Letters to third parties
You may need to write to a third party (someone not involved in your case) because you need some information or you need them to provide a service to you. For example, you might want to ask someone to give you copies of documents, or serve them with (formally give them) a subpoena by post. Or, you might want to ask a process server (a person you hire to serve documents for you) to serve a court document.
For a helpful tool to use when writing a letter to a third party, see
Checklist: Writing letters.
Your letter should include:
Your address, the other party's address and the date
When you write a letter, your name and address should be at the top of the page, on the right hand side. Underneath that, on the left hand side, you should write the date, and the name and address of the person or business you are writing to.
Always include the date you are signing/sending the letter. A date is important because:
- it can help you prove when you sent the letter
- a date can be used to identify the document. For example, if you call the third party about your letter you can ask them if they have received your letter 'dated 10 January 2011'.
For example:
John Smith
23 West Street
WESTOWN NSW 2999
Ph: 0499 111 111
19 November 2011
Easy Peasy Process Servers
PO Box 0010
PARRAMATTA NSW 2150
Heading
Any letter you write should include a heading. The heading should state all the parties' names, the court the case is in and the case number, (if the case is in court), or other details to identify the matter, if a court case has not been started. For example:
- John Smith v Paula Brown. Parramatta Local Court, Case number 2011/000111222
- John Smith and Paula Brown, Payment for shop fitting work done at Paula's Hair Design, 12 April 2011.
For example:
John Smith
14 West Street
WESTOWN NSW 9999
Ph: 0499 111 111
19 November 2011
Easy Peasy Process Servers
PO Box 0010
PARRAMATTA NSW 2150
Dear Sir/Madam,
John Smith v Paula Brown trading as Paula's Hair Design
Parramatta Local Court, Case number 2011/88888
What you want to say to the other party
When you write a letter to someone, you should clearly state what the letter is about. If you are:
- serving documents, such as a subpoena, refer to them in the letter and enclose them with the letter
- asking a process server to serve court documents, include all known addresses and contact details of the person that needs to be served, and the documents that need to be served.
For example:
John Smith
23 West Street
WESTOWN NSW 2999
Ph: 0499 111 111
19 November 2011
Easy Peasy Process Servers
PO Box 0010
PARRAMATTA NSW 2150
Dear Sir/Madam,
John Smith v Paula Brown trading as Paula's Hair Design
Parramatta Local Court, Case number 2011/88888
I am representing myself in this matter. I enclose the following documents:
- Original sealed Statement of Claim filed 18 November 2011.
- Copy of sealed Statement of Claim filed 18 November 2011.
Please serve the original Statement of Claim on the defendant, Paula Brown. The defendant's
- residential address is 15/30 Victory Road, Parramatta, NSW
- business address is Shop 3, 1034 Jordan Street, Parramatta NSW
- mobile telephone number is 0488 000 000.
Please return a sworn Affidavit of Service once you have served the document.
If you have any questions in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Your signature and any relevant documents
When you have completed the letter, you can write "Yours faithfully", leave two or three spaces, write your name and then sign in between "Yours faithfully" and your name.
If you are sending any documents, cheques or any other items, these are called 'enclosures'. You should describe what you are enclosing in the text of your letter (as in the example above). You should also add the letters "encl" underneath your name. This reminds the person receiving the letter that you sent something with it.
For example:
John Smith
23 West Street
WESTOWN NSW 2999
Ph: 0499 111 111
19 November 2011
Easy Peasy Process Servers
PO Box 0010
PARRAMATTA NSW 2150
Dear Sir/Madam,
John Smith v Paula Brown trading as Paula's Hair Design
Parramatta Local Court, Case number 2011/88888
I am representing myself in this matter. I enclose the following documents:
- Original sealed Statement of Claim filed 18 November 2011.
- Copy of sealed Statement of Claim filed 18 November 2011.
Please serve the original Statement of Claim on the defendant, Paula Brown. The defendant's:
- residential address is 15/30 Victory Road, Parramatta, NSW
- business address is Shop 3, 1034 Jordan Street, Parramatta NSW
- mobile telephone number is 0488 000 000.
Please return a sworn Affidavit of Service once you have served the document.
If you have any questions in the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours sincerely
J. Smith
John Smith
encl
Make sure you include a telephone number in any letter you write so that the person you send the letter to can contact you if they need to. You could also include your email address, if you have one.
Make sure you keep a copy of the letter and a record of when you posted it. You could use registered post so that there is a record of when the person you sent the letter received it.