At a glance
| Document type | Employer letter template |
|---|---|
| Issued by | Employer |
| Templates included | 5 ready to use versions |
| Download format | Word (.docx) |
| Statutory reference | Apprentices Act, 1961 |
| Last reviewed | 26 August 2026 |
| Maintained by | Engage HR editorial team |
Intern, apprentice and trainee employee
Three words used loosely for three different arrangements. The distinction decides which body of law is in play.
| Intern | Apprentice under the Apprentices Act, 1961 | Trainee on the payroll | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Statutory basis | None. The word carries no defined meaning in Indian law. | A contract of apprenticeship in a designated trade, registered with the Apprenticeship Adviser. | An ordinary contract of employment, usually with a probation or training clause. |
| Status under labour law | Undetermined. It turns on the duties actually performed. | Section 18: a trainee and not a worker, and no law with respect to labour applies. | An employee. Every applicable provision applies. |
| What is paid | A stipend, if the employer offers one. Governed by the letter. | A stipend at not less than the prescribed minimum rate under section 13, and never on piece work or an incentive scheme. | Wages under the contract, subject to the applicable statutory position. |
| Registration or filing | None. | The contract goes to the Apprenticeship Adviser within thirty days, or the portal within seven. | The ordinary registrations for an employee of that establishment. |
| What happens at the end | As the letter provides. Usually the engagement simply ends. | The contract ends on expiry of training; section 22(1) requires the employer to have its own recruitment policy. | Confirmation, extension of training, or the ending of employment under the contract. |
| Disputes go to | Wherever the underlying relationship takes them. | The Apprenticeship Adviser, with an appeal to a Committee of the Apprenticeship Council whose decision is final. | The ordinary forum for an employment dispute. |
Standard internship offer letter format
An internship letter is short, but it carries more terms than people expect, because the engagement has no statutory default to fall back on.
- Header block. Letterhead, reference, date, and the intern's name and address. Where the intern is a student, the institution and enrolment number too.
- The offer and the duration. Title of the engagement, start date and end date. The end date is a term, not an estimate.
- Learning objective and scope. What the intern will work on and what they are expected to learn. This is what distinguishes an internship from cheap staffing, and it is the paragraph most drafts omit.
- Supervision. The named mentor or supervisor, and how often reviews will happen.
- Stipend. The amount, the frequency, the payment date, and any deduction or reimbursement position. Where no stipend is paid, say so expressly.
- Hours and location. Working days, hours, whether the engagement is on site or remote, and the position on holidays and leave.
- Status. A plain statement that the engagement is an internship, that it does not constitute employment, and that it carries no entitlement to employment at the end. Where a pre-placement offer is possible, state the basis rather than implying one.
- Confidentiality and intellectual property. Short, specific, and covering work product created during the engagement.
- Conclusion and offboarding. That the engagement ends on the end date without further notice, the return of assets, and the certificate the intern will receive.
- Acceptance block. Signature, and a guardian's signature where the intern is a minor.
Where the institution requires a tripartite arrangement or an evaluation form, refer to it by name in the letter rather than handling it by email later.
5 letter templates
Internship Offer Letter for paid internship, fixed term
The general case. Note that the status paragraph and the end date paragraph do the heavy lifting.
