TYPO3 has a default layout for sending emails. It can be easily customized, for example by changing the logo and highlight color values under Settings → Extension Configuration → Backend → Login (see also our notes on customizing the login screen).

Unfortunately, the logo has to be supplied in exactly the prescribed dimensions.

The bigger problem: this doesn't let you set a signature, which is mandatory for business email correspondence.

Steps to Customize the Layout of TYPO3 System Emails

Below are the steps for TYPO3 v12. Paths may vary depending on your installation.

  1. Copy the templates (HTML and text variant) from the core:
    /html/typo3-composer/vendor/typo3/cms-core/Resources/Private/Layouts/
    • SystemEmail.html (HTML variant)
    • SystemEmail.txt (text variant)
  2. Add them to your own sitepackage (example folder):
    /html/typo3-composer/packages/<MY-SITE-PACKAGE>/Resources/Private/Layouts/SystemMail/
  3. Override the layout path in additional.php (create it if it doesn't exist):

<?php

$GLOBALS['TYPO3_CONF_VARS']['MAIL']['layoutRootPaths'][100] = "EXT:<MY-SITE-PACKAGE>/Resources/Private/Layouts/SystemMail/";

The file additional.php sits alongside settings.php in the TYPO3 installation directory under config/system/.

The copied files in your sitepackage are now used to render the emails. You can customize them however you like.

In particular, we recommend adding your organization's signature.