Single-Word Requests – Word for a ‘Letter Not to Be Opened Until After a Specified Date’

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I'm looking for a word that could be used for a letter that should only be opened after a specified date or time.

For example a letter written for an 18th birthday, the letter could be written years before but shouldn't be opened until the individuals 18th birthday.

There's an example in the TV series 'Dark'. Michael Kahnwald writes "Do not open before November 4, 10:13 P.M." on the envelope of a suicide note.

Ideas:

I don't think 'testament' is correct, taken form 'Last will and testament' a legal document read on a persons death.

It might just be that there is no name for this as all letters are opened in the future?

Best Answer

I've seen the term Open When letter used for this sort of thing, although it's not a particularly common phrase. It can be a specific date like a birthday, a general "open when you graduate" , or "open when you're sad or lonely". The derivation of the name is obvious.

Here are a couple of crafting blogs that mention the idea:

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