[Company Name] [Company Address] Ref: [Reference Number] Date: [Date] To [Intern Name] [Address] Subject: Offer of internship Dear [Intern Name], We are pleased to offer you an internship with [Company Name] on the following terms. 1. Engagement and duration Title: [Internship Title], [Department] Start date: [Start Date] End date: [End Date] The engagement is for the fixed period stated above and ends on the end date without any further notice being required from either side. 2. Learning objective and scope You will work on [Project or Area], with the objective that by the end of the engagement you are able to [Stated Learning Outcome]. Your work will include [Task], [Task] and [Task]. You will not be assigned work outside this scope without your mentor's agreement. 3. Supervision Your mentor will be [Mentor Name], [Designation]. You will have a review with your mentor [Frequency, for example once a fortnight], and a written feedback conversation at the midpoint on or around [Midpoint Date]. 4. Stipend You will be paid a stipend of [Stipend Amount] per [Period], payable on or before the [Payment Day] of each month by transfer to the bank account you nominate. [Where applicable: statutory deductions, if any are applicable, will be made at source.] 5. Hours and location Working days: [Working Days] Hours: [Working Hours] Location: [Location or "remote"] You will observe the holidays published for [Location]. You may take [Number] days of leave during the engagement, to be agreed with your mentor in advance. 6. Status of this engagement This is an internship. It does not constitute employment with [Company Name], and it does not create any entitlement to employment at [Company Name] at the end of the engagement or at any time afterwards. You will not be described as an employee of [Company Name] to any third party. 7. Confidentiality and work product You will treat all information you access during the engagement as confidential, both during the engagement and afterwards. All work product you create in the course of the engagement belongs to [Company Name]. You will not publish, post or reproduce any of it without written permission. 8. Conclusion On [End Date] you will return all assets, access cards and materials issued to you. [Company Name] will issue an internship completion certificate within [Number] working days of the end date, provided the engagement has run to its conclusion. 9. Early conclusion Either side may end this engagement before [End Date] on [Notice Period] written notice. [Company Name] may end it immediately for breach of clause 7 or of the conduct standards applicable at [Location]. Please sign and return the duplicate of this letter to confirm your acceptance. For [Company Name] [Authorised Signatory Name] [Designation] Accepted: [Intern Name] Date: [Date]
Internship Offer Letter for academic or credit-linked internship
Where the institution requires the internship for credit. The letter has to name the institutional documents, because the college will chase them and the intern will be caught in between.
[Company Name] [Company Address] Ref: [Reference Number] Date: [Date] To [Intern Name] [Institution Name] Enrolment number: [Enrolment Number] Programme: [Programme Name] Subject: Offer of internship for academic credit Dear [Intern Name], Further to the request from [Institution Name] dated [Request Date], we are pleased to offer you an internship with [Company Name] on the following terms. 1. Engagement and duration Title: [Internship Title], [Department] Start date: [Start Date] End date: [End Date] The engagement is for the fixed period stated above and is intended to satisfy the [Course or Module Name] requirement of your programme. 2. Academic requirements We understand that [Institution Name] requires [Named Deliverable, for example a supervised project report] and [Named Deliverable, for example a signed evaluation form in the format at [Form Reference]]. [Mentor Name] will complete the evaluation and return it to [Institution Contact] by [Evaluation Deadline]. Your project report is your own work and is to be submitted by you. 3. Learning objective and scope You will work on [Project or Area] under the supervision of [Mentor Name], [Designation]. The objective is that you are able to [Stated Learning Outcome] by the end of the engagement. 4. Stipend [Where applicable: you will be paid a stipend of [Stipend Amount] per [Period]. / Where not: this internship is undertaken for academic credit and no stipend is payable. [Company Name] will meet [Named Item, for example daily travel to the office] on production of supporting documents.] 5. Hours and location Working days: [Working Days] Hours: [Working Hours], which have been set to accommodate your academic timetable as advised by [Institution Name]. Location: [Location] 6. Status of this engagement This is an academic internship. It does not constitute employment with [Company Name] and creates no entitlement to employment at the end of the engagement. 7. Confidentiality and publication You will treat all information you access as confidential. Your project report may describe your work in general terms, but any material identifying [Company Name] customers, financial information or unreleased products must be approved in writing by [Mentor Name] before submission to [Institution Name]. 8. Conclusion The engagement ends on [End Date]. [Company Name] will issue a completion certificate and the completed evaluation within [Number] working days of that date. Please sign and return the duplicate of this letter to confirm your acceptance. For [Company Name] [Authorised Signatory Name] [Designation] Accepted: [Intern Name] Date: [Date] Counter-signed for [Institution Name] (where required): [Institution Signatory Name] Date: [Date]
Internship Offer Letter for internship with a pre-placement offer pathway
The sample that most needs care. State the criteria and the decision date, or state that no offer is on the table. An implied promise is worse than either.
