Resignation Letter Template

A resignation letter is a short written notice that you are leaving, stating your last day. It exists to create a record: of the date you gave notice, of the date you will leave, and of the fact that the departure was your decision. It is not the place to explain, complain or negotiate. Those conversations happen in person; the letter is the three sentences that go in the file afterwards, and it may be read years later by someone checking a reference.

The generator below writes it in four versions, including the standard two weeks' notice and an immediate resignation. The rest of the page covers what to put in and leave out, the US rules on notice periods, final pay and unused vacation, and how to handle the conversation that comes before the letter.

Resignation letter generator

What goes in, and what stays out

• Leave out reasons unless they are neutral and true (relocation, a new role). "I am leaving because of my manager" belongs in the exit interview, if anywhere, and never in a document that outlives the relationship.
• Leave out grievances, criticism and advice. The letter cannot change anything and can be quoted.
• Leave out where you are going unless you want to. It is not required and is sometimes used to enforce non-compete or non-solicit terms.
• Leave out conditions. "I will stay if" is a negotiation, not a resignation, and it is held in a meeting, before the letter.
• Leave out emotion. Warm is fine; effusive and wounded both read badly later.

Two weeks' notice: what the law actually says

No federal law and no state law requires an employee to give notice before resigning. At-will employment runs both ways: the employer can end it without notice, and so can the employee. Two weeks is a custom, not a rule, and it persists because it is the minimum that lets an employer arrange cover and the minimum that keeps a reference clean. Three exceptions change the picture.

• Contracts. An employment agreement can require a notice period, and leaving early can breach it. Most US employees have an offer letter, not a contract, but executives, physicians and some professionals do have one. Read it.
• Policies that tie benefits to notice. Some handbooks pay out unused vacation only if the employee gives two weeks' notice. In states where vacation is earned wages (California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts and others) that condition is unenforceable; elsewhere it usually holds. Our final paycheck guide lists which.
• Rehire eligibility and references. Leaving without notice is the most common reason an otherwise good employee is marked not eligible for rehire, and "eligible for rehire" is the one question referees answer without hesitation.

An employer can accept a resignation immediately rather than let the notice period run. In that case the last day is the day of acceptance, and whether the notice period is paid depends on the state and the policy; a few states treat an accepted-early resignation as a termination for unemployment purposes. Giving notice on a Friday afternoon after arranging the handover file is the tidiest way to avoid finding out.

Final pay, PTO and benefits when you resign

Final pay is due on a deadline set by the state, and for resignations it is usually later than for dismissals: California gives 72 hours (or the last day if 72 hours' notice was given), many states allow the next regular payday, and a handful set a specific number of days. Unused vacation is paid out where state law treats it as wages or where the policy promises it; sick leave is rarely paid out. Health coverage usually runs to the end of the month and the COBRA election notice follows; the offboarding checklist lists what the employer owes and when.

Two things are worth doing before the letter goes in. Check the vacation balance and the payout rule, so that a last day on the 1st rather than the 30th does not forfeit a month of accrual. And check any retention bonus, tuition repayment or sign-on clawback in the offer letter, which are commonly triggered by resigning inside a year or two and can exceed a month's pay. The PTO accrual calculator shows the balance under each accrual method.

The conversation before the letter

1. Tell your manager first, in person or on a call. The letter follows the conversation the same day; a manager who learns from HR or from the team has been handled badly, and remembers it.
2. Have the last day decided. Two weeks is the default; longer if a handover genuinely needs it and the new employer agrees; shorter only when there is no alternative.
3. Expect a counter-offer and decide in advance. The salary negotiation guide covers how to weigh one; most people who accept a counter-offer leave within a year anyway, because the reason they were looking rarely changes.
4. Write the handover before you announce. A document listing what you own, where it lives and who should take it. It makes the notice period useful and it is the last thing colleagues remember.
5. Send the letter to the manager and copy HR. Keep a copy. If you give notice verbally only, put the date in an email the same day.
6. Work the notice period. The final two weeks are the reference.

For the employer's side of the same moment, the exit interview page covers what to ask and why the answers are polite, and the employment verification page covers what will be confirmed to the next employer.

Key takeaways

• A resignation letter states that you are resigning, your last day, and thanks. Nothing else belongs in a document that outlives the job.
• No US law requires notice. Two weeks is a custom that protects references and, in many states, the payout of unused vacation.
• Check the offer letter for a notice clause and for sign-on, retention or tuition clawbacks before setting the date.
• Final pay for resignations is due on the state's deadline, often the next regular payday; California gives 72 hours.
• Tell your manager in person first, decide the last day in advance, and write the handover document before you announce.
• Decide about a counter-offer before you resign, not in the meeting.