Resignation letter template, a polite letter in a minute.

A resignation letter template saves you finding the words at a hard moment. This free one builds a short, polite letter from a few details: your name, your job title, the company, who it is for and how much notice you are giving. It works out your last working day, lets you pick a warm, formal or short tone, and gives you the letter as text you can edit, copy or download as a PDF. It is a starting point and not legal advice.

How to use the resignation letter template

1. Fill in Your name, Your job title, Company and Who is the letter for?. Anything left empty shows in [square brackets] in the letter.
2. Pick the Notice. The line under it shows your last working day. Choose I will pick the last day to set your own date.
3. Choose a Reason, or leave it on Do not give a reason. You do not have to give one.
4. Tick or untick Say thank you, Offer to hand over my work and Ask about final pay, leave and equipment.
5. Pick a Tone. The letter rewrites as you go. You can also click in the letter and type over any part of it.
6. Click Download PDF, Copy letter or Text file. The email subject line above the letter has its own Copy button.

How the last working day is worked out

The notice counts calendar days from the date on the letter, and it does not skip weekends. With the letter dated Tuesday 27 October 2026, two weeks is 14 days, which gives Tuesday 10 November 2026. Thirty days gives Thursday 26 November 2026. Your contract may count notice differently, for example from the end of the month or in working days, so check it and pick a date yourself if it says so. The tool cannot know what your contract says.

What each tone sounds like

• Warm and friendly says you have decided to resign, thanks your manager for the support and says you will remember your time there fondly. It suits a team you got on with.
• Formal reads as a notice: it asks the company to accept the letter as formal notice of your resignation. It suits a large company or a strict contract.
• Short and direct keeps to the facts in a few lines. It suits a short stay, or a workplace where you would rather say little.

What to put in, and what to leave out

A good resignation letter says who you are, which role you are leaving, and the last day. A line of thanks and an offer to help with the handover make it kind and easy to act on. You do not need to explain why you are leaving, and you do not need to criticise anyone. The letter may sit in your file for years, so keep it calm even if the job was hard. If something needs to be said about how you were treated, say it somewhere else.

Handing it in

If you can, tell your manager yourself before you send the letter, so it is not a surprise. Then send the letter by the route your company uses, usually an email to your manager, with HR in copy if your handbook asks for that. Keep a copy and note the date you sent it. The email subject line suggestion above the letter puts your name and job title where the reader can find them.

Common problems

• Square brackets are still in the letter. A field is empty. Fill it in, or type over the brackets in the letter.
• The letter stopped following the form. Once you type in the letter, the form no longer rewrites it. Click Rewrite from the form to start again from the fields.
• The date is in the wrong style. Switch Date style between October 27, 2026 and 27 October 2026.
• The PDF page is the wrong size. Set Paper to A4 or US Letter before you download.

If you are leaving for a new job, update your resume first. To count the days to your last day, use the date calculator, and for after the interview, see the thank you letter template.