[Company Name] [Company Address] Ref: [Reference Number] Date: [Date] To [Intern Name] [Institution Name] Enrolment number: [Enrolment Number] Subject: Offer of internship, with pre-placement consideration Dear [Intern Name], We are pleased to offer you an internship with [Company Name] on the following terms. 1. Engagement and duration Title: [Internship Title], [Department] Start date: [Start Date] End date: [End Date] 2. Learning objective and scope You will work on [Project or Area] under [Mentor Name], [Designation]. The objective is that by [End Date] you are able to [Stated Learning Outcome]. 3. Stipend [Stipend Amount] per [Period], payable on or before the [Payment Day] of each month. 4. Pre-placement consideration [Company Name] may, at its discretion, make an offer of employment to interns who complete this programme. Consideration is on the following basis: (a) completion of the full engagement to [End Date]; (b) an assessment by [Mentor Name] against the criteria at Annexure A, covering [Criterion], [Criterion] and [Criterion]; (c) a final review with [Reviewer Name], [Designation]; and (d) an open position at [Band or Grade] in [Department] at the time of the decision. The decision will be communicated to you by [Decision Date], whether or not an offer is made. This clause records the process only. It is not an offer of employment and does not oblige [Company Name] to make one. 5. Hours and location Working days: [Working Days]. Hours: [Working Hours]. Location: [Location]. 6. Status of this engagement This is an internship and does not constitute employment with [Company Name]. Any employment would arise only under a separate written offer and appointment letter. 7. Confidentiality and work product All information you access is confidential. All work product created during the engagement belongs to [Company Name]. 8. Conclusion The engagement ends on [End Date] without further notice. Assets are to be returned on that date and a completion certificate will be issued within [Number] working days. Please sign and return the duplicate to confirm your acceptance. For [Company Name] [Authorised Signatory Name] [Designation] Accepted: [Intern Name] Date: [Date]
Internship Offer Letter for remote or project-based internship
Where the intern never enters a building. The terms that need extra work are availability, equipment, data handling and how completion is judged.
[Company Name] [Company Address] Ref: [Reference Number] Date: [Date] To [Intern Name] [Address] Subject: Offer of remote internship Dear [Intern Name], We are pleased to offer you a remote internship with [Company Name] on the following terms. 1. Engagement and duration Title: [Internship Title], [Department] Start date: [Start Date] End date: [End Date] The engagement is remote. You are not required to attend any [Company Name] premises, and no travel or accommodation is provided. 2. Project and deliverables You will work on [Project Name]. The deliverables are: (a) [Deliverable] by [Milestone Date]; (b) [Deliverable] by [Milestone Date]; (c) [Deliverable] by [End Date]. Completion of the engagement is assessed against these deliverables. 3. Availability You are expected to be available for [Number] hours per week, including a fixed overlap of [Overlap Hours] on [Working Days] so that you can work with [Mentor Name] and the team. Outside the overlap you may schedule your own time. 4. Supervision [Mentor Name], [Designation], will hold a scheduled call with you [Frequency] and will respond to written questions within [Response Window] on working days. 5. Stipend [Stipend Amount] per [Period], payable on or before the [Payment Day] of each month. 6. Equipment, access and data [Where applicable: [Company Name] will issue you [Equipment Description], which is to be returned by [Return Date].] You will access [Company Name] systems only through the account issued to you, only from a device you control, and only for work under this engagement. You will not copy [Company Name] data to personal storage or personal accounts, and you will not use any [Company Name] data in any external tool that has not been approved in writing by [Mentor Name]. 7. Status of this engagement This is an internship and does not constitute employment with [Company Name], nor does it create any entitlement to employment at its conclusion. 8. Confidentiality and work product All information you access is confidential during and after the engagement. All work product created during the engagement, including code, designs, data and documentation, belongs to [Company Name]. You will not publish it or include it in a public portfolio without written permission from [Mentor Name]. 9. Conclusion The engagement ends on [End Date]. Your system access will be withdrawn on that date and any issued equipment is to be returned by [Return Date]. A completion certificate will be issued within [Number] working days. Please sign and return the duplicate to confirm your acceptance. For [Company Name] [Authorised Signatory Name] [Designation] Accepted: [Intern Name] Date: [Date]
Internship Offer Letter for engagement under a contract of apprenticeship
Not an internship letter at all. Where the engagement is genuinely apprenticeship training in a designated trade, this letter accompanies the contract of apprenticeship rather than replacing it.
