What is Apology Letter & its Format? Find 10+ Sample Template

An apology is a way through which we express regret for a past action or behavior. An apology letter is a written statement of acceptance of fault or mistake and to apologize to someone for the mistakes, wrongdoing, misunderstanding, and Misbehavior done in the past.

The need of writing a letter of apology is to rectify the broken relationships and trust between two people could be anybody such as Friends, employees, boss, clients, customers, wife, boyfriend and girlfriend, etc. Apologizing is considered to be a courageous act hence not easy at all; in fact, it is considered an art and intelligence as well. To say sorry and apologize for the mistakes is not at all easy because of various reasons such as arrogance, behavior, poor service, delay in delivery, etc.

Anyone can write an apology letter to anyone who wishes to say sorry and express his / her regret upon any unpleasant incident/conduct. There are multiple reasons for writing an apology letter or email messages such as misconduct or behavior, noncompliance with rules and regulations, any nonsense activity or conduct on the office premises, excessive leaves, Poor performance or Service, delay or not completing the work or project in time, etc.

Apology Letter Format for writing Formal & Professional Apology

An official apology in any business is considered to be a formal and professional apology and in such conditions, an email or letter can be used as a mode of communication, and a lot of discipline and aticates should be used while writing. Must be used in the correct English language, politely addressing for apology and request for forgive and forget and bring harmony to the relationship. Any Apology Letter or email sent by an employee to their Boss or management, students writing to their Teacher or Principal, or any company business writing an Apology letter or email to their client, customer business associates, or partner then it is considered to be formal professional apology email letter. The content must be formal and display the sorry aspect and seriousness for re-building the business relationship conveyed very carefully. Company Letterhead or official email should be used for writing an Apology letter or email addressed to the right official. Please refer to the Professional Apology Letter sample and official email message template given below, for example, quick uses and learning.

Tips to Write a Professional Apology Letter or Email Message

Write for seeking forgiveness
Accept his or her mistake without hesitation
Highlight/describe the situation or condition appropriately
Provide possible solutions for the mistake committed
Provide assurance to the client that this mistake will not be repeated

Apology Letter to Boss

Many times an employee commits a mistake or behaves wrongly with their boss thus they have to write an apology letter to boss for their wrongdoing, poor performance, delay in delivery, and seek forgiveness. The apology should be sincere confessing, accepting the mistake and heart touching, and also assuring not to repeat the mistake. The apology email letter message should consist of a brief description of the incident that took place and apologizes for the same. The Letter language should be very humble and a person should sincerely request forgiveness.

Writing Tips for Apology Letter to Boss

The letter should be short and simple
In the letter it should be clearly mentioned why the letter is written
Describe the event completely and apologize for the mistake
Let the boss know that you are realizing your mistake and are ready to face the consequences.

Apology Letter Email to Customer or Client

In any business, a customer or client is treated the Supreme. When anything goes wrong with the Customer or Client and found that the mistake is being done because of carelessness, delay, and become the cause of loss, it is mandatory to write an apology letter or email message to one business their Client or Customer. Many a time people are scared to write an apology letter to customer out of fear of admitting the wrongdoing and may lose business, customer, or client. But it is also true that a successful apology letter message can turn a negative experience or situation into a positive one. Refer to the Sample template given below to understand how to write an apology letter to the customer or client.

Points to consider while writing an Apology Letter or Email Message to Client or a Customer

Admit you're wrongdoings and say sorry for the same.
Detailed explanation should be given as to what happened.
Give a clear next step procedure.
Customer feedback options should be given.
Follow up with the customer.

Personal Letter of Apology or email

Personal Apologies are written when a person accepts the mistake and regret his or her behavior and feels sorry and wishes to communicate this to someone very close such as a mother, father, wife, brother, sister, friend, girlfriend colleagues, or anybody who has value in his/her life.

