Free Letter of Intent to Hire Template

A letter of intent to hire is a document an employer sends a candidate confirming that it intends to offer them a role, ahead of a formal offer or contract. It sets out the position, the expected terms, and what still has to happen.

Employers use it when something sits between the decision and the paperwork. Background checks, reference checks, board approval, budget sign-off, and clearances all take time, and a candidate may need something in writing before then.

Candidates often need it for a practical reason. Landlords, lenders, relocation providers, and schools sometimes ask for written evidence of incoming employment, and a well-drafted letter serves that purpose without functioning as a contract.

The document is unusual in one respect. Almost everything else in a hiring process is written by the candidate, so this is the employer putting something in writing that a person will make decisions on, which is exactly why the wording deserves care.

Send one where the decision is made but the offer cannot yet issue. Typical situations include:

• Pre-employment checks are still outstanding.
• The role is funded but final approval has not come through.
• The candidate is relocating and needs something for housing or a lease.
• A start date is months away and the candidate is turning down other options.
• An internal appointment is agreed ahead of an announcement.
• A contract is being drafted and the candidate wants written comfort.

Do not send one if the decision is not actually made. A letter of intent creates real expectations, and withdrawing after issuing one causes genuine harm to the candidate and reputational damage to you.

A letter of intent to hire should fit on one page and be precise. Ambiguity in this document causes most of the trouble it creates.

Your Organisation and the Signatory

Give the legal entity name and the name and title of the person authorised to sign.

The Candidate and the Position

Name the candidate, the job title, the department, and the reporting line.

Expected Terms

Set out the anticipated compensation, hours, location, and employment type, and label them clearly as anticipated.

Anticipated Start Date

Give the date or the window, and say what would move it.

Conditions Still to Be Met

List every outstanding condition explicitly: checks, approvals, clearances, documentation.

Status of the Document

State plainly what the letter is and is not, and that a formal offer and any agreement will govern.

Expiry, Signature, and Contact

Add an expiry date, a signature block, and a named contact for questions.

This is the section that protects everyone, and it is the one most often left thin.

Say in the document itself that it is a statement of intent rather than an offer of employment or a contract, and that it does not guarantee employment. Vague warmth without that sentence is how a letter of intent ends up being read as a promise.

List the conditions rather than gesturing at them. Writing that the intention is subject to satisfactory pre-employment checks, funding confirmation, and formal approval tells a candidate exactly what could still change.

Avoid language that implies duration or security. Phrases about long-term futures, careers, and permanence are easy to write and hard to walk back.

Tip: Have your legal or HR team approve a standard version before anyone sends one. Employment terms, what a letter like this can create, and how it interacts with your contracts all depend on where you operate, so this is a document to draft once with proper advice rather than improvise per candidate.

A letter of intent to hire takes about twenty minutes once your organisation has an approved form. Document Genius walks you through each section with simple questions.

1. Confirm the Decision and the Authority

Check the appointment is actually agreed and that you are authorised to write.

2. Gather the Terms

Assemble title, reporting line, compensation, location, hours, and start date.

3. Open With the Intention and the Role

State clearly that the organisation intends to offer the named position.

4. Set Out the Conditions

List everything still outstanding, without exception.

5. State What the Letter Is Not

Include the line confirming it is not an offer or a contract.

6. Add an Expiry, Sign, and Send

Date it, sign it, and keep a copy on file. Start yours now and have it ready today.

If you are on the receiving end, read it carefully before you rely on it.

Look for the conditions. Anything listed as outstanding can still change the outcome, and checks or approvals that have not happened yet are exactly that.

Notice what is described as anticipated. Compensation and start dates in a letter of intent are usually expectations rather than commitments, and the formal offer is what settles them.

Think hard before resigning. Handing in notice, signing a lease, or turning down another offer on the strength of a letter of intent carries real risk while conditions remain open.

Ask for the formal offer in writing before you act irreversibly. A reasonable employer will understand the request, and if one will not put the terms in writing, that is itself information.

Circumstances change, and how you handle that matters.

• Tell the candidate directly and quickly rather than letting the date drift.
• Explain which condition was not met, as far as you properly can.
• Put the withdrawal in writing, as you did the intention.
• Keep a record of what was sent and when.
• Consider what the candidate has already given up in reliance on it.

Withdrawing after issuing a letter of intent can carry legal exposure depending on where you operate, what the letter said, and what the candidate did in reliance on it. Take advice from your legal or HR team before withdrawing, and before issuing a letter that anyone might rely on in the first place.