Appointment Letter: Format, Sample, and Free Template

Appointment letter or offer letter?

The two are steps in the same hiring process, and treating one as the other can leave a hire without a binding record of the job.

• The offer letter comes first, after you select a candidate and before they join. It is short and conditional: job title, salary or CTC, start date, and the main terms, inviting the person to accept. See offer letter formats for that document.
• The appointment letter comes after the candidate accepts, on or around the joining date. It is longer and more detailed, and it is treated as the binding record of employment. Indian courts read the appointment letter as the employment contract, so its terms hold both parties.

Some small employers merge the two into one letter. That is fine, as long as the single document carries the full terms below.

What an appointment letter must include

A complete appointment letter sets out every term the job runs on, so nothing is left to memory later:

• Name and designation. The employee's full name and the exact job title they are appointed to.
• Date of joining. The day employment starts, and the reporting time and location for the first day.
• Place of work. The office, site, or remote arrangement, and whether the company can transfer the role.
• Salary structure. The full pay break-up, not just a single figure: basic pay, allowances, and the gross or CTC, plus how and when it is paid.
• Working hours and weekly off. Daily or weekly hours and the rest day.
• Leave. Annual, sick, and casual leave entitlement.
• Probation period. Its length, usually three to six months, and how confirmation works at the end.
• Notice period. How much notice each side must give to end the employment, during probation and after.
• Statutory benefits. Provident fund, state insurance, gratuity, or the local equivalent the employee is enrolled in.
• Conditions. Confidentiality, the policies the employee agrees to follow, and the grounds for termination.

India: the appointment letter is now the law

India's four labour codes came into force on 21 November 2025, and the final central rules followed on 8 May 2026. Under the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Central Rules, 2026, Rule 6, a covered establishment must give a detailed appointment letter to every worker on its rolls, permanent, fixed-term, or contract. Coverage generally means 10 or more workers, along with sectors such as factories, mines, docks, and construction whatever the headcount; a smaller establishment follows its state Shops and Establishments Act instead. Covered employers whose staff have no letter are to issue one within three months of the rules taking effect.

So an Indian appointment letter is no longer a courtesy. It has to state the particulars above, and because a court will read it as the contract, a vague or missing term works against the employer, not the employee. The salary break-up, probation, notice, and PF or ESI enrolment all belong in writing.

Country conventions

• India. Show the salary as a CTC break-up (basic, HRA, allowances, employer PF), state the PF and ESI position, and set probation and notice explicitly. A company seal or stamp beside the authorised signature is standard.
• Nigeria and Kenya. The letter of appointment carries the terms an employment contract needs under the local employment act: job title, remuneration, hours, leave, notice, and grounds for termination. Kenya's Employment Act requires the terms in writing for any employment of three months or more.
• United States. Employers usually send an offer letter, not an appointment letter, and most roles are at-will, so a US letter avoids fixed-term language that could read as a contract. If you are hiring in the US, use the offer letter instead.

Appointment letter sample

Here is a complete appointment letter in the Indian style, with the terms set out clause by clause. The .docx above has this letter in it, with an unfilled version behind it.

A blank appointment letter

Fill the brackets and keep every numbered clause. Dropping one is how an employer issues a letter that fixes the salary and says nothing about notice, which is the clause both sides reach for first when the job ends.

Common mistakes to avoid

• A single salary figure with no break-up. In India the CTC components matter for provident fund and tax, and a court reads the stated figures literally.
• No probation or notice terms. Leaving these out means you cannot rely on them later. State both, on both sides.
• Copying US at-will language into a letter written outside the US. A binding appointment letter should say what it means about term and notice, rather than borrow "at-will" wording that has no standing outside the US.
• Terms that do not match the offer. The appointment letter should confirm what the candidate accepted, and not quietly change the pay or start date.
• No signed acceptance copy. Ask the employee to sign and return a copy, so the agreement is on record for both sides.

Sources

• India's four labour codes in force 21 November 2025; final central rules notified 8 May 2026.
• Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Central Rules, 2026, Rule 6: mandatory appointment letter for every worker in covered establishments (generally 10 or more workers).
• Indian HR and payroll references on appointment letter contents (CTC break-up, probation, notice, PF and ESI) and the offer-versus-appointment distinction.