An internship offer letter is a short letter that confirms the role, dates, hours, location, stipend, mentor and ground rules of an internship, and asks the intern to accept in writing by a set date. Send it on company letterhead, as a signed PDF, soon after the final interview and at least a week before the start date.
This page gives you a complete letter to copy, clauses to swap in for paid, unpaid, remote, PPO-linked and college-credit internships, an internship completion certificate and the intern’s acceptance reply. It is a template, not legal advice: have a lawyer review the wording, and a CA the stipend and payment lines, before you send it.
When to send the offer letter
Send it within a day or two of telling the candidate they are selected, and at least a week before the start date, so they can plan around classes and exams. Fix a reply-by date three to five working days away, and say what happens after it.
If the intern comes through a college, send a copy to the TPO or internship coordinator and ask whether the college needs a particular format. The guide to campus recruitment for companies covers working with placement cells.
The usual order of documents:
- Selection message, by email or phone.
- Offer letter with an acceptance block (the template below).
- Signed copy back from the intern.
- Joining instructions a few days before the start.
- Completion certificate at the end.
An offer letter proposes the terms and asks for a yes. An appointment letter confirms the person has been taken on. For a short internship, many employers use one letter with an acceptance block for both; ask your lawyer whether you need a separate agreement. For the rest of the hiring cycle, see the recruitment process.
What to include in an internship offer letter
Cover these fifteen points. Anything you leave out becomes a question the intern has to ask, or an argument later.
| Clause | What to write |
|---|---|
| Role and team | The title from your posting, the team, and one line on what the intern will learn |
| Dates and duration | Start date, end date and number of weeks; never ‘till further notice’ |
| Location or remote | Office address and days a week, or the remote terms: overlap hours, laptop, tools |
| Working hours | Days and timings, and how exam days and leave are handled |
| Stipend | Amount per month, pay date, mode and part-month rule, or the plain word ‘unpaid’ |
| Reporting manager | Name, designation and email of the mentor |
| Projects | Two or three lines on the work, the tools and the output expected |
| Confidentiality | Company and client information stays private, during and after the internship |
| Intellectual property | Who owns what the intern creates (have a lawyer word this) |
| Conduct and attendance | Which policies apply, and whom to tell about an absence |
| Certificate | Issued on completion; state any condition, such as handing over work |
| Early end | How either side can end it, with a notice period you choose |
| PPO note | ‘Possible, not promised’ or clear conditions; leave it out if you cannot say |
| Conditions | Anything the offer depends on, such as the college’s no-objection certificate, documents or a check of the details given |
| Acceptance | A reply-by date, and signature and date lines for the intern |
Keep the stipend, dates, work mode and hours the same as your posting. If something has changed, say so in the first paragraph and say why.
Internship offer letter template (copy and edit)
Replace everything in [square brackets] and delete the optional lines you do not need. A slash means choose one. Paste it onto your letterhead, and delete the bracketed notes about your lawyer or CA before you send it.
Prefer Word? Download this template as a Word file: it has the offer letter, the completion certificate and the intern’s reply, with every field to fill in highlighted.
[Company letterhead: name, address, email, website]
Ref. no.: [INT/year/number]
Date: [DD Month YYYY]
To,
[Intern's full name]
[Course, college and university]
[Email] | [Phone]
Subject: Offer of internship as [Role]
Dear [Intern's first name],
Thank you for interviewing with [Company name]. We are pleased to
offer you an internship as [Role] in our [Department] team, on
these terms.
1. Duration: [number] weeks, from [start date] to [end date]. Any
extension will be confirmed in writing.
2. Location and mode: [Office address and days a week] / [Remote:
see the remote clause].
3. Working hours: [days], [start time] to [end time]. Please tell
your mentor about exams and planned leave in advance.
4. Reporting to: [Mentor name], [designation], [email]. Your
first-day instructions will come from [name].
5. Stipend: ₹[amount] per month, paid by bank transfer by the
[date] of the following month, in proportion for part months.
[Ask your CA how to word any deductions.] / This is an unpaid
internship.
6. Your work: [Two or three lines on projects, tools and expected
output]. You will review progress with your mentor every [week].