In this busy life, we all sometimes get frustrated by meeting our personal needs and goals of our life and also get hyper and become rude in our behavior. Therefore, sometimes, we lose our temper and the right perspective and get influenced by the existing situation and behave rudely and immaturely with our near ones and also even sometimes with our close surrounding people as well.

But later we think back on these situations and realize that have completely misinterpreted situations or the events and were actually wrong when we thought the other party was. At the time of self-realization, we understand the event better and wish to apologize for the act or mistake committed by that person, and you can only do that by writing a personal letter of apology or email message.

A personal apology email or letter should be written with honest feelings which can help you in confessing your mistakes and make your close ones know that you are very sorry and regret the incident.

Apology Letter Format for writing a Personal Apology on mistake or Bad Behavior

The question is often arises what is the right format for writing an Apology email letter or how to write it so that the message should go correct and solve the purpose of apologizing and also help in re-building the relationship again.

The Right Apology letter email Format should be drafted in a manner that the message of realization of mistake or wrongdoing followed with the explanation of the conditions of the event occurrence must be highlighted well so that the receiver can understand the situation and ultimately forgive forget. The language used in this kind of email or letter differs as per the engagement and relationship.

How to Write a Personal Apology

The format for writing a personal apology to a friend, wife, girl, or boyfriend should be very simple and friendly. It must address to resolve the issue by describing the event that happened and straightway focusing on regretting the misbehavior, mistake, or misunderstanding that arises between the two of them and further express sorry for the incident and request to forgive so that relationship can be revived and maintained. The sample Template appended below is a very helpful example to understand the difference.

Points should be used while writing a Personal letter of Apology or email to anyone

State clearly the purpose of writing
Confess & write describing the mistake committed
Acknowledge how much the other person hurt and show your regret for the act/incident.
Be grateful and communicate the value of the relationship in your life or business.
Do not hesitate to admit your responsibility for the mi/behavior openly
Offering what best you can do and offer Services and solutions which may be helpful
At last, write about the learning lesson you got out of this and commit a cautious, vigilant, and careful performance in the future.

Whom can we write a Letter of Apology or Apology Email?

One can write a letter of apology to anyone anywhere. There can be times when employees write such letters to their seniors or some other colleagues. By writing this letter you can show a high degree of sincerity and professionalism on your part or there can be anyone who can write to anybody whom he /she found valuable. You can write an apology to any of your relationships including personal, formal, professional, and business relationships.

Is Writing an Apology Email or a Letter is a Sign of Weakness?

No. Saying Sorry or expressing regret is never a weakness of any human being. Rather it is a sign of moral strength of an individual or the company to build up a close rapport with its customer in the long run. Sometimes an apology letter can do wonders in a relationship.

How to make a Professional Apology impressive?

For writing a formal Professional apology letter or official apology email, one should use the apology as the first priority in the first line of the sentence. You can then in the second line describe the event and act upon it. Because this letter requires explanation this need not be a little long but it should also be short and precise as well. You can close it by asking for forgiveness once again and also let the receiver know that he values a lot and what he means as a person or as a client to you or to your business.

Find Below 10+ Ready to use Apology Letter Sample Template in Word Doc & PDF Format :

DOWNLOAD FREE

Apology Letter For Bad Behavior

Apology Email Sample Template

From____
Address_____
Date______

To,

Name____
Address______

Subject: Apology letter Email for Bad Behavior

Dear Sir,

With all due respect and my humble submission, I am ashamed to write to you in order to apologize for my bad behavior. I never thought I will have a day like this in my life when you and other esteemed members of our glorious organization will see me lose self control. There are many factors that drove me towards enragement. I’ve been going through some family problems and that stress combined with the stress of the special meeting to be held made me very uncomfortable. I am extremely sorry for my rude behavior. I completely understand that only I am to be blamed here for my bad image.

The mistake I did might be unforgivable but, I sincerely apologize to you and our entire team. I hope this letter changes the bad image you possess about me in your mind and find me a room in your heart again.

