Experience letter format

An experience letter is the letter a company gives an employee on leaving, describing the role, the dates and the work done. Pick one of four templates, fill in the details and issue it on letterhead.

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In short

An experience letter is a signed letter on company letterhead that an employer gives an employee on leaving, usually along with the relieving letter. It confirms the designation, department, joining date and last working day, and describes the work in a few sentences. The next employer or a background-check agency reads it, so it should be accurate and specific.

Experience letter templates

Fill in your details once and all 4 versions below update. Copy the one you need, or print it on your letterhead and save it as a PDF.

Company nameCompany addressDate of issueReference numberEmployee’s full nameLast designationDepartmentJoining dateLast working dayMain duties, in one lineOne contribution you can vouch for (starts with a verb)Signatory’s nameSignatory’s titleHR contact email

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1. Standard experience letter

Use this when an employee resigned, served the notice period and left on normal terms.

[Company name]
[Company address]

Ref: [Reference number]
Date: [Date of issue]

To whom it may concern

Subject: Experience letter for [Employee’s full name]

This letter confirms that [Employee’s full name] worked with [Company name] from [Joining date] to [Last working day] and last held the position of [Last designation] in the [Department] department. [He/She/They] resigned and left after serving the notice period.

In this role, [he/she/they] worked on [Main duties, in one line]. We found [his/her/their] conduct good throughout the employment.

The employment was [full-time and permanent/full-time on a fixed term/part-time]. The relieving letter dated [date of relieving letter] records the exit.

We thank [Employee’s full name] for the work done here and wish [him/her/them] well in the next role.

This letter is issued at the request of the employee. Please direct any verification request to [HR contact email], with the reference number above.

Yours faithfully,

[Signatory’s name]
[Signatory’s title]
[Company name]

2. Experience letter with a performance note

Use this when the employee asks for a stronger reference and you can back every line with a review, a project or a manager’s note.

[Company name]
[Company address]

Ref: [Reference number]
Date: [Date of issue]

To whom it may concern

Subject: Experience letter and performance note, [Employee’s full name]

[Employee’s full name] was employed with [Company name] from [Joining date] to [Last working day]. [He/She/They] last held the position of [Last designation] in the [Department] department, reporting to the [title of the reporting manager].

Role: [He/She/They] worked on [Main duties, in one line].

Contribution: [Employee’s full name] [One contribution you can vouch for (starts with a verb)].

Skills and tools: [two or three that the work required].

Conduct: [Add a conduct assessment that the records support, or delete this paragraph.]

These lines reflect the department’s review records and the view of [his/her/their] reporting manager. We wish [Employee’s full name] every success.

This letter is issued at the request of the employee. For confirmation of any detail, please contact the HR team at [HR contact email], quoting the reference number above.

Yours faithfully,

[Signatory’s name]
[Signatory’s title]
[Company name]

3. Short factual letter

Use this when the employee was terminated, the exit is still contested, or your policy is to confirm only the role and the dates.

[Company name]
[Company address]

Ref: [Reference number]
Date: [Date of issue]

To whom it may concern

Subject: Employment details of [Employee’s full name]

This letter gives the employment details of [Employee’s full name] as held in the HR and payroll records of [Company name] on the date of this letter. It is issued so that the employee can confirm the period and the role to others.

[Employee’s full name] (Employee ID: [employee ID]) worked with [Company name] from [Joining date] to [Last working day] and last held the position of [Last designation] in the [Department] department, at our [city] office, reporting to the [title of the reporting manager]. The employment was [full-time and permanent/full-time on a fixed term/part-time].

This letter states these details only and is issued at the request of the employee. Any further enquiry should be sent in writing to [HR contact email], quoting the reference number above.

Yours faithfully,

[Signatory’s name]
[Signatory’s title]
[Company name]

4. Fixed-term contract or trainee letter

Use this for a fixed-term employee or a graduate trainee on your payroll whose term has ended; interns get an internship certificate instead.

[Company name]
[Company address]

Ref: [Reference number]
Date: [Date of issue]

To whom it may concern

Subject: Experience letter for [Employee’s full name], [fixed-term contract/graduate trainee programme]

[Employee’s full name] worked with [Company name] under a [fixed-term contract/graduate trainee programme] from [Joining date] to [Last working day] and last held the position of [Last designation] in the [Department] department. The engagement ended when the agreed term was completed.

During the term, [he/she/they] [worked on/trained in] [Main duties, in one line]. [He/She/They] completed the assignments given by the department and took part in its regular reviews.

[His/Her/Their] conduct during the term was good. We wish [him/her/them] well in [his/her/their] career.

This letter is issued at the request of the employee. Please write to [HR contact email] to verify it, quoting the reference number above.

Yours faithfully,

[Signatory’s name]
[Signatory’s title]
[Company name]

These templates are a starting point, not legal advice. Check the final wording against your company policy and with your HR or legal adviser before you send it.

What to include

Company letterhead with name, address and logo, so the reader can trace the letter to the company.
A reference number from your register and the date of issue.
A subject line carrying the employee’s full name, spelt as in your HR records.
The last designation and department, and the earlier designation if the person was promoted.
Joining date and last working day, matching the relieving letter and payroll.
A summary of responsibilities: two or three sentences naming the team, the tasks and the tools.
A conduct note, and a contribution line only if a review, a project or a manager’s note supports it.
A closing line of thanks and good wishes, written in the company’s voice.
A verification contact: an HR email address, with the reference number to quote.
The name, title and signature of an authorised signatory, with the company seal if your company uses one.