7. Confidentiality: You will keep all non-public information about
[Company name], its clients and its products confidential,
during the internship and after it ends.
8. Intellectual property: Work you create for [Company name] as part
of this internship, including documents, code, designs and data,
belongs to [Company name]. Anything you made before the
internship stays yours. [Have a lawyer word this clause.]
9. Conduct and attendance: You will follow our code of conduct,
attendance and data security rules, which we will share on day
one, and inform your mentor before any absence.
10. Certificate: When you complete the internship and hand over
your work, you will receive an internship certificate.
11. Ending early: Either you or [Company name] may end the
internship by giving [number] days' notice by email.
12. [Optional] Full-time opportunity: [Paste a PPO clause from
this page, or delete this line.]
13. [Optional] Conditions: This offer depends on [your college's
no-objection certificate / the documents listed below / a check
of the details you have given us].
14. Day one: please bring [photo ID, college ID card, bank account
details, and a letter from your college if it requires one].
This is an internship of fixed duration. Completing it does not by
itself promise a job at [Company name]. [Optional: your lawyer's
wording on how the internship is described.]
Please sign and return a copy of this letter by [reply-by date]. If
we do not hear from you by then, we may offer the place to another
candidate.
Regards,
[Signatory name]
[Designation], [Company name]
[Phone] | [Email]
ACCEPTANCE
I, [Intern's full name], accept this internship on the terms above
and will join on [start date].
Signature: ______________ Date: ______________How clauses 1 to 6 look when filled in
Here is a remote content writing internship, to show how specific each line should be. Only the stipend stays a placeholder.
Subject: Offer of internship as Content Writing Intern 1. Duration: 8 weeks, from Monday 4 January 2027 to Friday 26 February 2027. 2. Location and mode: Remote. You will be available on Google Meet and Slack between 11 am and 4 pm IST on working days. 3. Working hours: Monday to Friday, about 4 hours a day inside that window. Please tell Ananya about your exam dates in advance. 4. Reporting to: Ananya Rao, Content Lead (ananya@[your domain]). Your first-day instructions will come from Ananya. 5. Stipend: ₹[amount] per month, paid by bank transfer by the 7th of the following month, in proportion for part months. 6. Your work: You will write two blog posts a week from outlines that Ananya gives you, edit one customer story a month, and present your work to the team every Friday at 4 pm.
Pro tip: show the stipend line to your accounts team
Before the letter goes out, show clause 5 to whoever will make the payment. The amount, the date and the mode should be something that team can do every month.
Clauses to swap in for each type of internship
The base letter suits most internships. For the type you are offering, swap in one of these.
Paid internship
Name the amount, the day and the mode, and call it a stipend. If payment depends on anything, such as attendance or finishing the term, say so.
Stipend: ₹[amount] per month for the full internship, paid by bank transfer on or before the [7th] of the following month, and in proportion for part months. Travel for company work is reimbursed only if [mentor] approves it beforehand. [Ask your CA how to word deductions and records.]
Unpaid internship
Write ‘unpaid’ in the clause itself and say what the intern gets in return. Ask your lawyer or CA whether an unpaid arrangement suits the work you plan to give.
Stipend: This is an unpaid internship, and no stipend is payable. In return you will have a named mentor ([name]), [a project you can show], weekly feedback, and an internship certificate on completion. Your hours will not exceed [number] a week, so that your studies come first. [Travel for company work is reimbursed with prior approval.]
Remote internship
A remote letter also needs the overlap hours, who supplies the laptop and how company data is handled.
Location and mode: This is a remote internship. You will work from your own location and be available on [video call and chat tools] between [11 am and 4 pm IST] on working days, with a check-in with [mentor] every [Monday]. You will use [your own laptop / a company laptop, to be returned by the end date]. Keep company files only in [workspace] and use your company account, not a personal one, for work.
PPO-linked internship
Say either ‘possible’ or ‘conditional’. Use ‘conditional’ only if you can name the conditions and will honour them.
