Two weeks is the standard in most professional roles, and more is better when you can offer it, since it eases the handover. Your contract or company policy may set a specific notice period, so check that first. If circumstances force a shorter notice, say so plainly and stay gracious.
- Home
- Business Letter Writing Templates
- Resignation Letter Template
Resignation Letter Template
FREE TEMPLATE
Resignation Letter
This free resignation letter template gives you wording you can copy to give notice and leave on good terms. The strongest resignation letters are brief and gracious, and they make the handover easier for the people you're leaving behind.
This is the letter you write when you're the one choosing to leave. If you're an employer ending someone's employment, that's a termination letter.
Download Free: Collection of Business Letter Templates
Leaving a job can be an emotional and potentially volatile process. Too often a person will quit or resign their position out of anger or frustration about something they feel is unfair. Avoid making a decision to resign when emotions are high.
It's better to make decisions when you are calm and thinking straight. A thoughtful response is always better than an emotional reaction.
Ideally, you want to leave the job without burning any professional bridges. You never know when your past can once again play a part in your future. So, be careful and make smart choices in how you communicate, both verbally and written.
"Always resign in person, with letter in hand. Be positive, polite and respectful."
When writing a resignation letter, never use this opportunity to vent your frustrations or place blame on others. Be professional at all times. Accusing others for poor behavior will only be viewed as you being unprofessional and lacking self-discipline. Besides, anything that has happened in the past is now water under the bridge and you've made the decision to leave, so do it gracefully.
Whenever possible, offer to work through a certain date to help make the transition easier for your supervisor and teammates. While it's customary to give at minimum of 2 weeks notice, offering to stay on for 30 days to allow your employer time to identify your replacement will be considered a gesture of good will.
Make every effort to leave your workspace clean and well organized for the person who will be taking on your duties. Not only will your replacement appreciate it, so will your employer.
Using our resignation letter template will guide you on how to communication this news in a professional and positive manner.
Jump To: When to Use It | The Leadership Lens | Copy the Letter | Examples | Customize It | Resignation Tips | FAQ | Get Updates Free | Download Templates
When to Use a Resignation Letter
Send a resignation letter once you've firmly decided to leave and you're ready to make it official. Tell your manager in person first, then hand over the letter to confirm what you discussed. Keep it professional whatever your reasons for going, since the letter becomes part of your record.
- Standard notice: You're giving the customary two weeks or more, the most common situation.
- Short or immediate notice: Circumstances mean you're leaving sooner. Stay gracious and brief, and acknowledge the timing without over-explaining.
Whatever the timing, the letter stays short. The conversation with your manager is where the real exchange happens.
The Leadership Lens
Leave the way you'd like to be remembered. A resignation letter outlives whatever frustration may have prompted it, so keep it short, gracious, and free of blame, even if the job gave you reasons to feel otherwise. The bridge you burn on the way out is often the one you need to cross again later.
Make your exit easy on the people you're leaving. Offer a clear last day and real help with the handover, and thank the people who mattered to you on your way out. How you leave becomes part of your reputation, and it tends to be remembered longer than how you arrived.
Resignation Letter Template
Copy the resignation letter template below onto your letterhead, replace each blue field with your own details, and treat the italic blue notes as guidance rather than text to send. The email version follows.
Keep the message brief, including only the essentials, and leave the rest for the conversation:
- Include: a clear statement that you're resigning, your last day, an offer to help with the handover, and a brief thanks if it's genuine.
- Leave out: grievances, long explanations of why you're leaving, and anything you wouldn't want in your permanent file.
Tip: keep a signed copy for your own records, and leave your workspace organized for your replacement.
Resignation Email Version
Worked Examples
Two versions of the same gracious exit: a standard notice, then a shorter-notice resignation when circumstances force a quicker departure.
Standard Notice Example
Short Notice Example
Notice what the resignation letter template does and doesn't do: it states the decision and the last day, offers assistance with the handover, and leaves any grievances out of the conversation. That's what leaving well looks like on paper. Keep yours short, say thank you if you mean it, and save the rest for the conversation.
"The way to gain a good reputation is to endeavor to be what you desire to appear."
