How to use it
- 1Enter your company name, address and logo once. They are saved on your device for next time, and so is your Labour Identification Number (LIN).
- 2Fill in the employee's name, father's or mother's name and date of birth. Add the Aadhaar number only if the employee agrees, and the UAN or ESI number if they already have one.
- 3Enter the designation, the category of skill and the date of joining. Then the probation: its length in months, how far it can be extended, and a notice period during probation if you have one. The end date is worked out for you.
- 4Enter basic pay and dearness allowance, then each allowance on its own line.
- 5Check the preview, press Download PDF / Print, and give the employee one signed copy. When the probation ends, issue the letter of confirmation.
Probation Appointment Letter – a filled-in sample
Made with the tool above from made-up details: every name and number in it is invented. Press “See a filled-in example” in the tool to open it there and download it.
What this letter adds to an ordinary appointment letter
The sixteen particulars are the same for every employee. For an appointment on probation the letter also:
- shows the type of employment as regular, on probation
- gives the length of the probation and the date it ends
- says whether it can be extended, by how much, and that any extension will be in writing
- says the employee will be confirmed by a letter of confirmation on satisfactory completion
- states a notice period during probation, if you give one
Where the Model Standing Orders apply
For an industrial establishment with 300 or more workers, the Model Standing Orders, 2026 say:
- a probationer is provisionally employed to fill a permanent vacancy and has not completed six months’ service in the post
- the probation may be extended, upon assessment of performance, by not more than three months
- interruptions on account of accident, leave, lockout, strike or involuntary closure count as part of the probation
- a worker who has satisfactorily completed six months’ probation is a permanent worker
- a permanent employee put on probation in a new post may be reverted to the old post at any time during the six months
- the employer confirms the eligible worker as the letter of appointment provides, issues a letter of confirmation, and enters it in the service card within thirty days
In a smaller establishment
The standing orders chapter of the Code does not reach establishments below 300 workers, so the probation there is whatever the letter of appointment says. That makes the wording matter more, not less: give the length, the end date, whether and how far it can be extended, and how confirmation will happen. Your state’s shops and establishments law may also have rules on notice and termination, so check it.
After the probation
Confirm in writing on time with the probation confirmation letter, which can also extend the probation, and keep a copy with the employee’s file. Every month, the salary slip records what was paid. For a set term rather than a permanent post, use the fixed term appointment letter, and for an appointment with no probation, the regular appointment letter. If the employment ends during probation, the experience letter and relieving letter close the file.
Sources
- Model Standing Orders, 2026, S.O. 2312(E), Gazette of India (Extraordinary), 8 May 2026: Schedules A, B and C, paragraph 2 (classification of workers) and paragraph 15 (confirmation)
- Industrial Relations Code, 2020, sections 2(zr), 28 and 29
- Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020, section 6(1)(f), and rule 6 of the OSH (Central) Rules, 2026
Questions people ask
What is the probation period under the labour codes?
The Codes themselves do not fix one. The Model Standing Orders, 2026, made by the Central Government under section 29 of the Industrial Relations Code, 2020 and published on 8 May 2026 (S.O. 2312(E)), define a probationer as a worker provisionally employed to fill a permanent vacancy in a post who has not completed six months' service in it. The probation may, upon assessment of performance, be extended for a further period of not more than three months. A worker who has satisfactorily completed six months' probation is a permanent worker.
Do the Model Standing Orders apply to my business?
The Industrial Relations Code's chapter on standing orders applies to every industrial establishment in which 300 or more workers are employed, or were employed on any day of the preceding twelve months (section 28). In such an establishment the model standing orders are deemed to be adopted until its own standing orders are certified (section 29(2)). The 2026 orders are set out separately for the mining, manufacturing and service sectors, with the same probation rules in each. They speak of workers, and the Code's definition of a worker leaves out people employed mainly in a managerial or administrative capacity, and supervisors drawing wages above the limit in that definition. For a smaller establishment, the probation is what the letter of appointment says, so say it clearly.
Can probation be extended?
Under the Model Standing Orders, yes: after an assessment of performance, for a further period of not more than three months. Six months plus three is the most. Put the possibility in the letter, as this format does, and tell the employee in writing if you extend it. The orders also say that interruptions on account of accident, leave, lockout, strike or involuntary closure of the establishment count as part of the probation.
What happens when the probation ends?
Paragraph 15 of the orders requires the employer to confirm the eligible worker in accordance with the terms and conditions stipulated in the letter of appointment, issue a letter of confirmation, and enter the confirmation in the service card within thirty days. That is why the terms belong in this letter: the confirmation follows what it says.
How is the end date worked out?
From the date of joining and the number of months, ending the day before the same date that many months later. Joining on 2 November with six months' probation, it ends on 1 May. Where that date does not exist, it ends on the last day of the month: joining on 31 August, six months end on 28 February, or the 29th in a leap year.
Is an appointment letter required for an employee on probation?
Yes. Section 6(1)(f) of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 requires a letter of appointment for every employee, and the format in rule 6 of the OSH (Central) Rules, 2026 has a row for the type of employment. Here it reads 'Regular (on probation)', and the other information row gives the probation and its end date.
Can the letter give a different notice period during probation?
Yes. Enter the notice period during probation and the letter states it for either side. The regular notice period, if you give one, is then marked as applying after confirmation, so the two cannot be confused.
What if I set more than six months?
The form shows a note, because that is more than the Model Standing Orders allow where they apply. It does not stop you: for an establishment the orders do not cover, the period is a matter for the letter. Check whether they cover yours first.
Can I download this letter in Word?
Yes. Press Word (.docx) above the preview. The file is laid out like the PDF and every word and figure can be edited. It is a standard .docx file, the format used by Microsoft Word, Google Docs, WPS Office and LibreOffice. Press it with an empty form for a blank appointment letter with probation period in Word.
Can the letter be in Hindi?
Yes. Switch Document language to हिंदी above the preview and the whole letter, including the sixteen particulars and the probation paragraph, is in Hindi.
Is there a blank format?
Yes. Press 'Blank format' to print the letter with the sixteen rows, the probation period and the dates empty, to fill by hand, or use the blank PDF and Word files linked at the top of this page.
Last reviewed: 16 October 2026