Japan Certificate of Resignation Template (退職証明書)

How it works

An Article 22 certificate of resignation in 60 seconds

A 退職証明書 is the official certificate the employer issues, on the worker's request, to certify facts about the prior employment. It is governed by Article 22 of the Labor Standards Act. Workers use it for unemployment-insurance procedures, applications to a next employer, and government procedures (visa, social-insurance enrollment) that require proof of past employment.

1. Triggered by request, not by separation

Unlike the termination notice, the certificate is not part of the employer's standard separation paperwork. The duty to issue arises only when the worker requests it in writing. Once the request is made, Article 22(1) requires the employer to issue the certificate without delay (遅滞なく). The duty extends to former workers within their statute-of-limitations window for related claims.

2. The five items, worker-selected

Article 22(1) defines five standard items: period of employment, type of work, position, wage, and reason for separation. The worker selects which items to include in the request. Article 22(2) explicitly bars the employer from including items the worker did not request. The toggles in this template enforce that constraint mechanically: turn off any item not in the worker's request.

3. Wage is usually omitted

Workers commonly request a certificate that omits wage data, because they do not want their next employer to learn their prior salary during compensation negotiations. The wage toggle is off by default in this template for that reason. Turn it on only if the worker expressly requested it.

4. Reason for separation: dismissal detail when applicable

Article 22(3) extends to the reason for dismissal as a sub-element of the reason-for-separation item. When the separation type is set to "Dismissal", the dismissal reason and the supporting Work Rules article appear automatically. Generic descriptions like "business reasons" are insufficient; describe the specific facts. The reason must match what the employer relied on at the time of dismissal; expanding or changing the rationale later weakens the employer's position in any subsequent dispute.

5. The 退職証明書 is not the 離職票

The 離職票 (separation certificate for unemployment insurance) is a Hello Work form filed by the employer; the 退職証明書 is the Article 22 LSA certificate addressed to whoever the worker chooses. Different documents, different audiences. A worker may request both and use them in parallel.

6. Edit anything that doesn't match your case

Click Edit on the toolbar above the preview and the certificate becomes editable in place. Use this for: more specific work-content descriptions, multiple successive positions held during the employment, or a re-statement of a complex separation reason.

7. Export to PDF

Click Download as PDF, enter your email, and the file generates locally in your browser. Whatever language is currently visible in the preview is what gets exported.

Edge cases worth knowing

• If the worker disputes the certified reason for separation (most commonly the dismissal reason), the certificate itself is not the forum for negotiating it. Document the employer's position accurately and let the dispute proceed through the labor bureau or Labor Tribunal.
• Re-issuance is allowed and common: workers sometimes request a second certificate later (with a different item set) for a new application. Treat it as a fresh request.
• For workers with multiple successive positions, list each in the position field with dates; the certificate is more useful to the next employer this way.
• For wage, list the most recent monthly base; if the worker requested annual, format accordingly. Bonus is generally not part of "wage" for Article 22 purposes unless it was contractually fixed.
• Have the final wording reviewed by a labor and social security attorney (社会保険労務士) or qualified legal counsel for any contested or non-standard case.