How to write a resignation letter
A resignation letter is one of the shortest documents you will ever write, and one of the few that follows you around. It is read once by a manager and then filed, where it can be produced years later — which is the only real argument for keeping it short and unremarkable.
State that you are resigning, name the job you are leaving, give the date you want your notice to start running, and sign it. Nothing else is required. Reasons, complaints and thanks are optional, and the first two are usually better left out.
Fill in the free templateStep by step
- Name yourself and your employer
Your name and address, the company's name and address. A letter that does not identify its author cannot start a notice period.
- Say plainly that you are resigning
One sentence, using the word. Hinting at it, or writing that you are 'considering your options', leaves the date in dispute later.
- Set the date
Give the date of the letter and, if you already know it, your last working day. The notice usually runs from the day the employer receives the letter, not the day you wrote it.
- Sign, date and keep proof
Sign the PDF, send it, and keep a copy along with proof that it arrived — an email acknowledgement, a receipt, a signed copy.
Why short is safer than heartfelt
The temptation is to explain: a new opportunity, a difficult year, a manager who never listened. None of it improves your position, and all of it can be quoted back at you — in a reference conversation, in a dispute about your final pay, occasionally in a tribunal.
Say what you are doing and when. If you want to thank people, thank them in person or in a separate message; if you have a grievance, a resignation letter is the wrong instrument for it and raising it there can weaken a later claim.
The notice period is not yours to choose
Your notice comes from your contract, or from the statutory minimum where you work, whichever is longer. Writing a shorter one in your letter does not shorten it — it just means you are proposing to leave early, and the employer can agree or refuse.
If you want to be released early, ask for it as a request rather than announcing it as a fact. The template offers both: serve the notice, or ask to be released from it.
Delivery is what gets argued about
Almost every dispute about a resignation is a dispute about when it arrived. An email is usually fine and is now normal practice, but keep the sent message and any reply.
Where the stakes are higher — a long notice period, a bonus that depends on a date, a relationship that has already gone wrong — send it by recorded delivery as well, and keep the receipt with your copy of the letter.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to give a reason for resigning?
No. In almost every jurisdiction an employee can resign without explaining why, and a letter that gives no reason is complete. Leaving the reason out is the safer default.
Can I resign by email or text message?
An email is generally valid and widely accepted. A text message often is too, but it is easy to lose and easy to dispute — send a PDF you can produce later.
Can I take my resignation back?
Only if the employer agrees. Once a clear resignation has been received it normally cannot be withdrawn unilaterally, which is another reason not to write one in anger.