[Company Name] [Company Address] Ref: [Reference Number] Date: [Date] To [Candidate Name] [Address] [Where the candidate is a minor: care of [Guardian Name]] Subject: Engagement as an apprentice in the trade of [Designated Trade] Dear [Candidate Name], We are pleased to engage you as an apprentice with [Company Name] in the trade of [Designated Trade], subject to the terms below and to the contract of apprenticeship accompanying this letter. 1. The contract of apprenticeship This engagement is made under a contract of apprenticeship. You [or, where you are a minor, your guardian] must sign the contract at Annexure A before training begins. Your training is treated as commencing on the date of that contract. [Company Name] will submit the contract for registration in the manner and within the period the Apprentices Act, 1961 requires. This letter does not by itself create the engagement; the contract does. 2. Trade, period and place of training Trade: [Designated Trade] Period of training: as stated in the contract at Annexure A Place of training: [Location] Training will be conducted under [Trainer Name], [Designation], in accordance with the syllabus and duration applicable to the trade. 3. Your status during training You are engaged as an apprentice undergoing apprenticeship training and not as an employee or worker of [Company Name]. Section 18 of the Apprentices Act, 1961 provides that an apprentice undergoing training in a designated trade is a trainee and not a worker, and that the provisions of any law with respect to labour do not apply in relation to such an apprentice. 4. Stipend You will be paid a stipend at the rate specified in the contract of apprenticeship, at the intervals it specifies. Your stipend will not be calculated on the basis of piece work, and you will not be required to take part in any output bonus or other incentive scheme. 5. Hours, leave and holidays Your hours of practical training will be as determined by [Company Name] in compliance with the training duration applicable to the trade. You will not be required to work overtime except with the approval of the Apprenticeship Adviser. Leave and holidays will be those observed at [Location]. 6. Conduct and discipline In all matters of conduct and discipline you will be governed by the rules applicable to employees of the corresponding category at [Location], a copy of which is provided with this letter. 7. Conclusion of training and employment afterwards The contract terminates on expiry of the period of training. [Company Name] maintains its own policy on recruiting apprentices who complete training in its establishment, a copy of which is at Annexure B. [Where applicable: the contract at Annexure A contains a condition that you serve [Company Name] after successful completion of training; if so, that condition binds both sides on the period and remuneration it specifies.] 8. Disputes Any dispute arising out of the contract of apprenticeship is to be referred to the Apprenticeship Adviser in accordance with the Act. Please sign and return the duplicate of this letter together with the signed contract at Annexure A. For [Company Name] [Authorised Signatory Name] [Designation] Accepted: [Candidate Name] Date: [Date] [Where the candidate is a minor] Guardian: [Guardian Name] Date: [Date]
What it has to contain
| Element | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| A start date and an end date, with the end stated as a term | The end date is what keeps the engagement an internship. A letter that gives a duration but no stated conclusion, or that lets the engagement roll on informally, produces a relationship whose character has to be worked out from what the person actually did rather than from the document. |
| A learning objective and a defined scope of work | This is the paragraph that distinguishes an internship from unpaid or underpaid staffing. It also protects the employer, because an intern doing the same work as an employee for the same hours is difficult to describe as a trainee whatever the letter is titled. |
| A named mentor and a review rhythm | Supervision is the substance of the arrangement. An internship with no named supervisor is one where nobody owns the intern's time, which is how interns end up doing filing for three months and leaving with nothing to show an institution. |
| The stipend position, stated either way | Say the amount, the frequency and the payment date, or say expressly that no stipend is payable. Interns commonly do not ask, and an unstated position becomes an argument at the end of the engagement, when the person is least placed to raise it and has no route through which to do so. |
| An express statement that this is not employment and carries no entitlement to it | The word intern has no statutory meaning in India, so the letter has to do this work itself. It does not settle the question by itself, since what the person actually does still matters, but its absence leaves the employer with nothing to point to at all. |
| Confidentiality and work product clauses | Interns see customer data, unreleased products and internal financials, and they leave in weeks with an informal offboarding. Short, specific clauses covering both the information and the ownership of what they create are worth more here than in a letter for a long-tenured employee. |
| A guardian's signature where the intern is a minor | A person under eighteen cannot bind themselves the way the letter assumes. Where the engagement involves someone below that age, the guardian's signature is not a formality, and there may be a further question about whether the engagement is permissible at all in that setting. |
How to write one
- Decide what the engagement actually is. Three arrangements get called an internship: apprenticeship training under a registered contract, a genuine short learning placement, and a fixed-term junior role paid below market. Only the first has a statutory framework. Only the second should be papered with an internship letter. The third is employment and should be documented as such.
