Professional Email Signature

Professional email signature format, explained.

A professional email signature is a short block at the end of your emails with your full name, job title, company, and one or two contact details, in that order. Keep it to three to five lines and under 600 pixels wide, with a web-safe font, one brand color, and an optional photo or logo around 80 to 100 pixels.

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Essentials

What should a professional email signature include?

Include what a recipient needs to know who you are and how to reach you another way. Everything else is optional and should earn its place.

  • Full name, written the way you want to be addressed
  • Job title, specific enough to explain why you are writing
  • Company or organization, linked to its website
  • Direct phone number, if you take calls
  • Website, usually the company site or your portfolio
  • Optional: headshot or logo, one or two social profiles, pronouns, a booking link

Leave out

What should you leave out of an email signature?

  • Inspirational quotes and personal mottos
  • Every social network you have an account on
  • Large banners, animated GIFs, and oversized logos
  • A signature made entirely of one image
  • Multiple phone numbers, fax numbers you never check
  • Long disclaimers your company doesn't actually require

Each extra line repeats in every reply of a thread. If you wouldn't miss a detail on your business card, you won't miss it in your signature.

Format

What is the correct email signature format?

The standard email signature format runs from most to least important: identity first, then context, then contact details, then extras. A reader should get your name and role without reading past the second line.

Line 1Daniel Okafor
Line 2Regional Operations Manager | Halden Logistics
Line 3+1 (646) 555-0123 | haldenlogistics.com
Line 4LinkedIn (optional)
Line 5Short legal notice (only if required)

Separate items on the same line with a pipe (|) or a thin divider, and give your name the most visual weight through size or bold, not through color alone. If you add a closing line such as "Best regards," type it in the message itself rather than baking it into the signature, so you can change it per email.

Sizes

What size should an email signature be?

  • Width: 600 pixels or less, the width most email layouts are built around
  • Headshot: about 80 to 100 pixels square, from a source image twice that size for sharp retina screens
  • Logo: up to about 200 pixels wide and 60 to 80 pixels tall
  • Text: name at 16 to 18 pixels, details at 11 to 13 pixels
  • Length: three to five lines of text
  • Gmail limit: 10,000 characters including formatting code

Host images at a public https URL instead of embedding them. Embedded images inflate the signature and are often stripped by Gmail and Outlook.

Style

Which fonts and colors look professional?

Fonts

Use web-safe fonts that are installed on nearly every computer: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, Tahoma, Trebuchet MS, Georgia, or Times New Roman. Custom brand fonts are swapped for a fallback when the reader doesn't have them, and classic Outlook for Windows often falls back to Times New Roman. Stick to one font, or one sans-serif plus one serif at most.

Colors

Use dark gray or black for text and one accent color, ideally your brand color, for a divider, your name, or links. Check that light accents still read on white. Some mail apps switch to dark mode and invert colors, so avoid logos with transparent backgrounds and dark artwork that can disappear on a dark background.

Legal

Do I need a legal disclaimer in my email signature?

Most individuals don't, but some businesses do. In the UK, limited companies are required to show details such as their registered name, company number, place of registration, and registered office address on business correspondence, which includes email. Germany and several other EU countries have similar rules for companies. Regulated professions, such as real estate agents in some US states, may also need a license number.

Confidentiality notices ("This email is intended only for...") are common in law, finance, and healthcare, though their legal weight is limited. If you need one, keep it to one or two lines of small plain text below the signature. Check with your company or a legal adviser for what applies to you; this is general information, not legal advice.

Mobile

How do I make my email signature look good on mobile?

A large share of email is read on phones, so design for a narrow screen. Stacked layouts hold up better than wide multi-column ones, text should stay at 11 pixels or larger, and phone numbers should be real text so people can tap to call. Avoid image-only signatures, which may not load at all. Remember that the Gmail and Outlook mobile apps have their own signature settings; see the Gmail and Outlook guides for how they behave.

Examples

Professional email signature examples

Four professional formats rendered live with free templates. See 12 more in the email signature examples or browse all email signature templates.

Business / corporate signature

Template: Corporate

A classic business email signature: headshot, title, company, and a single accent divider in the brand color. Everything a client needs, nothing to skim past.

Use this template

Founder / CEO signature

Template: Executive

Restrained serif styling, a headshot, and very few details. Investors and partners need a name, a company, and a website, and the calm layout does the rest.

Use this template

Lawyer signature

Template: Formal

Serif type and a double rule signal a traditional firm. Put any confidentiality notice below the signature as short plain text rather than inside the design.

Use this template

Recruiter signature

Template: Labeled

Candidates check recruiters on LinkedIn before replying, so the photo and profile link build trust. A booking link removes the back-and-forth over times.

Use this template

Checklist

Professional email signature checklist

Run through this list before you paste your signature into your email client.

  • Name, title, and company are on the first two lines
  • No more than two contact methods and two social links
  • Three to five lines of text in total
  • Width is 600 pixels or less
  • Photo or logo is small and linked from a hosted https URL
  • One web-safe font and one accent color
  • Phone number and website are text, not part of an image
  • Any required legal details are included, briefly
  • You sent a test email and checked it on a phone
  • Signature is set as the default for new emails and replies

Signature FAQ

Professional email signature questions

Everything a new user wants to know before they trust a tool with their name and inbox. If we missed one, open an issue on GitHub.

What is the proper format for a professional email signature?

Full name on the first line, job title and company on the second, then one or two contact details such as phone and website. Optional extras like a headshot, social links, or a legal notice come last. Keep it to three to five lines and under 600 pixels wide.

Should I include my email address in my email signature?

It is optional. The recipient already has your address, but including it helps when your message is forwarded or printed. If space is tight, a phone number and website are more useful additions.

What font should I use for a professional email signature?

Use a web-safe font such as Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, Georgia, or Tahoma, at roughly 16 to 18 pixels for your name and 11 to 13 pixels for details. Custom fonts are replaced by a fallback on computers that don't have them installed.

Is it unprofessional to have a photo in an email signature?

No. A small, well-lit headshot is common in sales, recruiting, consulting, and real estate, where people want to put a face to a name. Keep it around 80 to 100 pixels and use the same photo as your LinkedIn profile.

Should an email signature be an image?

No. A signature made of a single image is often blocked until the reader allows images, can't be copied or tapped to call, and may look like spam. Use text for your details and images only for a photo or logo.

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