Yours truly,

Name_______

social share

DOWNLOAD FREE

Apology Letter

Sample Email

From__________

Address________

_______________

Date______

To,

Name____

Address______

Subject: Behavior Apology letter Email

Dear Sir,

Yours truly,

Name___________

social share

DOWNLOAD FREE

Writing an Apology Email Letter to Customer for Mistake

New Format Sample Template

To: Customer email address

(Use Email Id of the Contact Person or the Decision Maker)

Sub: Apology for the mistake & Non delivery of your order

Dear Sir / Madam,

Further to your email dated (_____) we regret to know your order is still not delivered which is placed on our website on dated (_________)

First of all, Apology for the inconvenience caused due to our mistake. Further to inform you that your order is non traceable right now. We are trying to trace your order and finding out the reason of this mistake. We promise expedite this matter and once your order is traced we will get it delivered to you as soon as possible

As we value our customers a lot and giving good service is our priority we have credited your account with a coupon of 10% off on your next order as a gesture of good will. We hope to have a long and successful association with you.

We request you to please bear with us for some time. If still you have any questions or queries please contact us by phone or email

We once again apologize for the trouble caused to you.

Thanking you,

Yours truly

Designation, name and signature

Company name

social share

DOWNLOAD FREE

Apology Email / Letter for Late Payment

About this Sample Template: This example is designed to understand how to write a professional apology email or letter by an individual. Here a person is writing email or letter to his Bank and apologizing for delaying the payment of monthly EMI of Home Loan. In this, the person making late payment writes an email or letter and can describe about the payment mode such as Online / Cheque and can mention the transaction ID or attached the payment screenshot and / Cheque Number with date of payment assuring Bank for the payment and request not to take any action against the delay payment. It can be written on a plain paper or individual letterhead and It should be written in a very polite language. Please see the sample template below:

Format For Professional Apology Letter

You can use a Plain Paper

Format For Professional Apology Email

Compose a New email message & use personal email ID

From;

Person Name who is Writing

Address, Email ID, Contact Number.

To;

Mr. / Ms. Manager Name

BANK NAME

Address City State, Pin code

Receiver's Official Email Address:

Email Subject : Apology

Sub: Apology for making Late Payment

Dear Sir / Madam,

I am writing this letter to say sorry for late payment on home loan EMI due to some unavoidable reasons, please find attached (in case of Email attached the payment screenshot) or enclosed a cheque number dated (mention the cheque number and date and enclosed the original cheque with the letter) for $5000.00 against my home loan EMI for the month of (________)

I regret and apologize for the inconvenience caused to you. I take complete responsibility for this delay in payment but I would like to assure you that this is a first time mistake and will not be repeated.

Please accept our apology for the late payment and I am thankful for your patience and support.

Name of the person & Signature

social share

DOWNLOAD FREE

How to write an Apology Email or letter to a regular Corporate customer on the service complaints.

About this Apology Email ; The below sample template is more appropriate for an Hospitality Industry Business, wherein a regular corporate customer registered compliant about the service issues faced during their stay in the hotel. Hotel keep this client into their elite custmoer list and have a very serious concern about their regular business with them. Considering the value and duties, the hotel writes an apology email or a letter accepting the mistake and request for apology and also ensure that this kind of service issue will never come in the future. This sample template is just for an example as how to write an official and a professional apology email. Incase of Email an Official email Should be used and when you are writing a letter it should be Written on Company's Letterhead.

Sample Template

Format for Writing Apology Letter to Customer

- Use Company's Letterhead

Format for Writing Apology Email to Customer

- Compose a New email message

To;

Mr. / Ms. Customer Name

Company Name & Address

City State, Pin code

Receiver's Official Email Address:

Email Subject : Regret & Apology

Dear (Use Last Name),

On behalf of the (Hotel or Company Name), I seek your apology for not giving the Services of the usual norms and Standard of our Hotel. We deeply regret for the discomfort and inconvenience caused to you during your stay. But at the same time, I would like to draw your attention on all your previous experiences which had always been very satisfactory and also request you to please do not mind this as you are one of our very old and elite customer.

