How to Write a Letter on iPad

Need to send a proper letter, a cover letter or a note to your landlord with nothing but an iPad at hand? Apple’s free Pages app is the quickest way to write a letter on an iPad: tap Choose a Template, pick a letter-style or blank template, and type over the placeholder text. Then use the Actions Menu to print it with AirPrint or export a PDF or Word copy to email.

Pick the Right App Before You Start

Three apps cover almost every letter you’ll write on an iPad. The one you choose decides how much formatting control you get and what file type you can send.

App	Cost	Best for	Watch out for
Pages	Free from Apple	Formal letters, cover letters, printing envelopes	Recipients on Windows need a PDF or Word export, not the .pages file
Microsoft Word	Free download; editing may need Microsoft 365	Employers or offices that ask for a .docx file	Larger iPads need a subscription to create and edit
Notes	Built in	A quick first draft or handwritten notes	Little control over margins, letterhead and layout

For most people, Pages is the right pick. The Pages listing on the App Store says creating, viewing and editing documents doesn’t require a subscription, and it can export to Microsoft Word, RTF, TXT and PDF. If Pages isn’t on your iPad, download it from the App Store before you continue.

How to Write a Letter in Pages

These steps follow Apple’s Pages for iPad instructions for creating a document from a template. The labels are the same on any iPad running a current version of Pages.

1. Open Pages. If a document opens instead of the file browser (Apple calls it the document manager), tap the Back button in the top-left corner.
2. Tap Choose a Template at the top of the screen. If you don’t see it, tap the Create Document button (it appears as an icon) instead.
3. In the template chooser, tap the category names at the top to browse, or tap See All on a row. Look for a letter or stationery-style template. If none suits you, pick a Blank template from the Basic category.
4. Tap a block of placeholder text (the sample name, address or body copy) and type your own text over it. On a blank template, just start typing at the insertion point.
5. To swap a sample logo or photo, tap the Replace Image button in the lower-right corner of the image, or select the image and delete it.
6. Tap Back when you finish. Pages saves your changes automatically, so there is no Save button to look for.

To rename the file, tap its name in the document manager and type something you’ll recognize later, such as “Landlord letter November.” That name also becomes the file name when you export or attach it.

Some templates are page layout documents rather than word processing documents, which means text sits in fixed boxes instead of flowing from page to page. A letter works best as a word processing document. To check, tap a blank area, tap the Actions Menu button, then tap Document Options > Document Setup. If Document Body is on, you have a word processing document and long letters will flow onto a second page on their own.

Lay Out the Letter Correctly

A template gives you a look, but the reader judges the letter by its structure. A standard US block-format letter puts every line against the left margin, in this order:

1. Your address (skip it if your letterhead already shows it).
2. The date, written out, such as November 5, 2026.
3. The recipient’s name and address.
4. A salutation, such as “Dear Ms. Alvarez:” for business or “Dear Ana,” for a personal letter.
5. The body: one idea per paragraph, with a blank line between paragraphs.
6. A closing, such as “Sincerely,” then about four blank lines for a signature, then your typed name.

Here’s a quick worked example. Dana Whitfield is writing to her landlord about a broken heater. Her letter opens with her street address and the date, then the property manager’s name and office address, then “Dear Mr. Okafor:”. The first paragraph states the problem and the date it started, the second asks for a repair by a specific day, and the closing reads “Sincerely,” with her signature and printed name below. The whole thing fits on one page, which is what you want for most letters.

For formatting, an 11 or 12 point font that’s easy to read and margins of about one inch are safe defaults for a printed letter. In Pages, select text and tap the Format button to change the font, size and alignment.

Write the Letter in Word or Notes Instead

Microsoft Word for iPad

Pick Word when the person receiving the letter, such as a hiring manager, has asked for a Word file. Download Word from the App Store, sign in with a Microsoft account, tap the option to create a new document, and choose a blank document or one of Word’s templates. The layout rules above apply the same way.

Check the subscription rule first. Microsoft’s page on Microsoft 365 mobile apps says core editing is free on iOS devices with screens of 10.1 inches or less, and that a qualifying Microsoft 365 subscription is required to create and edit documents in Word beyond that. Most current iPads have larger screens than that, so without a subscription you may only be able to view files. If that’s your situation, write the letter in Pages and export it as a Word file instead.

