A no trespassing letter is a written notice from a property owner telling a specific person to stay off a specific property, and it works by creating proof that the person was warned. That proof matters because most jurisdictions won’t charge someone with criminal trespass unless they had clear notice they weren’t welcome. Get the contents and the delivery right and you have a document that stands up when you call the police. Get either wrong and you have a piece of paper.
What the Letter Has to Contain
A letter that will hold up does four things at once: it identifies the person being banned, describes the property, states the prohibition in plain terms, and warns of the consequences. Leave any of those out and you give the recipient room to argue they didn’t understand what was being said.
- Your full name, mailing address, and a phone number or email. If you’re writing for a business or on behalf of another owner, state your authority to act.
- The recipient’s full legal name if you know it. If you don’t, describe the person specifically enough that there is no ambiguity about who the letter targets.
- The full street address of the property. If the boundaries aren’t obvious from the address alone, as with rural acreage or unfenced parcels, add landmarks, a boundary description, or a parcel number.
- A direct prohibition. Something like “You are not authorized to enter or remain on this property.” Keep it absolute. If the ban only covers certain areas or activities, spell that out.
- The specific conduct that prompted the letter, if any. Parking on your land, cutting through the yard, hunting on your acreage. Naming the behavior closes off a later claim that the person didn’t realize it was covered.
- A warning that entering the property after receiving the notice may result in criminal trespass charges, arrest, and prosecution. You don’t have to cite a statute, though you can if you know your state’s trespass law.
- The date and your signature. If someone is present when you sign, have them sign and date it as a witness.
Tone matters more than most people expect. Angry or threatening language doesn’t make the letter stronger; it gives the recipient something to wave in front of a judge. Write it as if a judge will read it, because one might. Short sentences beat formal-sounding ones. “You are not permitted on this property” does more work than a paragraph of circular legalese.
A Sample Layout You Can Adapt
[Your Full Name]
[Your Address]
[Your Phone Number or Email]
[Date]
[Recipient’s Full Name]
[Recipient’s Address, if known]
RE: Notice of No Trespass
Dear [Recipient’s Name],
This letter serves as formal notice that you are not authorized to enter or remain on the property located at [Full Property Address], [include parcel number or boundary description if needed]. This prohibition takes effect immediately and remains in force until further written notice from me.
You are specifically prohibited from [describe prohibited activities: entering the premises, parking on the property, crossing the south boundary line, etc.]. This restriction applies at all times, regardless of whether I am present on the property.
If you enter or remain on this property after receiving this notice, I will contact law enforcement and pursue criminal trespass charges to the fullest extent permitted by law.
Sincerely,
[Your Signature]
[Your Printed Name]
Who You Can’t Ban This Way
A no trespassing letter only reaches people who have no legal right to be on your property. It will not remove a tenant: someone renting under a lease has a legal right to occupy the property, and the only way to end that is formal eviction. It won’t exclude someone with a recorded easement, such as a utility worker or a neighbor with a right-of-way, from the area the easement covers. And it won’t bar government officials acting in their official capacity, like law enforcement with a warrant or a building inspector doing an authorized inspection. Sending the letter to any of these people won’t just fail; it can hurt your credibility when you later need to take real legal action.
How to Deliver It So You Can Prove Notice
A perfectly written letter is worth nothing if you can’t show the recipient received it. The delivery method decides how strong your evidence is later.
Certified Mail With Return Receipt
This is the most reliable option for most situations. You send the letter through USPS Certified Mail and add a return receipt, which gives you a signed card proving the recipient got it. As of 2025, certified mail costs $5.30 and a physical return receipt adds $4.40, putting the total under $15 with postage. An electronic return receipt costs $2.82 instead of $4.40.
A signed receipt is hard to argue with in court. The one limitation: if the recipient refuses to sign or never picks the letter up, you won’t get a receipt back. You’ll have proof you sent it, not proof they received it. For someone likely to dodge the mail carrier, pair certified mail with personal delivery.
Personal Delivery
Handing the letter over gives you the most control, because you know exactly when and where the person received it. The obvious drawback is that you have to stand in front of someone you’re telling to stay away.
If you deliver it yourself, bring a witness who can see the handoff and sign a statement confirming the date and time. Without a witness, personal delivery becomes your word against theirs. A private process server is the professional alternative, typically $20 to $100 per job, and provides a sworn affidavit of delivery that carries real weight in court. In some jurisdictions, law enforcement officers will also deliver these notices.
Posting on the Property
Some jurisdictions accept a notice posted conspicuously on the property, especially for unimproved or unfenced land where mailing isn’t practical. If you post, photograph the notice with a timestamp, record where you placed it, and keep the photos. Posting is the weakest form of delivery because it’s nearly impossible to prove a specific person actually saw the sign.
File a Copy With Local Police
Make at least two copies before you send the original: one for your records and one for your local police department. Many departments will keep a no trespassing letter on file, which means officers responding to a future call already know a formal warning was issued. That can be the difference between an officer telling the trespasser to leave and an officer making an arrest.
How Long the Notice Stays in Effect
Most no trespassing letters don’t carry an expiration date, and in many jurisdictions the notice stays in effect until you revoke it. Certain events can effectively cancel it anyway. Selling the property ends your authority to enforce the letter, because the new owner’s rights are separate from yours. Inviting the prohibited person back onto the property, even informally, can let a court find you revoked the notice through your conduct.
Be explicit about duration. If you want the ban to run for a set period, say so. If you want it to be permanent, write “until further written notice from me.” If circumstances change and you want to lift it, send a short follow-up stating that the original notice is revoked as of a specific date, and keep a copy.
What to Do When Someone Violates the Notice
Call the police. When officers arrive, show them your copy of the letter and the delivery confirmation. In most jurisdictions, trespassing on private property after written notice is a misdemeanor. A first offense typically carries potential fines of several hundred dollars and up to 30 days in jail. Repeat offenses, or trespass involving aggravating factors like being armed, damaging property, or entering certain protected sites, can be charged as a higher-level misdemeanor or a felony with steeper penalties.
You may also have civil options. If the trespass caused property damage, interference with your use of the land, or emotional distress, you can potentially sue. A documented pattern of trespass despite written notice also strengthens a petition for a restraining order if you decide to take that step. The letter is the foundation. Everything else you might need to do depends on having it in place.