How to issue it

Let HR draft the letter from the HR system, not from memory: joining date, designation history and last working day.
Ask the reporting manager for two lines on what the person worked on. Use them for the responsibilities summary, and for the contribution line if the employee has asked for a performance note.
Check the dates against the relieving letter and payroll before anyone signs. A mismatch is the first thing a background-check agency will notice.
Number the letter from your register, print it on letterhead and have an authorised signatory sign it, such as the head of HR, a director or the founder.
Save the signed letter as a PDF and send it from the HR email address to the employee’s personal email, because the work email is usually closed on exit. Keep the Word draft for your records.
File a copy with the reference number, the date sent and the signatory’s name. Send later verification calls to one named person, who answers in writing.

Mistakes to avoid

Dates that differ from the relieving letter or payroll can fail a background check; copy them from the HR system and compare before signing.
Praise that the record does not support will not survive a reference call; write one specific, checkable line, or use the short factual version.
Salary in the letter exposes pay to every reader; leave it out, and if the employee needs pay stated for a visa or loan application, use the experience certificate format for that purpose.
A missing reference number or signatory title makes verification harder; add the number from your register and the signatory’s full title.
Placeholders left in the final PDF, such as square brackets or the wrong pronoun, look careless; read the finished PDF from top to bottom before you send it.
Hints about a dispute or a poor exit in the wording invite questions; keep the letter to facts and take any contested case to your legal adviser.

Experience letter, experience certificate and relieving letter

Many companies use ‘experience letter’ and ‘experience certificate’ for the same paper, so a requester may use either name. If you issue both, give each a clear job. The relieving letter records that the employee has been relieved of duties from a stated date, and its wording should match the recorded reason for the exit. The experience letter describes the work. The experience certificate records the facts.

Write the letter as a short narrative in the company’s voice, with a summary of responsibilities and a conduct note. It goes to the next employer, usually together with the relieving letter. Write the certificate as a formal third-person statement of facts and keep opinions out of it. The employee gives the certificate to a third party, such as a university, a visa office or a government recruiter.

If one request needs both, issue both under separate reference numbers, so a verifier can tell the two papers apart.

How to word the responsibilities and conduct lines

Name the team, the tasks and, where useful, the tools. ‘Built weekly sales dashboards in Power BI and cleaned customer data for the regional sales team’ tells the next employer more than ‘performed assigned duties diligently’.

Keep the conduct note short and true. ‘Conduct throughout the employment was good’ is enough. For a contribution line, choose something a manager would repeat to a verifier: a project delivered, a process improved, a client handled. Leave out rankings, scores and comparisons with colleagues.

When the exit was not smooth

An employee who was terminated, stopped coming to work or left with a dispute still open needs an accurate record of the role and the dates. The short factual version gives those and nothing more: no praise, no criticism and no reason for leaving.

Decide your policy before the first case comes up, and apply it to everyone in the same position. Check the wording with your HR or legal adviser. Do not use the letter as a bargaining tool in a dispute about dues; deal with the two separately.

Questions about the experience letter

What is the difference between an experience letter and a relieving letter?

A relieving letter records that the employee has been relieved of duties from a stated date. An experience letter confirms the period of employment and describes the roles and work. If you issue both, use consistent dates and wording that matches the recorded exit, whether it followed resignation or another reason.

Who should sign an experience letter?

Whoever your company has authorised to sign HR documents: usually the head of HR, or a director or the founder in a small company. The reporting manager may sign if your company’s policy authorises it; otherwise, ask the manager to check the content before the authorised signatory signs. Print the signatory’s name and title under the signature so a verifier knows whom to contact.

Should an experience letter mention salary?

Leave it out by default. The letter describes the role and the work, while the CTC and other pay details sit in the offer letter, payslips and settlement papers. If the employee needs pay stated for a visa, loan or admission application, use the experience certificate format, which has a pay line for that case. Keeping pay out of the letter lets the employee share it freely.

Should you send an experience letter in Word or PDF?

Draft it in Word so you can edit and reuse the template. Send the signed letter as a PDF, which keeps the layout, signature and seal fixed. Keep the Word draft and the signed PDF together in the employee’s file under the reference number.

Can you issue an experience letter for only a few months of service?

Yes. The dates tell the reader how long the person worked, so a short stay needs no special wording. Use the standard template and keep the responsibilities summary to what the person actually did. For interns, issue an internship certificate instead. For fixed-term staff, use the contract or trainee version above.

Do you have to issue an experience letter to everyone who leaves?

Follow your company’s policy, and check with your HR or legal adviser if you are unsure. Many companies make the letter part of the exit checklist and issue it once the other exit formalities are done, because the next employer will ask for it. Whatever you decide, apply it the same way to every employee.

How should you answer a new employer who wants to verify the letter?

Name one person to handle verification. Ask for the request in writing from the employer’s or agency’s official email. Confirm the designation, department and dates against the letter and your records, and quote the reference number. Share anything more, such as conduct, only if the employee has agreed and your policy allows it.

How long should an experience letter be?

One page is enough. The letterhead, the reference line, a body of two or three short paragraphs and the signature block all fit. A longer letter usually contains padding or opinion, and both make it harder for a verifier to check against your records.

More HR letter formats

Experience certificate format Internship certificate format Appointment letter format Joining letter format Internship offer letter format All HR letter formats Job description templates

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