Free tool - India
Experience letter format for India: facts only, with exact tenure
Enter the dates and role and get an experience letter (also called an experience certificate) with the tenure worked out for you, in Word or PDF. It sticks to facts, which is what protects you and helps the employee at their next background check.
Built for HR teams and founders with 5 to 500 employees.
Create the experience letter
[Company name]
Date: 5 November 2026
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
Subject: Experience letter
This is to certify that [Employee name] was employed with [Company name] as [Designation] from [date of joining] to [last working day].
We wish [Employee name] success in future endeavours.
Yours sincerely,
For [Company name]
[Signatory name]
Head of HR
Nothing you type leaves your browser. Print the PDF on company letterhead and sign it. A template is not legal advice.
Where experience letters go wrong
Six pitfalls to avoid
1. Opinions you cannot document
Praise that is not true and criticism that cannot be proven both create trouble. Stick to dates, designation, department and, if you wish, responsibilities. The generator keeps the conduct line off unless you switch it on.
2. Dates that disagree with EPFO and payroll
Background-verification firms compare the letter with the PF exit date and the final payslip. A last working day that differs from the date in the provident fund records is a common cause of verification queries. Use one set of dates everywhere.
3. Counting tenure loosely
For example, joining on 15 April 2022 and leaving on 20 August 2025 is 3 years, 4 months, 6 days, counting both days. Estimating it as “about three and a half years” fails a verification that asks for exact dates. The tool calculates it for you.
4. Dropping the promotion history
If someone joined as an associate and left as a senior manager, say so. A letter that shows only the last title makes the career look shorter than it was and can trip a verification of the first role.
5. Using the letter as leverage
Holding back the experience letter over a notice or asset dispute rarely wins the dispute and usually adds a complaint. Settle dues through full and final and issue the letter separately.
6. No way to verify it
Put a signatory name, title and an HR email or phone on the letter. New employers verify most letters. One that cannot be verified is treated as one that cannot be trusted.
Know the difference
Experience letter, certificate and relieving letter
| Experience letter or certificate | States where and how long someone worked and in what role. Same document; the names are used interchangeably. |
|---|---|
| Relieving letter | Confirms the resignation is accepted and the employee is released from duties, usually after clearance. |
| Service certificate | Often the term used by government and public sector employers for the same facts. |
Need the other half of the exit pack? Use the relieving letter format, which checks notice and dues before you issue it.
Next steps
Around the exit
Calculate dues with the gratuity calculator and the leave encashment calculator, and issue the last payslip with the salary slip generator. On the way in, see the offer letter format. To run the whole employee lifecycle in one place, look at payroll automation.
Got questions?
Experience letter format: FAQs
Contents, tenure, wording and withholding.
- Company name and address, employee name and ID, designation (and the designation at joining if they were promoted), department, date of joining, last working day, total tenure, and an authorised signature with a contact for verification. Responsibilities and a conduct line are optional.
- In practice yes. Employers use the two names for the same document. A relieving letter is different: it confirms the resignation was accepted and the employee was released from duties.
- To our knowledge no central law prescribes the format or compels it in every case, but it is standard practice and new employers and banks ask for it. Check the rules that apply to your state and your employment contracts.
- You can, but keep it to facts you can document. Subjective praise or criticism you cannot back up invites disputes. The generator leaves the conduct line off by default and lets you choose between not mentioning the reason, resigned, or contract completed.
- The generator counts both the joining day and the last working day, so joining on 1 January and leaving on 31 December is exactly one year. Keep the dates identical to the dates in your PF records.
- Many employers do, but it usually escalates the dispute. Recover dues through the full and final settlement and issue the letter on its own track. Take legal advice if the employee contests.
More free tools
More free HR and payroll tools
Related to hr letters, and the rest of the toolkit.
- Offer letter formatOffer letter with a CTC annexure that adds up.
- Appointment letter formatFull-terms letter with probation, notice and leave.
- Joining letter formatJoining letter, confirmation and day-one checklist.
- Relieving letter formatChecks notice and dues before you issue it.
- Salary slip generatorPDF and Excel payslips with PF, ESI, PT and LOP.
- Attendance sheet format in ExcelMonthly register that calculates LOP and paid days.
Issuing exit letters by hand every time someone leaves? Zeba's hiring module already generates offer letters from your templates; talk to us about covering the rest of the employee lifecycle.