Experience Letter Generator: Create an Experience Certificate Online

What is an experience letter?

An experience letter is a document issued by an employer at the end of employment. It confirms that a person worked for the company, the position they held, the period they served, and usually a line on their conduct. In India the same document is also called an experience certificate or a service certificate. The three terms mean the same thing.

It is different from a relieving letter, which confirms that the resignation was accepted and the employee was released on a given date. Many companies issue both on the last working day, and some merge them into one letter. A future employer will usually ask for the experience letter first, because it is the only proof of the role and tenure that comes from the employer itself.

Relieving letter generator · Appointment letter, in the HR glossary

Experience letter format: what it must contain

The letter goes on company letterhead, with the date and a reference number. The body should carry six facts: the employee's full name, the employee code, the last designation held, the department, the date of joining and the last working day. Everything else is optional. Write the dates out in full rather than in figures, so a verification agency reading a scan cannot mistake one date format for another. Address it to whomsoever it may concern, because the employee will show it to employers you cannot name in advance.

If you add a line on conduct, keep it honest. A letter that says excellent for everyone means nothing, and a letter that says satisfactory when the person was good will follow them for years. This generator gives you three levels and an option to leave conduct out. Add one or two lines on responsibilities if you can. That is what turns a formality into a useful reference.

• Company name, address and logo on the letterhead, with the date and reference number
• The title line: To whomsoever it may concern
• Full name and employee code of the employee
• Last designation held and the department
• Date of joining and last working day, written out in full
• A conduct line and, if you want, the main responsibilities
• A no-dues line, and the name, designation and signature of the authorised signatory

Is an employer required to give an experience letter in India?

No central law obliges an employer to issue an experience letter on request. The Code on Wages, 2019 requires wages and dues to be paid within two working days of the last day, and the Code on Social Security, 2020 governs gratuity, but neither creates a right to a certificate of service.

That said, some state shops and establishments rules and many certified standing orders do require a service certificate to be given when an employee leaves, and refusing one without reason is treated as an unfair practice by most labour authorities. In practice every employer issues one, because a company that withholds experience letters quickly finds it harder to hire. Check your own standing orders before refusing, since a certified standing order that promises a service certificate binds the company whether or not the state rules do.

Full and final settlement, in the HR glossary · Employee offboarding, in the HR glossary

Experience letter and experience certificate: is there a difference?

In everyday use, none. Older companies and government departments say experience certificate, and the letter is headed that way. Private employers tend to say experience letter. Both are addressed to whomsoever it may concern, both state the role and tenure, and both are accepted by employers, banks and visa offices.

What matters is that the letter is on letterhead, signed by someone with authority, and states dates that match the payslips and the relieving letter. Background verification agencies compare all three, and a mismatch of even a few days invites a query. Service certificate is the third name for the same document, used in government service and in most certified standing orders. Pick one heading and use it across the company, because an employee holding two letters with different titles for the same period will be asked to explain why.

When should the experience letter be issued?

On the last working day, together with the relieving letter. Some employers hold it back until the full and final settlement is complete, which is usually within two working days of exit under the Code on Wages. Holding it longer than that to pressure an employee over a notice-period dispute is the kind of practice that ends up before a labour officer, so settle the dispute and issue the letter.

If you are issuing it long after the person left, for example when a former employee asks for one years later, state the dates from your records and do not guess. If the records no longer exist, say so rather than invent a date. Date the letter the day you sign it and state the period of service in the body, rather than back-dating it to the last working day; a letter dated months before it was issued is easy to spot and hard to explain.

Notice period calculator · Exit interview, in the HR glossary