- Define the project before you define the person. Write down what work exists, what it will teach, and who will supervise it. Internships that begin with a headcount allocation rather than a defined project are the ones where the intern spends the term waiting for something to do.
- Set the stipend and get it into payroll before the start date. Decide the amount, the frequency and the payment mechanism, and set up the payment before the intern joins rather than in the last week of the first month. A stipend paid late to a student is a different event from a salary paid late to an employee.
- Write the status and the pre-placement paragraphs together. Decide whether an offer is possible at the end. If it is, state the criteria, the reviewer and the decision date. If it is not, say so. The version to avoid is one that mentions future opportunities without committing to anything, which candidates and their colleges both read as a promise.
- Provision access at the level the work needs. Interns are commonly given either nothing, which makes them useless, or an employee's full access, which is an exposure nobody reviews. Decide what the project requires, provision that, and diarise the withdrawal for the end date.
- Run the midpoint review. Hold a written feedback conversation halfway through. For a twelve week engagement this is the only realistic point at which a problem can still be fixed, and it is also what produces the material the completion certificate and any institutional evaluation will need.
- Offboard properly on the end date. Withdraw access, take back equipment, complete the institutional evaluation if there is one, and issue the completion certificate within a stated number of days. Interns chase certificates for months, and an employer that issues them promptly gets a disproportionate amount of goodwill for very little effort.
Intern is not a legal category in India
The starting point that most internship guidance skips: there is no Indian statute that defines an intern, sets a minimum stipend for one, or provides that an internship is outside employment law. The word describes a commercial and educational practice, not a legal status.
That has a consequence employers routinely miss. Calling an engagement an internship does not, by itself, place it outside the reach of employment law. Whether a given person is an employee, or a worker within the meaning of one of the labour Codes, is worked out from what they actually did: the hours, the control, the nature of the work, whether it was training or production. A letter headed internship is evidence about the arrangement. It is not the answer.
The practical test is uncomfortable but useful. If the intern is doing the same work as a junior employee, for the same hours and under the same supervision, with no defined learning objective and no institutional link, then it is a junior job that has been priced as a training placement. Papering it as an internship does not change what it is; it just means the paperwork does not match.
The correct response is not to write a more emphatic letter. It is to decide what the engagement should be, and then document that honestly. A genuine placement gets an internship letter with a real learning objective and a real end date. A junior role gets an appointment letter and appropriate pay.
What the Apprentices Act actually provides, and who it covers
Section 18 of the Apprentices Act, 1961 excludes labour law for an apprentice undergoing apprenticeship training in a designated trade. The shelter attaches to a structure rather than a label: a designated trade, a written contract registered with the Apprenticeship Adviser, a qualified apprentice, and an area or industry the Central Government has notified.
The Apprentices Act, 1961 does give a statutory shelter, and it is a substantial one, but it applies to a narrower set of arrangements than the word apprenticeship is used for in ordinary speech.
Section 18 provides that, save as otherwise provided in the Act, every apprentice undergoing apprenticeship training in a designated trade is a trainee and not a worker. It further provides that the provisions of any law with respect to labour do not apply to or in relation to such an apprentice. Section 2(r) separately defines worker so as to exclude an apprentice. That is a wide exclusion, and it is the reason the Act is worth understanding rather than ignoring.
The conditions attached to it are equally important. Section 4 requires a contract of apprenticeship between the employer and the apprentice, or the guardian where the apprentice is a minor, before a person can be engaged as an apprentice in a designated trade. Training is deemed to commence on the date of that contract. The employer has to send the contract to the Apprenticeship Adviser within thirty days, or enter it on the Central Government portal within seven days, and the Adviser registers it within thirty days of receipt. Section 3 sets a minimum age of fourteen, and eighteen for designated trades related to hazardous industries, along with prescribed education and physical fitness standards. Section 1(4) provides that the Act does not apply to any area or industry unless the Central Government has notified it.
