How to ask for an experience letter
What to request, and what the letter should contain.
Template: fill in the [brackets] with your own details.
Why it works this way
- Post, period and employee ID let HR find your record without a search.
- One clear ask — the letter itself — instead of a list of documents.
- A date only when a new job genuinely needs it keeps the request polite.
Common mistakes
- Asking vaguely for “some certificate” without saying which one.
- Forgetting your employee ID or exact dates of employment.
- Demanding it immediately, when a week or two is normal.
How long does it usually take? A week or two is common. If it crosses two weeks, send one polite reminder quoting the date of your first request.
Check the letter before you leave
When the letter arrives, check four things at once: your name's spelling, your post, your dates of employment, and that it is on the company letterhead with a signature and stamp. If anything is wrong, get it corrected immediately — correcting it months later, when you need it for a new job, is far harder.
Keep a scanned copy of the final letter with your other documents. The original stays safe, and the scan is what you will actually send to employers.
If the company delays or refuses
Send one polite reminder after two weeks, quoting the date of your first request. If HR still does not respond, write to the HR head, again politely, with the same details. An experience letter is a standard employment document, not a favour — most companies issue it as routine, and a reminder is usually all it takes.
If the company has closed down or genuinely cannot issue one, gather what you do have: the offer letter, relieving email, payslips, and bank salary credits. Together, these prove the same facts — post, period and employer — and most new employers accept them when a formal letter is impossible.
What a good experience letter contains
When the letter arrives, check that it has everything a future employer will look for: the company letterhead, your post and department, your exact period of employment, a line about the nature of your duties, and a closing line about your conduct. It should carry a signature, a stamp, and a date.
If anything is missing — often the duties line or the stamp — ask HR to add it before you leave. A letter missing its stamp or dates looks unfinished to the next employer, and getting it fixed after you have left is far slower than getting it fixed while you are still there.
Keep the digital copy safe
Scan the final letter the day you receive it, and keep the scan in two places — your email and a cloud folder, for example. The paper original goes in a file at home. Years later, when a background check asks for it, the scan is what you will actually send, and the original is what proves the scan is real.
Related guides
Post, department and last working day, with no confusion.
Complaint letter to a company — get a refund or a fixFaulty product or poor service, written firmly and politely.
Write a formal letter in 10 minutesPurpose in one line, dates and numbers, one clear request.