Report a mistake · Works anywhere
Getting a wrong entry in a file corrected
A misspelled name, a wrong date, an amount that does not match. This letter isolates the wrong entry, gives the correct value and the document that proves it.
This page gives the shape of a letter, the words that fit and the public references attached to it. It does not tell you what to do about a particular case, and it does not replace the opinion of a qualified professional. The blanks marked in the letter are for you to fill in.
When this letter fits
- A document you received carries inaccurate information about you: spelling, date, address, amount, circumstances.
- A mistake in one file spreads elsewhere, because organisations pass the entry on to each other.
- You want the correction to leave a trace, not merely to be promised on the telephone.
When it does not fit
- It is not an entry that is wrong, it is a decision drawing a consequence from it: challenge the decision, and report the mistake in the same movement.
- The entry is correct but you no longer want it kept: that is the letter about erasure.
- You want to know first what is recorded about you: start with the request for access to your data.
The letter, in full
The passages that are marked are the blanks to fill in. Paragraphs carrying a condition are written only in the case stated: the workshop does that sorting, or you do it by hand.
your town, the date
Subject: Report of a mistake to be corrected in my file
Reference: your file number
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am reporting a mistake concerning me, found in where you saw the mistake.
It says: what it says, exactly
The correct value is as follows: correct value
I enclose with this letter document that proves the correct value, which establishes it.
If “What the mistake led to, if anything” is filled inwhat the mistake led to, if anything
I am asking you to correct this entry in my file, and to confirm the correction to me in writing, stating the date on which it was made.
If “Could the mistake have been passed on elsewhere” is “Yes, or I cannot rule it out”As this entry may have been passed to other organisations, I am also asking you for the list of recipients it was sent to, and for each of them to be informed of the correction.
Finally, I am asking you to send me, once corrected, a copy of the rectified document.
I should be grateful for a reply before date by which you expect the correction.
This letter is being sent with proof of posting retained.
Yours faithfully,
your first name and surname
Enclosures
- A copy of the document carrying the mistake, with the entry circled or marked.
- A copy of the document establishing the correct value.
- A copy of proof of identity, if the organisation requires it before touching a file that names you.
The questions to answer
- Where you saw the mistake
The document, its date, its reference. A mistake with no document stays an assertion.
Example: the certificate of 3 July 2026, reference AT-88120 - What it says, exactly
Copy the entry out as it appears, without correcting it as you go.
Example: “Date of birth: 12/04/1987” - The correct value
Write it as it should appear, down to the last letter and digit.
Example: “Date of birth: 21/04/1987” - The document that proves the correct value
One is enough if it is official. Name it, and enclose a copy.
Example: a copy of the birth certificate - What the mistake led to, if anything optional
A refusal, a delay, a letter that went astray, an amount miscalculated. Leave empty if the mistake has led to nothing yet. - Could the mistake have been passed on elsewhere
- Yes, or I cannot rule it out: The letter will then ask for the list of recipients and for them to be informed.
- No, the entry stays in this file: Nothing to ask for on that side.
- The date by which you expect the correction
Two to four weeks. If something else depends on it, say so and give the date of that deadline.
What to ask for, precisely
- The correction, and the date it was made: with no date, a correction cannot be proved.
- A copy of the rectified document, to check that the correction is the one you asked for.
- The list of recipients the wrong entry was passed to, and for them to be informed.
- The undoing of whatever the mistake led to, where it led to something: that is a separate request, to be worded in its own terms.
The documents to attach
- A copy of the document carrying the mistake, with the entry circled or marked.
- A copy of the document establishing the correct value.
- A copy of proof of identity, if the organisation requires it before touching a file that names you.
The deadline
Two to four weeks for a simple correction. Where a mistake is blocking a case in progress, it helps for the letter to name the deadline: “this application has to be lodged before such a date” is worth more than “it is urgent”.
After sending
- Keep the faulty document, your letter and the proof of posting: they are the trace of the mistake as much as of the request.
- When the rectified document arrives, compare it word for word with what you asked for.
- If the mistake had been passed on, check with the next organisation that the correction reached it.
The legal grounds
This template belongs to the universal core: it invokes no national law, so it has no legal reference to cite. Its strength lies elsewhere, in how precise the facts, the dates and the request are. If your country has a text that strengthens this step, it lives in a country module, separately and by name.