So the shelter attaches to a specific structure: a designated trade, a written contract, registration, a qualified apprentice, and a notified area or industry. An engagement that has none of these does not become an apprenticeship because someone used the word.
The obligations that come with the apprenticeship route
Taking the apprenticeship route brings its own duties. The Act requires a stipend at not less than the prescribed minimum, bars piece rate pay and incentive schemes, limits overtime to what the Apprenticeship Adviser approves, and applies the establishment's conduct rules. Termination runs through the Adviser, and contraventions attract graduated penalties.
Employers considering the apprenticeship framework should know what it requires as well as what it excludes.
Section 13 requires a stipend at a rate not less than the prescribed minimum, or the rate the employer was paying on 1 January 1970 to that category, whichever is higher. The rate is specified in the contract and paid at the prescribed intervals. Section 13(2) prohibits paying an apprentice on the basis of piece work and prohibits requiring them to take part in any output bonus or other incentive scheme. The prescribed rates live in the rules made under the Act and are not stated here, and several states have amended the stipend position by their own enactments.
Section 15 leaves the weekly and daily hours of practical training to the employer, subject to compliance with the prescribed training duration. It permits no overtime except with the Apprenticeship Adviser's approval, which is granted only in the interest of the training or the public interest. Leave and holidays are those observed in the establishment. Section 17 provides that in matters of conduct and discipline the apprentice is governed by the rules applicable to employees of the corresponding category.
Section 7 deals with termination. The contract terminates on expiry of the training period. Either party may apply to the Apprenticeship Adviser to terminate it. Where the Adviser terminates for failure by the employer, the employer pays the apprentice such compensation as may be prescribed; where it is for failure by the apprentice, the apprentice or their guardian refunds the cost of training in an amount the Adviser determines.
Section 22(1), as amended, requires every employer to formulate its own policy for recruiting apprentices who complete training in its establishment. Section 22(2) deals with the case where the contract says the apprentice will serve the employer after successful completion. There the employer is bound to offer suitable employment and the apprentice is bound to serve, for the period and on the remuneration specified. The Apprenticeship Adviser may revise terms he considers unreasonable.
Section 30 was replaced with effect from 22 June 2026, and the penalties are now graduated. A first contravention draws an advisory to be complied with within thirty days, a second draws a warning within fifteen days, and every subsequent one draws a monetary penalty. Paying an apprentice on piece work and requiring participation in an incentive scheme are both on the list of contraventions that attract it.
Designing an internship that is worth doing
Set the legal framing aside for a moment. Most internship programmes fail on execution rather than on documentation, and the failures are consistent.
The commonest is a placement with no project. The intern arrives, the manager who agreed to host them is busy, and six weeks go by in which nothing has been asked of them. This is worse than not running the programme, because the institution notices, the intern tells their cohort, and the employer's campus reputation is set by exactly this.
The second is a project with no supervision. A defined piece of work is handed over and then left alone. Interns rarely escalate when they are stuck, because they do not yet know what is normal, so a fortnight can pass with no progress and no signal. A scheduled review, even a short one, is what surfaces that.
The third is scope that never narrows. An eight or twelve week engagement is short, and a project sized for a permanent hire cannot be completed in it. The intern ends with nothing finished, which is demoralising and also useless as evidence for an institutional evaluation or a hiring decision. Size the work so that something is finished by the end date.