Option A: possible, not promised At the end of the internship we will review your work with you. Based on your performance and on whether we have an opening, we may offer you a full-time role. This letter does not promise one. Option B: conditional We will offer you the full-time role of [Role] at a CTC of ₹[amount] LPA if, by the end date, you [conditions, for example: complete the project and receive a satisfactory final review]. We will confirm the decision in writing within [number] days of the end date. Joining will be after you complete your degree, on [date or month].
College-credit internship
If the college supplies its own letter format, evaluation form or logbook, use that. Ask the placement cell or internship coordinator what it needs from you before you issue the letter.
College requirements: This internship is part of your [course name] at [college name]. We will confirm your attendance, complete the logbook or evaluation form sent by [coordinator's name and email] by [date], and send the college a copy of this letter. [Academic credit, if any, is decided by the college.]
Internship completion certificate format
Issue the certificate on the last day or within a few days of it, on the letterhead, signed by someone who knows the intern’s work. It should say only what is true: the real dates, the real role and the real tasks. If an intern leaves early, write the dates they actually worked.
- Letterhead, a reference number and the date of issue.
- The intern’s name, course and college.
- Role, team and exact dates, and whether the internship was full-time, part-time or remote.
- The work done, in a line or two.
- An optional short remark on conduct or performance, only if it is true.
- Signatory name, designation and signature, and a seal if your company uses one.
- A contact for verification.
[Company letterhead] Ref. no.: [CERT/year/number] Date of issue: [DD Month YYYY] INTERNSHIP COMPLETION CERTIFICATE This is to certify that [Intern's full name], a student of [course] at [College name], completed an internship with [Company name] as [Role] in the [Department] team from [start date] to [end date] ([number] weeks, [full-time / part-time / remote]). During this period [he / she / they] worked on [project or tasks, in one or two lines] under the guidance of [Mentor name], [designation]. [Optional: one true line on conduct or performance.] This certificate is issued for the intern's academic and career records. To verify it, write to [hr@company.in] quoting the reference number above. We wish [Intern's first name] well in [his / her / their] studies and career. [Signatory name] [Designation], [Company name] [Signature] [Company seal, if your company uses one]
If the intern’s college sends its own form, fill it in too, and let the intern keep this certificate for their own records.
The intern’s acceptance reply
If you are the intern, reply within a day or two from the email address you used during hiring, and attach the signed copy. Keep it short.
Subject: Acceptance of internship offer: [Role], [Your full name] Dear [HR name], Thank you for the offer to join [Company name] as a [Role] intern. I accept it on the terms in your letter dated [date]: [start date] to [end date], [work mode], stipend of ₹[amount] per month. I have attached the signed copy. I will join on [start date] at [time] and bring [the documents listed in your letter]. I have one question: [for example, will you send my college a copy of the letter for its internship record?] Thank you again. Regards, [Full name] [Course, college, year] [Phone number]
If you cannot take the internship, say so quickly and politely, with thanks. The seat can then go to someone else, and you leave a good impression with the recruiter.
Making the letter in Word, Google Docs and PDF
- Letterhead: put the company name, address and email in the document header, so they repeat if the letter runs to a second page.
- Placeholders: highlight every [bracket] in yellow, use Find and Replace for repeated ones such as [Company name], and search the file for the [ character before you send, to confirm none is left.
- A batch of interns: in Word, mail merge (Mailings, then Start Mail Merge, then Letters) can fill names, roles, dates and stipend from an Excel sheet.
- PDF and file name: export a signed PDF (Save As or Export in Word; File, Download, PDF in Google Docs) named ‘Internship offer letter - [Name] - [Company]’. Send it from a company email address, not a personal one.
- Match the posting: the stipend, dates, mode and hours must match what you advertised. If you post on LineupX, where internships are free to post with no limit on the number of posts, copy those details from the posting into the letter. The job description guide shows how to write the posting.
- Changes: if anything changes after you send it, issue a new letter with a new date and reference number, and ask the intern to sign that one.
- Records: keep the signed letter, the intern’s reply and the certificate in one folder.
Pro tip: open the PDF on a phone before you send it
Interns may read the offer on a phone. Check that the text is readable without zooming and that the signature and the acceptance block are visible.
What an intern should check before signing
- Dates, mode and location match the posting you applied to.