Notes for a Rough Draft

Notes is handy when you want to get words down fast, maybe on the couch or in a waiting room. It saves automatically and syncs through iCloud if you use it. When the wording is right, select all the text, copy it, and paste it into a Pages template for the final layout. Sending a letter straight out of Notes works for an informal note, but you won’t get proper margins or an address block.

Type Faster: Keyboard, Dictation and Apple Pencil

The on-screen keyboard is fine for a short note. For a full page, a Bluetooth keyboard or a keyboard case makes a big difference, and Pages works with it like a laptop. If the on-screen keyboard disappears or splits in half, see how to get the iPad keyboard back on screen. If autocorrect keeps changing names and street addresses, you can turn off predictive text and auto-correction while you write.

Dictation is another option: tap the Dictate key (the microphone) on the onscreen keyboard and speak. Read the result carefully afterward, because dictation often mishears names and numbers in addresses.

With an Apple Pencil, you can handwrite and have it turned into typed text. Apple’s page on drawing and using Scribble in Pages explains that Scribble is on by default after you pair a Pencil with a supported iPad. In Pages, tap the Scribble tool in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen and start writing. Scratch out a word to delete it, or touch and hold in a text area to open a space for new words. The Apple Pencil setup walkthrough covers pairing if your Pencil isn’t connected yet.

Add Your Signature

You have two good ways to sign a letter on an iPad:

• Draw it in Pages. In a word processing document, tap the page with your Apple Pencil, then tap again where the signature should go to add a drawing area, and sign. To use a finger instead, tap the Insert Media button, then Add Drawing; the result is usually rougher.
• Sign the PDF with Markup. Export the letter as a PDF (steps below), open it, tap the Markup button, then tap the Add button, then Add Signature to create a signature or insert a saved one. Drag it into place above your typed name.

If the letter will be printed and mailed, you can also leave the gap blank and sign the paper copy by hand.

Print, Save as PDF or Send the Letter

Print With AirPrint

Your iPad prints to AirPrint printers on the same Wi-Fi network without any extra app. If you haven’t set one up, start with adding a printer to your iPad. Then, following Apple’s steps to print a document or envelope in Pages:

1. Open the letter and tap the Actions Menu button in the toolbar.
2. Tap Print. If the letter has comments or smart annotations, choose whether to include them.
3. If no printer is selected, tap Printer and choose one from the list.
4. Set the page range and number of copies, then tap Print at the top.

Pages also has envelope templates. Tap Choose a Template, scroll to the Envelopes section, type the recipient and return addresses over the placeholders, then tap the document’s name in the toolbar and tap Print. Feed the envelope the way your printer’s manual shows.

Export a PDF or Word Copy and Send It

A PDF is the safest format for email, because it looks the same on every device. Apple’s guide to exporting from Pages to Word, PDF or another format lists these steps:

1. Open the letter, tap the Actions Menu button, then tap Export.
2. Tap PDF (then tap Export in the top-right corner of Layout Options) or tap Word for a .docx file.
3. In the share sheet, choose Mail to email it, AirDrop to send it to a nearby Apple device, or Save to Files to keep a copy.

Exporting makes a copy, so your original Pages file stays editable. If you password-protected the Pages document, the PDF and Word copies keep the same password, so share it with the recipient or remove it first. Files you saved can be found later in the Files app; finding files and downloads on an iPad shows where to look.

Letter Writing on iPad Questions

Can someone on a Windows PC open my Pages letter?

Not reliably as a .pages file. Export a PDF if they only need to read or print it, or a Word file if they need to edit it.

Why doesn’t my printer show up in the Print screen?

The iPad lists only AirPrint printers it can reach. Make sure the printer is on, connected to the same Wi-Fi network as the iPad, and supports AirPrint. Restarting the printer and the iPad often brings it back.

Can I add letterhead to every letter?

Yes. Make one letter with your name and contact details at the top, then duplicate that document in the document manager each time you need a new letter, so the letterhead is already in place.

Will the letter look the same when printed?

Mostly, but check the paper size first. In the US, letters use Letter size (8.5 by 11 inches); if your document is set to A4, the margins can shift when printed. You can see and change it under Actions Menu > Document Options > Document Setup in Pages; Apple’s page on setting paper size and orientation shows the options.

Before You Send It

Read the letter once more on the full screen, or export a PDF and view it, because a PDF shows exactly where the page breaks fall. If you plan to print often from the iPad, printing web pages from an iPad uses the same AirPrint options, so the steps will already feel familiar.