The last is offboarding. Certificates go unissued, evaluation forms sit unsigned past the institution's deadline, and access stays live. All three are avoidable with a date in a calendar, and all three are what the intern remembers.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Why it causes trouble | What to do instead |
|---|---|---|
| Assuming the label decides the status | An engagement is titled an internship, but the person works full hours on production work under supervision for a year. Whether that is employment turns on what actually happened, not on the heading of the letter, and the employer discovers this at the point where the difference matters. | Match the paperwork to the substance. Where the work is a junior role, issue an appointment letter for a fixed term and pay accordingly. |
| Reading section 18 of the Apprentices Act as covering interns | Section 18 excludes labour law for an apprentice undergoing training in a designated trade under a registered contract. An engagement that is not that gets none of the exclusion, and an employer relying on it has relied on a provision that does not apply. | If you want the apprenticeship framework, use it: a designated trade, a contract of apprenticeship, registration with the Apprenticeship Adviser. Otherwise treat the engagement on its own footing. |
| An internship with no end date | The engagement runs on because the intern is useful and nobody wants to interrupt it. After a year there is an undocumented relationship with no terms, no notice period and no clarity on what it is. | State the end date as a term of the letter. If the work justifies continuing, issue a proper appointment letter rather than extending the internship again. |
| Implying a job without offering one | The letter mentions opportunities for high performers. The intern turns down other offers, the position is not open at the end, and both the candidate and their institution regard the employer as having gone back on something. | State the criteria, the reviewer and the decision date, and say plainly that it is not an offer. Or say that no pre-placement offer is available. |
| No confidentiality or work product clause | The intern posts the project to a public repository as portfolio work, including customer data or an unreleased feature. The clause that would have covered this was left out because the engagement seemed too short to need one. | Include both clauses in every internship letter, and say expressly whether the work can appear in a portfolio and on what conditions. |
| Access provisioned and never withdrawn | The engagement ends, the accounts stay live because offboarding for interns is informal, and an unmonitored credential with real data behind it sits open for months. | Provision access with an expiry set to the end date at the point it is created, so withdrawal does not depend on anyone remembering. |
Statutory reference
- Act
- Apprentices Act, 1961
- Key limits
- Everything in the Act described above applies to an apprentice engaged in a designated trade under a registered contract of apprenticeship. It does not apply to an engagement described as an internship that sits outside that framework, and section 18 gives no shelter to such an engagement. The operative figures live in the rules made under the Act and are not stated on this page: the minimum stipend rates, the number and ratio of apprentices, the reservation percentages, the education and physical fitness standards, the periods of training, and the compensation payable by an employer on termination. The areas and industries notified under section 1(4), on which the Act's application depends, and the list of designated and optional trades, are also not stated here. State amendments vary the stipend position and are not covered. Whether a person engaged as an intern outside the Act is an employee, or a worker under any of the labour Codes, turns on the duties actually performed and is not answered on this page.
| Provision | What it says |
|---|---|
| Section 18 | Provides that, save as otherwise provided in the Act, every apprentice undergoing apprenticeship training in a designated trade shall be a trainee and not a worker, and that the provisions of any law with respect to labour shall not apply to or in relation to such apprentice; section 2(r) separately defines worker so as to exclude an apprentice. |
| Section 4 | Provides that no person may be engaged as an apprentice in a designated trade unless that person, or if a minor his guardian, has entered into a contract of apprenticeship with the employer, that training is deemed to commence on the date of the contract, that the terms are as agreed provided none is inconsistent with the Act or the rules, and that the employer must send the contract to the Apprenticeship Adviser within thirty days or enter it on the Central Government portal within seven days, with objections conveyed within fifteen days and registration within thirty days of receipt. |
| Section 3 | Provides that a person is not qualified to be engaged as an apprentice in a designated trade unless he is not less than fourteen years of age, and not less than eighteen for designated trades related to hazardous industries, and satisfies the prescribed standards of education and physical fitness. |
| Section 1(4) | Provides that the Act does not apply to any area or industry unless the Central Government has notified that area or industry, nor to a notified special apprenticeship scheme. |
| Section 13 | Requires the employer to pay a stipend at a rate not less than the prescribed minimum rate, or the rate being paid by that employer on 1 January 1970 to the category of apprentice concerned, whichever is higher, as specified in the contract and paid at the prescribed intervals; section 13(2) provides that an apprentice shall not be paid on the basis of piece work nor be required to take part in any output bonus or other incentive scheme. |