- Socrates
How to Customize This Template
The resignation letter template only provide you with the starting point. A few quick changes make it yours.
- Set your last day: State it plainly, and give as much notice as you reasonably can.
- Decide on thanks: Include a line of genuine gratitude, or leave it out if it wouldn't be sincere.
- Name your handover offer: Say specifically how you'll help, such as documenting projects or training a replacement.
- Match the tone to the exit: Warm for a good run, simply professional for a harder one, but gracious either way.
- Cut anything you'd regret: If a line vents or blames, delete it before you send. It's always a good idea to have someone you trust proofread your letter before you consider it done.
Resignation Letter Tips
Here are a few additional things to remember prior to submitting a letter of resignation:
- Collect contact information. Your co-workers and business associates may wish to continue to network with you. These contacts may also play a helpful role in you acquiring a new position.
- Whenever possible, know where you are going before you quit your current job. Getting a job with another organization is easier when you are currently employed. It's easier to negotiate salary and benefit issues as well, so don't be in too much of a rush to quit. Be smart.
- Leave on good terms with your supervisor, teammates and business partners. Maintain good relationships whenever possible. Life's just too short not to do this.
- Honor your employer and teammates. Include a statement about how much you appreciate the opportunity to work with such talented and professional people and how you will miss working with them. Only include honest statements, be genuine at all times. So if it's not true, don't say it.
- Check spelling and grammar. After completing the resignation letter template, make certain that your letter is free of any spelling or grammatical errors.
- Be certain you're making the right decision. Once the resignation letter is written, set it down and walk away from it for at least 24 hours. Take time to digest your decision. Allow yourself time to wear this very important choice. Picture yourself without your current job. Do you have a clear plan for what comes next in your career?
- Choose time and place. Be thoughtful about where and when you communicate the news of your resignation. Ideally, schedule a meeting letting your boss know you have something important you need to share. Never put your supervisor on the spot by telling her in a public location. Allow for the opportunity to have a private conversation so you can share details if asked why you've made this important decision.
Before you send: Be certain, since a resignation is hard to walk back. Ask your manager for a private moment rather than dropping the news in public or by surprise, and keep the written letter brief. The conversation is where the real exchange happens; the letter just confirms it for all parties.
Frequently Asked Questions
Click on the (+) sign below to expand each question. Click the (-) sign to collapse it again.
How much notice should a resignation letter give?
What should a resignation letter include?
Keep it to the essentials: a clear statement that you're resigning, your job title, your last day, an offer to help with the transition, and a brief line of thanks if it's genuine. Everything else belongs in the conversation with your manager, not the letter.
Do I have to say why I'm leaving?
No. You're not obligated to give a reason, and a resignation letter is better kept short and forward-looking. If you want to note a reason, keep it brief and neutral. Save any detailed explanation for the in-person conversation.
Can I resign by email?
Sometimes, but it's not the first choice. Tell your manager in person whenever you can, then follow up in writing. Email is reasonable when an in-person conversation isn't practical, such as fully remote work, but the personal conversation still matters.
Should I mention problems or grievances?
No. A resignation letter becomes part of your record, and airing complaints in it rarely helps and can follow you. Keep the tone gracious, leave the grievances out, and raise any concerns, if you choose to, through the proper channel or an exit interview.
What if I need to resign immediately?
State it plainly and stay professional. Give your last day, acknowledge that the notice is shorter than usual, and offer what help you can in the time you have. The short-notice example above shows how to do this without over-explaining or burning bridges.
Get Updates Free
Subscribe to Free Newsletter - Receive Password - Access Leadership Tools Library
Download Collection of Business Letter Templates
To download all of our free tools, simply subscribe to our free newsletter. You will immediately receive a password that grants access to our entire leadership tools library.
Your privacy is important to us. We never share or sell email addresses.
More Business Letter Templates
Contact Information:
phone
(503) 970-9777
Email Customer Service
helpsupport@leadership-tools.com
Email Richard
richard@leadership-tools.com
By Richard Gorham
Leadership-Tools.com
2879 Riverwalk Loop, Eugene, Oregon, 97401
Copyright (c) 2003 - 2026 All Rights Reserved