- Stipend. The amount, the pay date and what happens in a part month, or the word ‘unpaid’. If it differs from what you were told, ask in writing before you accept.
- Hours and exams. Compare the hours with your college timetable and ask how exam days are handled.
- Mentor and work. You should know who you report to and what you will do.
- Certificate and PPO. Read the wording closely: ‘may’ is not ‘will’. If a PPO matters to you, ask what the conditions are.
- Clauses you do not understand. Ask HR to explain confidentiality, ownership of work and ending early before you sign. Your placement cell or a senior can help.
- College rules. If you applied through your college, read its placement policy and tell your TPO about the offer.
- Any request for money. If an offer asks you to pay for the letter, the certificate or a seat, stop and check the company independently, and talk to your placement cell before you pay.
When you finish, add the internship to your résumé with the role, the dates and what you did; résumé skills for freshers shows how.
Mistakes to avoid
- The letter and the posting disagree. The stipend, dates or mode changed and nobody told the intern. Match them, or say what changed and why.
- ‘Stipend as per company norms.’ Write the amount, the date and the mode, or write ‘unpaid’.
- No end date. ‘Till further notice’ gives the intern nothing to plan around.
- A full-time offer letter with words deleted. Start from the internship template, so the stipend, end date and certificate are in the letter and nothing is left over from an employee contract.
- A PPO line that promises more than you can deliver. ‘Possible’ and ‘conditional’ are honest. ‘Assured’ is a promise.
- An unsigned Word file from a personal email. Send a signed PDF from a company address.
- No reply-by date. Offers then stay open for weeks and block the seat.
- A certificate that does not match the facts. Stretched dates or a bigger title can hurt the intern when a college or employer checks.
- Skipping the review. Have a lawyer check confidentiality, ownership of work and ending early, and a CA the stipend and deductions.
A template is not legal advice
Everything here is sample wording. Companies and internships differ, so ask a lawyer to review the final letter before you use it, especially the lines on confidentiality, ownership of work, ending early and how the internship is described, and ask a CA about the stipend, deductions and payment records. This page does not say what any law requires.
What should an internship offer letter include?
The role and team, start and end dates, location or remote terms, working hours, the stipend or a plain ‘unpaid’, the reporting manager, the work expected, confidentiality, ownership of work, conduct and attendance, the certificate, how either side can end it early, and a block for the intern to accept and sign. Add a PPO note only if you can explain how the decision will be made.
Is there an internship offer letter format in Word?
Yes. Download the Word file from this page: it has the offer letter, the completion certificate and the intern’s acceptance reply, with every field to fill in highlighted. Put it on your letterhead, replace the fields and export it as a PDF. For a batch of interns, Word’s mail merge can fill names, dates and stipend from a spreadsheet.
What is the difference between an offer letter and an appointment letter for an intern?
An offer letter proposes the terms and asks the candidate to accept. An appointment letter confirms that the person has been taken on, usually after they accept. For a short internship, many employers use one letter with an acceptance block for both, as the template here does; ask your lawyer whether you need a separate agreement.
Does an unpaid internship need an offer letter?
It should have one. The letter is where you write ‘unpaid’, the hours, the end date, the mentor and what the intern gets in return, such as a certificate. Ask your lawyer or CA whether an unpaid arrangement suits the work you plan to give.
When should I issue the internship certificate?
At the end, once the intern has finished the term and handed over their work. Use the real dates, role and tasks. If the intern’s college sends its own form, fill that in as well.
What should I do if an intern does not reply to the offer?
Follow up once, a day before the reply-by date, by email and a phone call or message. If there is still no reply after the date, write to say the offer has lapsed and offer the place to your next candidate.
How do I extend an internship?
Send a short written confirmation of the new end date and the stipend for the extra weeks, and have both sides sign it. Keep it with the original letter. If the extension also changes the work, the hours or the mentor, say so in the same note.
Who should sign the internship offer letter?
Someone with the authority to commit the company to the terms, usually the HR head, a manager or a founder, with their name and designation printed under the signature. The mentor can be named in the letter without signing it. The intern signs the acceptance block.