| Section 15 | Provides that the weekly and daily hours of an apprentice undergoing practical training are as determined by the employer subject to compliance with the prescribed training duration, that no overtime may be required except with the approval of the Apprenticeship Adviser, and that leave and holidays are those observed in the establishment. |
| Section 17 | Provides that in all matters of conduct and discipline the apprentice is governed by the rules applicable to employees of the corresponding category in the establishment. |
| Section 20 | Provides that a dispute arising out of the contract goes to the Apprenticeship Adviser, with an appeal within thirty days to a Committee of the Apprenticeship Council whose decision is final. |
| Section 7 | Provides that the contract terminates on expiry of the training period, that either party may apply to the Apprenticeship Adviser to terminate it, that where termination is for failure by the employer the employer pays the apprentice such compensation as may be prescribed, and that where termination is for failure by the apprentice the apprentice or his guardian shall refund to the employer as cost of training such amount as the Apprenticeship Adviser determines. |
| Section 22(1), as amended | Requires every employer to formulate its own policy for recruiting any apprentice who has completed the period of apprenticeship training in his establishment; section 22(2) provides that where the contract contains a condition that the apprentice shall serve the employer after successful completion, the employer is bound to offer suitable employment and the apprentice is bound to serve for the period and on the remuneration specified, with a proviso permitting the Apprenticeship Adviser to revise a period or remuneration he considers unreasonable, the revised terms then being deemed agreed. |
| Section 30, as substituted with effect from 22 June 2026 | Makes an employer liable, for each of nine listed contraventions including paying an apprentice on piece work and requiring participation in an output bonus or incentive scheme, to an advisory to be complied with within thirty days for a first contravention, a warning within fifteen days for a second, and a penalty of not less than one thousand and up to five thousand rupees for every subsequent contravention. |
Frequently asked questions
What should an internship offer letter include?
The title and department, the start and end dates, and the learning objective and scope of work. The named mentor and review rhythm, the stipend position stated either way, and hours and location. Then an express statement that the engagement is not employment and carries no entitlement to it, confidentiality and work product clauses, the offboarding and certificate position, and an acceptance block.
Is an internship legally recognised in India?
There is no Indian statute that defines an intern or governs internships as such. Apprenticeship is different. The Apprentices Act, 1961 provides a framework for apprentices engaged in a designated trade under a registered contract, and section 18 of that Act provides that such an apprentice is a trainee and not a worker.
Does an intern count as an employee?
The label does not decide it. Whether a person is an employee, or a worker within the meaning of one of the labour Codes, turns on the duties actually performed, the hours, the degree of control and whether the engagement is genuinely training. A letter headed internship is evidence about the arrangement rather than an answer.
Is a stipend compulsory for an internship?
No general statutory rate applies to an engagement described as an internship. It is different for an apprentice engaged under the Apprentices Act, 1961. Section 13 requires a stipend at not less than the prescribed minimum rate, or the rate the employer paid on 1 January 1970 to that category, whichever is higher. It also prohibits piece work and incentive schemes.
What is the difference between an intern and an apprentice?
An apprentice under the Apprentices Act, 1961 is engaged in a designated trade, under a written contract of apprenticeship that is registered with the Apprenticeship Adviser. Section 18 provides that they are a trainee and not a worker, with no law relating to labour applying to them. An intern outside that framework has no such statutory status and no equivalent exclusion.
Can an internship be terminated early?
Only if the letter provides for it. Include a short notice period exercisable by either side, and a right for the employer to conclude the engagement immediately for breach of confidentiality or of the conduct standards. Without such a clause, an engagement stated as running to a fixed date is difficult to end before it.
Should an internship offer letter mention a pre-placement offer?
Only if the position is real. Where it is, state the criteria, who assesses them, whether a position must be open, and the date by which a decision will be communicated, along with a plain statement that it is not an offer. Vague references to future opportunities are read as promises by candidates and institutions alike.
Who signs an internship letter for a minor?
The guardian, alongside the candidate. Under the Apprentices Act, 1961 a contract of apprenticeship for a minor is entered into by the guardian. Section 3 sets a minimum age of fourteen for a designated trade, and eighteen for designated trades related to hazardous industries. For an engagement outside the Act, the position on capacity to contract, and on whether the engagement is permissible at all in that setting, needs checking before the letter is issued.
Running internship cohorts in Engage
Engage keeps interns on their own record type with an end date that drives access withdrawal, so a cohort that joins together also offboards together instead of leaving live credentials behind. Mentor assignments, midpoint reviews and completion certificates run off the same record, which is what makes the institutional evaluation something you can produce on the day rather than reconstruct a month later.
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