Apollo's Templates
HomeCareerResignation LettersProfessional
Bridges intact · The standard two-weeks letter

Professional Resignation Letter Templates

This is the letter most careers actually need: formal notice with the date up front, one genuine line of gratitude, and a concrete offer to make the handoff easy. It reads well in the moment, files clean in the record, and — the part people underrate — it's the letter your future reference remembers you by. Five letterheads, same well-mannered letter.

Five letterheads

The standard letter, dressed for your office.

Classic navy for anywhere, monogram for quiet polish, contemporary teal for modern shops, a bold banner and a two-tone split for offices with some color. The letter inside is identical — and identical is the point.

Classic Centered — Navy preview
Microsoft Word
Classic Centered — Navy
The letter everyone recognizes: centered name, quiet navy rule, notice date in the first sentence.
Download Word
Monogram — Navy preview
Microsoft Word
Monogram — Navy
A single initial as the mark; the rest is clean business-letter bones.
Download Word
Contemporary — Teal preview
Microsoft Word
Contemporary — Teal
Light, current, and quietly warm — a modern default that suits most offices.
Download Word
Bold Name Banner — Forest preview
Microsoft Word
Bold Name Banner — Forest
Confident name banner up top — for leaving as visibly as you worked.
Download Word
Two-Tone Split — Teal preview
Microsoft Word
Two-Tone Split — Teal
A modern split header that stays professional on the printed page.
Download Word
Sample professional resignation letter

Read the letter before you download it.

Dear [Manager Name],

Please accept this letter as formal notice of my resignation from my position as [Job Title] at [Company Name]. My last day of employment will be [Last Day — typically two weeks from today].

I am grateful for the opportunities I have had here — [one specific: a project you were proud of, a skill you built, a team you enjoyed working with]. I have learned a great deal during my time at [Company Name], and I do not take that for granted.

Between now and my last day, I will do everything I can to make the transition smooth: [finishing current work, documenting my responsibilities, helping train a replacement]. I am glad to help however is most useful in the time remaining.

Thank you for the support and opportunities during my time here. I hope we stay in touch, and I wish you and the team continued success.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]

This sample is the exact professional resignation letter inside every template on this page — how to resign professionally, in five paragraphs. Edit the [brackets], nothing else.

The graceful exit

Resigning without burning anything.

The professional resignation is a sequence, and the letter is only the middle of it:

  • The conversation comes first. Your manager hears it from you, in person or on a call — never from the letter, never from a colleague.
  • The letter confirms it. Same day, dated, with the last day in the first sentence. That’s what HR files and what protects you both.
  • The two weeks prove it. The transition offer in the letter is a promise; keeping it visibly is what people repeat about you later.
  • The exit interview is optional honesty. Constructive is fine; scorched is never worth it. The company survives either way — your reputation is the only thing at stake.

A useful test for every sentence you’re tempted to add: would you be comfortable hearing it read back to you by the hiring manager of a job you want in five years? The pre-written letter in these templates passes that test on purpose.

Notice, delivered

The professional sequence.

  1. Download a letterhead and fill in the [brackets] — date, names, last day.
  2. Book fifteen minutes with your manager and say it before you send it.
  3. Hand over the signed page or email the PDF the same day the conversation happens.
  4. Spend the notice period making the transition offer visibly true.
Etiquette questions

Professional resignation FAQ

Should I tell my manager before they see the letter?
Always, when it's remotely possible. The letter is the record; the conversation is the respect. Ask for fifteen minutes, say it plainly — new opportunity, last day is the [date] — and then hand over or email the letter that confirms it. Managers forgive almost any departure delivered face to face, and remember almost any departure they learned about from HR first.
Should I ask for a reference in the resignation letter?
Not in the letter itself — the letter is a notice document and should stay clean of requests. Ask in the conversation instead, or in the final week once the transition has gone well: that's when your manager has just watched you leave responsibly, which is the exact behavior a reference describes. The letter's transition offer is what quietly earns the yes.
What do I do if they make a counteroffer?
Decide before you resign what would actually change your mind — usually nothing a raise fixes, since pay is rarely the whole reason people leave. If a counteroffer comes, thank them, take a day if you need it, and be honest. Accepting one is statistically shaky: the underlying reasons tend to survive the raise, and you've marked yourself as someone who was leaving. The professional letter deliberately gives no opening for negotiation — that's a feature.
Is two weeks always the right notice period?
It's the floor for professional roles in the U.S., not a universal rule. Check your offer letter and handbook — some employers specify 30 days, sales and client-facing roles sometimes carry longer expectations, and many companies ask for what's practical rather than what's contractual. Offer more when you can afford to and the handoff genuinely needs it; never promise more than you'll cheerfully serve.
What does a good transition offer actually look like?
Specific and bounded. 'I'll document my open projects, finish the [X] deliverable, and spend time with whoever picks up my accounts' beats 'happy to help with the transition' — because it's checkable, and because it caps quietly at your last day. Don't promise availability after you leave unless you mean it and it's paid. The offer's job is to make your last two weeks visibly useful, not to extend them.
Is it professional to email a resignation letter?
Yes, in its place — after the conversation, as the written record; or as the primary channel on remote teams where email is how official things happen. The professional failure mode isn't the medium, it's the surprise: a manager who learns by email what they could have heard in person. Sequence it (talk, then send the same day), use a plain subject line, attach the PDF, and the emailed version is every bit as professional as paper — with a timestamp that quietly documents your notice date. Our resignation email page covers the channel's craft in full.

Professional resignation letter templates · Updated August 2026

Round out the move

Before and after the letter.

Shorter
Simple Resignation Letters
Five sentences and done — when the paperwork is all the situation needs.
Open
More formal
Formal Resignation Letters
Tender-of-resignation language for contracts and ceremonious workplaces.
Open
The reason you're leaving
Resume Templates
50+ role-specific categories for the job that comes next — free, like everything here.
Open