How to write a resignation letter, with notice rules and samples

Try it

Give your role, your notice period and your last day. The button opens a chat with a software engineer's resignation already filled in; change the details to yours.

A resignation letter has one job: put on record that you are leaving and when. It needs four things: that you are resigning, your last working day, a line of thanks, and an offer to hand over your work. Everything else is optional, and most of it is better left out. The AI document generator turns those four lines into a formatted letter.

Below: what goes in and what stays out, where your notice period comes from in four countries, four samples, and who to send it to.

What goes in, and what stays out

In: the date, who it is to, a clear sentence that you are resigning from your role, your last working day, thanks, and an offer to help with the handover. Sign it with your name.

Out: complaints, comparisons with your new job, and reasons you would rather not put in writing. You do not have to explain why you are leaving. If there is something your employer should hear, say it in an exit conversation, not in the letter that goes into your file.

Notice periods by country

This is general information, not legal advice. Your contract, award or agreement can set a longer period than the ones below, but where a law sets a minimum, a contract cannot go below it. Read your contract first.

Australia. The Fair Work Ombudsman says that when employees resign, "they need to give their employer at least the minimum notice period that applies," which comes from "their employment contract or their industrial instrument, such as an award, enterprise agreement, or other registered agreement." Casual employees generally don't: "casuals don't have to give notice," though a casual's award, agreement or contract can still require it, so check yours (Fair Work Ombudsman; notice and awards). If no award or agreement covers you and your contract says nothing about notice, or you have no written contract, you might still need to give reasonable notice (award and agreement free employees).

Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia and Labuan). Under section 12 of the Employment Act 1955, the notice is whatever your written contract says, and it must be the same length for you and your employer. If it says nothing, it is at least four weeks with under two years' service, six weeks with two to five years, and eight weeks with five years or more. The notice "shall be written," and either side can end the contract without notice by paying wages for the notice period instead (section 13) (Employment Act 1955, reprint as at 1 August 2023). These periods don't apply to domestic employees: the First Schedule excludes them from section 12, and section 57 sets fourteen days' notice instead, unless the contract says otherwise. Sabah and Sarawak have their own labour ordinances.

Philippines. Article 300 (formerly 285) of the Labor Code lets an employee resign "by serving a written notice on the employer at least one (1) month in advance," and an employer who did not get that notice "may hold the employee liable for damages." You may leave without notice for serious insult, inhuman treatment, a crime against you or your family by the employer, or similar causes (Labor Code text; article number per the Supreme Court, G.R. No. 200811).

India. There is no single national law that sets how much notice an employee must give before resigning. Your employment contract sets it, and a state's shops and establishments law or your employer's standing orders can too. Delhi's, for example, says an employee with three months' continuous service must give "a notice, of at least one month, in writing" (section 30(2), Delhi Labour Department). Check which rules cover your workplace before you date the letter.

All sources checked 30 October 2026; the Australian reasonable-notice and Malaysian domestic-employee points on 2 November 2026.

Four samples

1. Simple

1 November 2026

Dear Ms. Rao,

Please accept this letter as my resignation from the role of Software Engineer. My last working day will be 31 December 2026, in line with the 60 days' notice in my contract.

Thank you for the opportunities over the past three years. I will make sure my work is handed over properly before I leave.

Regards,
Arjun Nair

2. Immediate, paying in lieu of notice

2 November 2026

Dear Mr. Tan,

I am resigning from my position as Marketing Executive with effect from today, 2 November 2026. As we discussed, I understand this means paying the wages for my notice period in place of serving it.

Thank you for your support. I have written up the status of my open campaigns and sent it to Wei Ling.

Yours sincerely,
Nur Aisyah

3. With thanks

2 November 2026

Dear Ms. Santos,

I am writing to resign from my role as Customer Service Lead. My last day will be 2 December 2026, one month from the date of this letter.

Working on this team has taught me more than any job before it, and I am grateful for your guidance. I would be glad to help train whoever takes over the queue.

Sincerely,
Paolo Reyes

4. Email version

Subject: Resignation, Liam Walker, last day 27 November 2026

Hi Sarah,

I am resigning from my role as Junior Designer. Under my award, my notice period is two weeks, so my last day will be Friday 27 November 2026.

Thanks for everything this year. I will document my open projects before I go.

Liam

Every name in these samples is made up. The second sample uses Malaysia's section 13: you can leave without serving notice by paying your employer the wages for the notice period instead.

Subject lines and who to send it to

Send it to your direct manager, and copy HR if your company asks for it. In an email, put the news and the date in the subject line, as in sample 4, so it is not missed or misfiled. If your contract or policy asks for a signed letter, attach a signed copy as well.

Let askROI write yours

The Try it button above asks askROI for a short resignation letter with 60 days' notice, counting the last day from the day you send it, as a Word document and as email text. Change the role, the notice and the date to yours.

We sent that prompt as written, as a made-up engineer, Arjun Nair, on 30 October 2026. askROI returned a one-page Word letter and the same text as an email, with the subject line "Resignation, Software Engineer (last working day December 29, 2026)", which is 60 days after the day it was sent:

It left the manager's name and the company as placeholders because the prompt did not give them, and said so. Fill those in before you send it. When you are ready for the next job, the free cover letter generator writes the letter for that application.

A good resignation letter is short, dated and polite. It closes one job without giving anyone a reason to remember it badly.