Plain text email signature: ten examples to copy and how to force plain text

A plain text email signature is a few lines of ordinary characters with no logo, colour, bold or styled links, and it is the one kind of signature that every mail program can show. That is the whole appeal. Microsoft’s page on message formats says plain text is compatible with all email programs, that it does not support bold or italic text, coloured fonts or other formatting, and that pictures cannot be shown in the message.

This page gives the rules, ten examples to copy and the settings to use. The sources are Microsoft, Google’s Gmail pages and the RFC 3676 standard, read in October 2026.

Plain text email signature rules that hold in every app

Few standards govern signatures, but the ones that exist are easy to follow.

Rule	Why	Where it comes from
Keep each line to 78 characters or fewer	Longer lines may be wrapped by the receiving app	RFC 3676 says lines SHOULD be 78 characters or shorter, and suggests 72 or fewer when wrapping
Put a separator line of two dashes and a space before the signature if you add one by hand	It is the long-standing convention that marks where the message ends	RFC 3676 section 4.3 describes the dash dash space line
Write links as full addresses	There is no formatting to turn words into a link	Microsoft: plain text has no text formatting
Leave out images	Pictures cannot be shown in the message	Microsoft’s format page
Use one phone number in international form	It works from any country	Our advice; see writing a number internationally
Keep to characters you can type on a keyboard	Odd symbols may display wrongly in older apps	Our advice, not a vendor rule

On the separator: RFC 3676 calls it a long-standing convention in Usenet news that also appears in Internet mail, using “– ” as the line between body and signature. Gmail’s troubleshooting page says Gmail separates signatures from the body with two dashes, and hides them behind Show trimmed content in some views. You only need to type it yourself if you build a signature by hand in an app that does not add it.

Ten plain text email signature examples

Each example is shown as a small table, one row per line. The names and companies are made up. The line -- in example 3 ends with a space after the two dashes, which the table cannot show.

Example 1: just the basics
Maya Chen
Harbour Studio
maya@harbourstudio.example

Example 2: a standard contact block
Maya Chen
Head of Partnerships, Harbour Studio
Phone: +1 415 555 0142
Web: https://harbourstudio.example

Example 3: with the separator line
--
Maya Chen
Harbour Studio
+1 415 555 0142

Example 4: direct and office lines
Tendai Moyo, Senior Negotiator
Direct: +27 83 555 0188
Office: +27 21 555 0100
https://harbourhomes.example

Example 5: a support desk
Esi Boateng, Customer Support
Greenfield Supplies
Open Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 17:00
support@greenfield-supplies.example

Example 6: a freelancer with a booking link
Ada Eze, Brand Designer
Book a call: https://lumen.example/book
ada@lumen.example

Example 7: a short legal line
Amara Okafor, Partner
Okafor Mensah LLP
+44 20 7946 0200
Confidential. If this reached you in error, please tell the sender.

Example 8: one line only
Imani Okoro, Client Partner, Marlow Finch, +254 722 555 0140

Example 9: with a chat link
Chidi Nwosu, Audit Manager
Nwosu and Partners
WhatsApp: https://wa.me/2348020000000

Example 10: the phone version
Maya Chen
+1 415 555 0142

Every line above is under 78 characters; the longest, in example 7, is 67. Example 10 keeps to two lines on purpose, because a phone screen shows fewer characters per line.

How to set a plain text email signature in Gmail

Google’s troubleshooting page covers the plain text switch from the other direction: if Plain Text appears above the signature box, formatting is off. Its steps for turning plain text mode off are to open Gmail, select Compose, click More options at the bottom right and uncheck Plain text mode.

To do the reverse and send a plain text email signature, check Plain text mode in that menu instead. Then, in Settings, See all settings, Signature, select your signature and click Remove formatting, which Google lists as the fix for stray characters. Delete any picture, because images count toward the 10,000 character limit and will not show in plain text. Save with Save Changes, and send a test.

How to set a plain text email signature in Outlook

Microsoft’s format page gives the paths.

• One message, new Outlook: Options, then Switch to plain text.
• One message, classic Outlook: the Format Text tab, then choose Plain Text.
• Every message, new Outlook: Settings, Mail, Compose and reply, Message format.
• Every message, classic Outlook: File, Options, Mail, Compose messages in this format.

When a message is plain text, the signature in it loses its formatting too. Zoho’s signature help says so directly: formatting applied to the signature, including images and hyperlinks, is not displayed when you compose in plain text. So if a signature “disappears” on certain messages, see the diagnosis guide.

On a phone

Phone apps have their own signature fields. Apple’s iPhone page says you can only use text in Mail signatures (our iPhone guide has the steps), so a plain text email signature is already what you get there. Gmail’s mobile signature is described by Google as text, such as contact information. The mobile signature guide has the full table.

Plain text or HTML?

	Plain text	HTML
Works in every app	Yes, per Microsoft	Most, but renders differently
Logo and colour	No	Yes
Clickable links	Only if the app turns addresses into links	Yes, as words or pictures
Look consistent	Looks the same everywhere, plainly	Varies by app

Many senders choose HTML for the look and keep a plain text email signature for system mail, mobile and for readers who set their app to text. RFC 2046 describes how a message can carry several versions of the same content, ordered from plainest to richest, with the last part the best choice for the receiving app. The HTML signature guide covers the other side, and the list of apps that support HTML tells you which readers will see it.

For comparison, here is an HTML signature with a logo and social icons, drawn by emailfooter’s engine. A plain text email signature cannot show either of those.

Example only. The company and person are made up. Compare it with plain text examples 1 and 2 above.

Test a text only email signature

1. Send yourself a message in plain text mode.
2. Open it on a phone and a laptop. Check that no line wraps awkwardly.
3. Click each address. Whether it becomes a link depends on the reader’s app.
4. Reply to your own message and look at the signature again.

If your team shares a design, emailfooter can show a short text version beside the designed signature, so people have a matching plain text email signature to paste. It does not write into mailboxes, and it is English-only for now.

Frequently asked questions

What is a plain text email signature?

It is a signature made only of characters, with no images, fonts, colours or styled links. Every email program can display it.

How do I set a plain text email signature in Gmail?

Check Plain text mode under More options in the compose window, then remove formatting and pictures from your signature in Settings.

What are the two dashes before an email signature?

They are a convention for marking where the message ends and the signature begins. RFC 3676 describes it as a dash dash space line.

Can I use an ASCII email signature with a logo drawn in characters?

You can, but we advise against it. Character drawings fall apart in other fonts and on phones, and they are hard for screen readers. Use the company name in words.