Frequent questions
The questions that come up most often, before writing or before sending.
Confidentiality
The reason this service exists, and how to check it for yourself.
Does my information go anywhere?
No: what you type stays in the page open on your device, and nothing leaves it for a server while you write. You can check that for yourself instead of taking this sentence on trust: open your browser's developer tools, go to the Network tab, then fill in a template and reload the page. The list of requests shown is complete, and not one of them contains your text.
Do you keep my letters?
Nothing is saved anywhere but in your browser, on the device you are using. The site keeps enough locally to pick up a letter you started, and what it keeps is erased with a single button, at any time. No copy is sent to ODERSA or to anybody else.
Do I need an account?
No, never. No address to hand over, no password to choose, no sign-up form to fill in. You open the site and you write, as you would open a blank sheet of paper.
Is the site free, and why?
Yes, entirely, and that will not change. Letters That Work is a service of the ODERSA association, and its content is published under a free licence rather than sold. There is no subscription, no paid option, and no link on this site leads to a service that would make money out of your case.
Legal weight
The point not to get wrong, in either direction.
Is this legal advice?
No. The site gives the shape of a letter, the words that fit and the public references that usually apply. It never tells anyone what to do about their case, nor what they will get by sending it.
Will my letter be valid?
A letter is not “valid” or otherwise: it is not sitting an exam. What counts is that it is received, dated, precise about what it asks for, and provable, that is, that you can show it really went.
Are the texts cited up to date?
Every legal reference cited in a template carries its public source and the date it was read. The law changes: a legal ground that has not been rechecked for a long time says so, rather than keeping quiet about its age.
My country is not covered.
The core, the method that gets a letter answered, holds anywhere: it depends on no country. Whatever depends on a particular body or on national law comes separately, in modules added country by country as they are checked. Until yours arrives, the universal core is fully usable.
Each of these points is set out on its own page.
- This is not a lawyer the exact limit of the service
- The checked sources every reference, with the date it was read
- The country modules what already exists, country by country
Using it in practice
What to know before writing, printing or sending a letter.
How do I send the letter?
The letter is sent like any other: printed and posted, or copied into an email. What counts next is keeping proof that it went, and if possible that it arrived. The full method is set out separately.
Can I print it?
Yes, and it is designed for that: the layout comes out clean on an ordinary printer, with no site banner and no coloured background eating the ink. One click on print is enough.
Does it work with no connection?
Yes, once the site has been opened a first time with a connection. The browser then keeps what is needed to write a letter with no network, including on a plane or in an area with poor coverage. What stays available offline is set out separately.
I have no printer.
The text of the letter can be copied out as it stands: select all, copy, paste into an email or a word processor. Many public libraries also offer printing at the desk, for a few coins.
Can I reuse the templates in my association?
Yes: the templates offered here, grouped into 8 families of letters, are published under the CC BY 4.0 licence. You may copy them, adapt them to your context and pass them on, including for collective use, on condition that you credit ODERSA. What the licence allows exactly, and what already exists for people helping others, are set out separately.
Each of these moves is set out on its own page.
- Sending it and keeping the proof the full method, post and email
- Offline what stays available with no network
- The CC BY 4.0 licence what it allows exactly
- Helping other people social workers, volunteers, associations
Does a question of yours have no answer here? Ask it directly: the site is small, and a missing answer is put right quickly once somebody points it out.