When you make a cease and desist letter template, you want to formally request a person or entity to stop or “cease” taking part in unwanted or unlawful behavior or “desist.” Should they continue these activities after receiving the letter, you can take legal action against them.


Cease and Desist Letter Templates












Types of cease and desist letters

Your cease and desist letter template should state the basis of your claim and the right of the infringing party to remedy the issue. Upon receiving the letter, the recipient must respond within a specific time frame to either refute or acknowledge your claims.

Afterward, should the infringing party continue the actions that you defined in the letter, filing a lawsuit is your next step. Following are the types of cease and desist templates to create depending on your situation:

  • Breach of Contract
    Send this to someone who isn’t complying with an official agreement.
  • Copyright Infringement
    This letter legally informs the recipient of their unauthorized utilization of copyrighted material.
  • Debt Collector or Creditor
    This informs a creditor to stop communicating with you in any form to discuss a debt owed. This is especially applicable to phone calls.
  • Defamation or Slander
    More commonly known as “libel” and “slander,” this involves the intentional attempt at causing harm to an entity or individual by using false statements.
  • Harassment
    This letter takes action against inappropriate behavior like emotional abuse, personal attacks, sexual comments, and others. Send this as the last warning before carrying out legal action or a lawsuit.
  • Intellectual Property
    Use this letter for any kind of proprietary information used or taken without your authorization as the owner.
  • Non-Disclosure Violation
    Use this letter for any breach of a Non-Disclosure act. It stops further violation otherwise you can file a lawsuit against the recipient.
  • Response to Cease and Desist
    If you received a letter to cease and desist, you respond with an official letter in an attempt to answer any invalid or valid claim made against you.
  • Trademark Infringement
    This letter gives official notice to a third party infringing on a trademark that’s federally registered that they don’t own.

Is the letter enforceable?

The letter you make by following a cease and desist letter template is not enforceable as it isn’t legally binding. But there is a threat of legal consequences if the recipient does not comply with the request – this is the actionable part. In itself, the letter is more of a courtesy request to the recipient to give them warning along with time to change their actions to avoid litigation.

Cease And Desist Letters











How to write a cease and desist letter?

A cease and desist letter is a document sent to an entity or individual. The letter is more of a warning that if the recipient doesn’t discontinue the action according to the specified terms, you may sue them. When creating a cease and desist letter template, consider the following tips:

  • Don’t include a contact number in the letter you intend to send a warning.
  • Make sure to set legitimate guidelines in the letter. Never add untrue information. It should also contain a signature and official stamp.
  • When you’re done with the letter, go to the post office to send it. If you choose to send the letter via email, make sure it’s certified and you send it with a return receipt. The system mails a receipt back to you to verify that the correct person received it.
  • It’s important to keep a copy of the letter as this serves as evidence of the initial communication between you and the recipient. Often, some people might pretend that they didn’t receive this letter. But you can use your copy as evidence the person when you take your case to court.

Creating a cease and desist template is essential as it prevents violations of the law. With this document, you can fight for your rights if you need to in the near future.

Mistakes to avoid

Composing a cease and desist letter takes a lot of time. To make it easier, you can download a template available online. To become effective, you should write this letter properly and avoid these common mistakes:

  • You don’t hire a lawyer to help you
    The main objective of the letter is to ask an individual or entity to stop doing something they don’t have the right to do. To drive your point, you need the assistance of a lawyer because they have the ability to sound serious and strict. A lawyer can deal with the situation legally.
    Even the letterhead of a credible and certified lawyer can already alarm the offending party as they wouldn’t want that the case to end up in court. They would rather close the issue through a mutual agreement. But if you don’t hire a lawyer to guide you, this might give the offender an opportunity to flip the tables and take action against you.
  • You make empty threats
    Not taking appropriate action against the offending party after sending them the letter means that you tend to make empty threats. As soon as it becomes clear that they have no intention of complying, you should already take your case to court or pursue another legal action.
    By taking no action, you have unintentionally depicted a reputation of not following up on your threats. The next time a situation like this happens, they won’t believe you anymore.
  • You don’t provide a clear and specific reason for the letter
    Make sure that the letter you send is extremely clear with its claims. You should provide legal proceedings with proof against the infringer and that this proves should be completely genuine.

Cease And Desist Templates











How to serve this document?

Your first line of defense when somebody harasses you or infringes on your rights is to serve them a cease and desist letter. Doing so gives them a legal notice to help avoid a prolonged and expensive court case.

Although it’s highly recommended to hire a lawyer to guide you when writing the letter, you don’t need the assistance of a lawyer when serving the document. Here are the steps to do this:

  • Explain how and why the recipient violated your rights.
  • Notify the recipient that you will take legal action if they don’t cease their behavior.
  • Send your letter using an affidavit of service and certified mail.