Free Word and PDF form
Time off request form template
A clean one page form for vacation, PTO, sick leave and any other time off. The employee fills in the dates, the type and a reason if they like, then signs. The manager ticks approved or denied, notes the remaining balance and signs. Download it as Word to edit or as a PDF to print. US Letter and A4, no signup.
Free, one page, US Letter (Word 37 KB, PDF 71 KB). On A4 paper? Get the Word (A4) or PDF (A4).
In Google Docs: upload the .docx to Drive, then open it with Google Docs.
- Free, no signup
- Word and PDF
- US Letter and A4
- Also a leave application form
What is inside
Everything a time off request needs, on one page
Seven short sections, so a request takes a minute to fill in and a manager can decide at a glance.
Employee and dates
Name, ID, department and manager, then the first day off, the last day off, the return date and the total days or hours.
Eight types of time off
Vacation or PTO, sick, personal, unpaid, bereavement, parental or family, jury or civic duty, and an Other line you can fill in.
Full or partial days
Tick full days, a half day in the morning or afternoon, or a part of a day with the hours from and to.
Reason and signature
A box for an optional reason, then the employee signature and date, so there is a record of who asked and when.
Manager decision and balance
Approved, approved with changes or denied, a space for the reason, the balance before and after, and the manager signature.
Word and PDF, Letter and A4
Edit the Word file to add your logo or change the leave types, or print the PDF as it is. Both fit one page.
How to use
Download, hand out, file
Most teams are using it the same day.
Download and adjust
Open the Word file and add your company name or logo. Change the leave types to match your policy if you need to.
Employee fills it in
The employee completes sections 1 to 5, signs, and hands it to their manager. A typed name works if you collect it by email.
Manager decides
The manager ticks a decision, adds a reason for a change or a denial, and writes the balance before and after.
File it and update the balance
Give the employee a copy, send the original to HR or payroll, and update the leave balance.
Printing is easiest from the PDF. For a fillable copy on a computer, use the Word file and tick the boxes by typing an X over the square.
Under the hood
What to put on a request form, and how to roll it out
What a time off request form should include
Who is asking, the dates, the type, full or partial days, two signatures, the decision and the balance.
- Who is asking: name, department and manager.
- The dates: first day, last day and return date, with the total in days or hours.
- The type of time off, so the right balance is charged.
- Whether it is full days or part of a day.
- A signature and date from the employee, and a signature and date from the manager.
- The decision, and the balance before and after.
This form has all of that, plus a free text box for a reason and a notes area for HR or payroll.
Rolling it out: notice, approval and storage
There is no single rule for notice. Write yours into your policy and on the form, for example a few weeks for a week...
There is no single rule for notice. Write yours into your policy and on the form, for example a few weeks for a week or more of leave and a few days for a single day. Say who approves, and what happens when two people ask for the same days.
Keep the approved forms in one place, such as a shared folder or the personnel file, and update the balance the same day. The notice period, medical certificates and paid or unpaid status depend on your country, your contract and your policy. This is a form, not legal advice.
When a paper form is enough, and when to go online
A form works well for a small team where requests are rare and one person tracks the balances. It gets slow when...
A form works well for a small team where requests are rare and one person tracks the balances. It gets slow when forms are lost, balances are updated by hand, and the approver cannot see who else is off. Then an online request link, with the balance and team calendar next to it, saves the chasing. See the notes below on when a form stops being enough.
Honest limits
When a spreadsheet stops being enough
A form is a good record for a small team. These are the points where it starts to cost more than it saves.
01
Lost forms and email chains
Paper gets lost and emails get buried, so nobody can say for sure what was approved.
What LeaveCalc doesEvery request is stored with its decision, in one place you can search.02
Balances kept by hand
The balance box on the form is only as good as the person who wrote it, and it has to be updated again afterwards.
What LeaveCalc doesA request shows the days or hours it will use before it is sent, and approving updates the balance.03
No view of the team
The approver cannot see who else is off, so clashes are found after the approval.
What LeaveCalc doesA team calendar shows who is off, so you can decide with the whole picture.04
Chasing signatures
Forms wait in trays and inboxes, and the employee does not know whether the answer is yes.
What LeaveCalc doesStaff ask through a link on any phone, no account needed, and you approve in one click.
LeaveCalc for Employers keeps requests, approvals, balances and the team calendar in one place. It is free for up to 3 people, and Pro includes a 14-day trial. No card needed.
FAQ
Questions, answered plainly
The employee name and department, the manager, the first and last day off with the return date, the type of time off, whether it is full or partial days, an optional reason, the employee signature and date, the manager decision with signature and date, and the leave balance. This form has all of them on one page.
Yes, it is the same form under three names. Tick Vacation or PTO for a holiday, or another type for sick leave, bereavement, parental or family leave and so on. In many countries the same document is called a leave application form.
There is no single rule, so set it in your policy. A common approach is a few weeks of notice for a week or more of leave, and a few days for a single day. Put your notice period in the form footer or the policy so everyone sees it.
Yes. The Word file is fully editable, so you can add your logo, rename leave types or change the wording. In Google Docs, upload the .docx to Drive and open it with Google Docs.
Not for a request. Tick Sick leave and use the same form. Your country or policy may also ask for a medical certificate after a number of days, which is separate from this form.
It is a record of a request and a decision, not a legal document, and it is not legal advice. Notice rules, entitlement, pay and medical certificates depend on your country and your contracts, so check those separately.
Use a spreadsheet such as the leave tracker Excel template, the PTO tracker template or, in the UK, the staff holiday planner. They calculate the balance you write in the box on the form.
Related tools and pages
Outgrown the spreadsheet?
Free for up to 3 people, Pro includes a 14-day trial, no card. Add your team, set your policies, share the link.