How to Send a Cease and Desist Letter

A cease and desist letter is only as good as your proof that it arrived. Delivery is not a formality; it is the difference between I told them to stop and I can prove they knew.

Send it by certified mail, return receipt requested

Certified mail with a return receipt gives you a tracking number and a signed proof of delivery. That green card, or its electronic equivalent, is what you will show a judge. Send a second copy by ordinary first-class mail at the same time; if the recipient refuses the certified letter, the unrefused regular copy supports the inference that they received notice anyway.

Email and text are fine as supplements, and their read receipts and replies are evidence too. They are not substitutes for the mailed letter in serious matters.

Keep a complete file

Keep the signed letter, the certified mail receipt, the tracking printout, the return receipt, and a log of everything that happens after delivery: dates, times, and descriptions of any continued conduct. If the conduct is digital, take dated screenshots. This file is what turns a future filing from a story into a case.

When the deadline passes

If the conduct stopped, you are done; keep the file in case it resumes. If it continued, escalate on the timeline your letter promised: a police report for harassment or trespass, a restraining order petition where a pattern exists, small claims court for money, or an attorney for matters worth more than the small claims limit. Escalating promptly matters; a deadline you let slide quietly teaches the recipient that your letters are noise.