Relieving Letter Generator: Create a Relieving Letter Online

What is a relieving letter?

A relieving letter is the employer's written confirmation that an employee's resignation has been accepted and that the employee has been released from duties with effect from a stated date. It closes the employment relationship. Until it is issued, the next employer has no proof that the person is free to join, which is why almost every Indian company asks for it before onboarding.

It is different from an experience letter, which describes the role and tenure and says something about conduct. A relieving letter is shorter and more formal: it names the dates, confirms handover and states the settlement position. Many employers issue both on the last working day, and some merge them into one document.

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Relieving letter format: what it must say

The letter goes on letterhead, addressed to the employee by name and designation, with a date and reference number. The body should refer to the resignation by date, state that it has been accepted, and give the exact date from which the employee stands relieved. It should also record the period of service, confirm that handover and return of company property are complete, and say whether the full and final settlement is done or when it will be.

Keep the confidentiality reminder. The obligations in the appointment letter survive the exit, and a line saying so in the relieving letter is the simplest way to put the employee on notice. Do not add anything negative. If there was a dispute, the relieving letter is not the place for it.

• Company name, address and logo, with the date and a reference number
• The employee's name, employee code, designation and department
• The date of the resignation and a line accepting it
• The date from which the employee is relieved, usually the close of business on the last working day
• The period of service, from the date of joining to the last working day
• Confirmation of handover and return of company property
• The full and final settlement position, settled or due by a date
• The name, designation and signature of the authorised signatory

When must the full and final settlement be paid?

Within two working days of the last working day. Section 17(2) of the Code on Wages, 2019 requires wages and other dues to be paid within two working days when an employee resigns, is removed or is retrenched. The Code has been in force since 21 November 2025. Before that, most states allowed between a week and 45 days, and many companies still run on the old timetable.

The settlement usually includes salary up to the last working day, leave encashment, any bonus or incentive that has accrued, reimbursements, and gratuity where the employee has completed five years. Recoveries for notice shortfall, unreturned assets or loans are set off against it. The relieving letter should state which of these positions applies, and the settlement statement should show the workings.

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Can an employer withhold the relieving letter?

Employers sometimes hold the relieving letter until a notice-period shortfall is recovered or company property is returned. Setting off a genuine recovery against the settlement is allowed, subject to the deduction limits in the Code on Wages. Withholding the letter itself, after the employee has served notice and handed over, is not a recovery. It only stops the person from joining elsewhere, and labour authorities treat it as an unfair labour practice.

If notice was not served, say so in the settlement statement and recover salary in lieu of notice from the dues. Then issue the letter. If the employee has absconded and there is no resignation to accept, the correct document is a termination letter after due process, not a relieving letter.

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Relieving letter and experience letter together

Most exits need both, and the dates on them must match each other and the payslips. Background verification agencies check all three. The simplest routine is to prepare both letters from the same record, sign them together and hand them over with the settlement statement on the last working day. The two answer different questions, which is why most employers still issue both. The relieving letter says the person is free to join elsewhere; the experience letter says what they did and for how long. A new employer's onboarding team needs the first before it will confirm a joining date, and the verification team needs the second weeks later.

If your company issues a combined letter, keep the relieving paragraph first and the experience paragraph second, so the document still works as proof of release when a new employer only reads the opening lines.