work against an application.

The following have no place in a professional cover letter:

Comic Sans: Associated with informal, personal use. It reads as out of place in a professional document and is likely to distract a recruiter before they read a word of your content.
Impact: A heavy display font designed for posters and headlines, not documents. Using it in a cover letter implies the text needs to shout rather than persuade.
Brush Script: A cursive-style font that is difficult to scan at body-text sizes and inappropriate for any formal professional context.
Courier: The typewriter font. Unless the role specifically calls for a retro aesthetic, it reads as dated and will not display well on modern screens.
Script and handwriting fonts: Any font that mimics handwriting trades legibility for style in a setting where legibility always wins.

The unifying principle is straightforward: if your font choice prompts a recruiter to notice the font, it is the wrong choice.

The goal is a document where the formatting recedes and the content speaks for itself.

Are there situational fonts for a cover letter?

A few fonts occupy a middle ground, technically appropriate, but worth considering against the context of your application.

Times New Roman: A reliable serif font that has been the formal standard for decades. It still works, and no recruiter will penalize you for using it. The case against it is purely that it can make a document feel dated. If you want a traditional serif look, Georgia or Garamond are more current alternatives that carry the same authority.
Helvetica: One of the most widely used typefaces in the world, and fully professional. The only hesitation is that it has been a default choice for so long that it can read as unthoughtful rather than considered. Arial, which closely resembles Helvetica, is a slightly fresher option in most hiring contexts.
Roboto, Open Sans, and Ubuntu: These are clear, widely used fonts in tech and digital design. They are appropriate when applying to software companies, startups, or digital-first organizations. For more traditional employers in finance, law, or healthcare, they may feel slightly informal.
Trebuchet MS: A Microsoft sans-serif designed for on-screen legibility. Polished and professional, though less common in cover letters than Arial or Calibri.

The broader point is that font choice can subtly reinforce your fit for a role.

A creative agency and a corporate law firm have different visual cultures, and your cover letter is a document that exists within that culture.

Matching the tone of your font to the tone of the organization is a small but genuine signal of awareness.

For more on how font, spacing, and layout combine, see our full guide to cover letter formatting.

When you are ready to put it all together, our templates are formatted with these principles already built in.

Key takeaways

The strongest cover letter fonts are Calibri, Arial, Aptos, Georgia, Garamond, Cambria, Lato, and Verdana; all legible, polished, and ATS-compatible.
Use 11 or 12 points for body text. Drop to 10 only if absolutely necessary; never go smaller.
Serif fonts (Georgia, Garamond) suit traditional industries; sans-serif fonts (Calibri, Arial, Aptos) suit modern and general professional roles.
Match your cover letter font to your resume font for a cohesive application.
Save your letter as a PDF; it locks the formatting and ensures ATS systems parse the text correctly.

Frequently asked questions

Here are answers to some of the most common questions about cover letter fonts.

What font is too small for a cover letter?

Any font below 10 points is too small for a cover letter.

At this size, text becomes difficult to read on screen and in print, and hiring managers are likely to set the document aside rather than strain to read it.

If your letter only fits at a size smaller than 10 points, edit the content to reduce the length rather than reducing the text size.

Should a cover letter be 11 or 12 font?

Both 11 and 12 point are acceptable for a cover letter.

Twelve points is the more traditional choice and works well with serif fonts like Georgia or Garamond.

Eleven points suits modern sans-serif fonts like Calibri or Aptos, where the letterforms are clear enough to read comfortably at slightly smaller sizes.

Either is appropriate; choose based on what fills the page naturally without crowding or excess white space.

Does font choice affect ATS screening?

Yes, it can. Applicant tracking systems read cover letters as raw text, and decorative, script, or non-standard fonts can cause character recognition errors that strip keywords from the document before a human reviewer ever sees it.

Standard fonts like Calibri, Arial, Georgia, and Garamond are consistently parsed correctly.

Saving your document as a PDF after formatting also helps preserve the layout across different systems.

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Written by

Karl Kahler, Content Writer & Editor

Karl Kahler is a writer and editor with more than three decades in journalism. He spent 25 years at the Pulitzer Prize-winning San Jose Mercury News, starting as a copy-editing intern and leaving as national editor. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Southern California with a degree in journalism and history, and is a published author and fully bilingual Spanish-English translator. Born in Arkansas and raised across Venezuela, Mexico, Bolivia, Canada, and Alaska, he now lives in Costa Rica.