We apologize for this time and as a gesture of good will offer you an two days Free stay in our Super Delux Suite includes all your foods. The offer Coupon andother documents are attached herewith.

I hope you will accept this and will surely overlook this last incident / mistake and will continue your old and strong business partnership with your company.

Thanks and Regards

Manager Name

with his official Signature

social share

DOWNLOAD FREE

Apology Email to Customer
Sample Format

About this Email / Letter: This below Sample template is written keeping in view of the situation where a Hotel got the compliant from his regular customer for not adhering to rules and regulations and fail to serve its customer on his /her satisfaction level. Here a Hotel Manager writing this to its customer and apologize for their discomfort and offering a free stay as a goodwill gesture to strengthen the relationship.

This kind of letter should be written carefully using company email id or letter head in case writing a letter by using very polite and pleasing language. This format of letter should be treated as sample only.

New Email Message

To : use customer email address
Subject: Apology & Regret for Inconvenience

Dear (Use Last Name),

Greetings of the day

I am writing on behalf of our hotel (Hotel Name) ______________, kindly accept and acknowledge our sincere apologies for not tendering the hospitality, which is the usual norm and standard of our hotel. We regret for the discomfort and inconvenience caused to you during your stay.

As a gesture of good will, I hope you accept this of couple of days free stay in our suite (Coupon Attached). You can avail this invitation offer by date (______). I am sure you will like our gesture and overlook the mistake in our part this time and will continue your business association with us.

We assure you for the best of our services and a strong relationship with you.

Thanks & Regards

Name & Designation
Full name of the Hotel
with its contact details

social share

DOWNLOAD FREE

Apology Letter for a Defective Product
Sample Format or template

About this Letter: The below is an apology letter written in a situation where a company has delivered a defective product to its customer. The company representative writes this Apology email or letter to apologize for the defective product delivery and regret for the inconvenience. This sample template is very useful at the time of seeking an apology for the mistakes done. Need not mention here that the language used in this type of letter should be very polite and sent either from an official email id or company’s letterhead is to be used at the time of sending an apology letter to the Customer. This letter format should be treated as sample template only.

Date_______

To ;

Customer Name

Complete Address

PinCode

Sub: Apology letter for delivering a defective product

Dear Sir or Madam,

We are extremely sorry that the washing machine you bought from us did not function as expected. We usually double check the machine before delivering it to any of our customer so that it should functions correctly.

We are extremely sorry and sincerely regret for the inconvenience caused because of this incident and suggest you to simply return the washing machine to our nearest outlet to receive replacement or a refund as you wish.

We again apologize for the trouble caused to you.

Thanking you

Yours Truly

For Company Name

Name, Designation & Signature

social share

DOWNLOAD FREE

Business Apology Letter
Sample Template

About this Letter: This is an apology letter, which is written in a situation where a company supplies goods to its customers and somehow delivery of the goods got late due to strike. The company representative writes an apology letter or email to apologize for delay in goods supply and ensure for delivery of the goods soon. This Sample is very useful for those who are in similar situation. The letter has to be written in a polite language and should be sent using official email ID or company letter head. The below mentioned letter should be treated as sample Format only.

Date:_______

To,
Receiver’s Name
Company Name
Complete Address.
City & Pin Code

Sub : Apology Letter for the Late Supply of Goods

Dear (name of the person),

We regret to inform you that the delivery of the goods that had to reach you by (mention the date) will be delayed because of the strike by the transport union in our State.

We understand that this may contribute to a big loss for your organization to meet up the further timeline. But, we plea that you credence our services that we deeply regret and we want to maintain a good relationship with your company. We are still putting all our hard efforts to deliver your goods as soon as possible.

We further, ensure you that the delivery of your goods to reach you latest by (mention the date) by anyhow. Request you to please understand the situation and co-operate with us. We are committed for our relationship with your esteemed organization and assure you for the best of our services in the future as well.

With apologies,

Yours Sincerely,

Sender’s Name & Designation,
Organization Name

social share

DOWNLOAD FREE

Apology Email to Colleague

About this Email Sample Template: This email message is written in a situation where an office colleague does a mistake and mis-behaved as well and now realizing after the blunder happened. The person deleted two very important files from his colleague computer which leaded a Loss / delayed submitting quotation and company has taken very strict action on him. The person writes an email to his colleague accepting his mistake and seek apology and regret on the punishment imposed upon because of him. This apology email sample template can use for the similar situation. Need not to say that the language of this email or letter should be polite apologizing with showing regret, using individual business email address makes this official and legal. Please treat this as sample template for example only.

New Email Message

To : ( Mention Receivers Email ID)

Subject: Regret for the Mistake, seek your apology

(You can write subject as appropriate you think)

Dear (address with the name)

I sincerely apologize for my mistake for deleting two most valuable files for filing the important tender. I just want to mention here that I had no such intention but all this happened due to my carelessness and I deeply regret for this blunder. I completely take the onus for this incident which not only created problem for this company but also make your reputation bad in the eyes of the management due to which you have been punished also.

I once again regret for all this mess and seek your apology and ensure that I will be very careful at my work and never commit such errors or mistake. I spoke to the manager and confessed and explained that this is my mistake not yours and requested him for withdrawal of the strict action taken against you.

I hope this will help and hope to work together again.

Sincerely,
Employee Name

social share

DOWNLOAD FREE

Professional Apology Letter to Boss

About this Sample Format: The below is a professional apology Sample template which is written in a situation where an sub-ordinate seeking an Apology from his / her own boss on the mistake or blunder done by him /her and resulted heavy on company’s reputation and goodwill. This is very useful for those who are working professionals and land up to a similar situation and seeking apology due to their carelessness act. This kind of letter should be written by using very polite language and showing regret on the incident. In an organization this apology email should be sent by using the official email address and should be sent on Boss official mail id. This below apology email content can also be used in form of a letter as well. This should be treated as sample template only.

Sample Apology Letter Template

Date__________

To,

Receiver’s Name

Company Name

Complete Address.

City & Pin Code

Sub : Seeking Apology

Dear Sir,

The purpose of this letter is to apologize for the mistake committed by me. I had sent incorrect documents to the client. I am sorry for the mistake and understand how much inconvenience and loss my mistake must have caused to the company.

I understand my apologies will not erase my mistake, still I am writing this letter to apologize for my mistake caused due to my carelessness. Kindly forgive me for this and ensure I shall be very careful in the future.

Thanks & Regards,

Name of the employee

social share

DOWNLOAD FREE

Professional Apology Email
Official Email Sample Format

About this Apology Email : This Sample template is very useful for those who are working professional or in a Higher Studies and in case of writing an apology letter to your Senior and seeking an apology on the act of delay in submitting the project report or any kind of report or assignment given by your senior. This kind of letter should be written with utmost care with using very polite and requesting language. This letter should be treated as sample email template only.

Receiver’s Official Email address

Subject: Apology for delay in submission of Project Report

Greetings of the Day!

Dear Sir,

I am extremely sorry for not able to meet the deadline for submitting the project report.

As committed, the entire Project Report was to be completed by June 10, 2019, which I am failing to meet-up. I am taking this very seriously and working day and night on the project and hope to complete and submit the Project Report latest by June 30, 2019.

In this apology email, I ensure to do all my possible efforts to make this project a success. I am once again thankful for the opportunity provided to me to work on this project. I am once again thankful for your patience and support.

With apologies

Thanks and Regards

Your Name & Designation

Company Name

Contact Details