1. Issue at the end of employment; do not borrow the transfer deadline
Article 50 of the PRC Labor Contract Law requires the employer to issue a certificate when the labor contract is terminated or ends. The same paragraph gives 15 days for personnel-file and social-insurance relationship transfer procedures. Those are different obligations: the 15-day period is not a general grace period for the certificate. Build certificate preparation into the exit timetable rather than waiting for the next payroll cycle.
Check the legal end date against the resignation notice, termination decision or signed agreement and its delivery record. The last day physically worked, the payroll cut-off and the contract end date may differ. Contract expiry may also be subject to a statutory extension. If the end date or continuing employment is disputed, obtain a focused legal review promptly; neither invent an agreed date nor assume the dispute permits withholding all documents indefinitely.
2. Check the four statutory entries against the personnel file
Article 24 of the Implementing Regulation of the PRC Labor Contract Law specifies the contract term, the termination or expiry date, the position and the employee’s service length with the employer. Check each entry against the contracts, amendments and personnel records. A series of renewed contracts should not cause HR to mistake the latest contract term for the employee’s entire period of service. Group transfers or disputed service periods need a separate review rather than an assumed start date.
As a practical document-control step, identify the actual employing entity and employee accurately, record the real issue date, and arrange an authorized signature or seal under the employer’s process. If headquarters needs an English version, align all dates, entity names and job descriptions with the Chinese document. This is a record of the employment ending, not a reference praising performance or a vehicle for disciplinary criticism. Keep evaluations and unresolved allegations out of the routine certificate and review any locally required form separately.
3. Review the content of an existing notice before asking for another document
A document’s title alone does not decide whether the statutory certificate has been supplied. In a published reply on 28 September 2022, the MOHRSS Labor Relations Department explained that a document issued when employment ends can be recognized as the certificate if its contents satisfy the relevant legal requirements. Accordingly, an existing termination notice requires a content-and-timing review; it is neither automatically sufficient nor automatically disqualified solely by its heading.
Compare the issued copy with the four Article 24 entries and the actual end date. Where information is missing or the wording mixes in accusations or settlement conditions, prepare an appropriate certificate or correction promptly. Keep the prior version, the reason for correction and proof of delivery. Do not backdate a document to conceal a delay, and do not use a later certificate to invent a new dismissal ground or suggest that a contested dismissal has become lawful.
4. Separate delivery from handover and a release of claims
Article 50 requires the employee to complete the agreed handover and links legally due statutory severance to completion of that handover. It does not make certificate issuance conditional on handing back every asset, accepting the payroll calculation or signing a waiver. Track a missing laptop, a training-cost claim or a non-compete dispute separately. The certificate should not state that all sums are paid or all claims released unless that statement is independently justified; a separate settlement needs its own review.
Plan delivery while the employee can still access the agreed channel. Retain the final issued copy, the recipient and address or account, dispatch time, attachments and available receipt evidence. A receipt should identify the document received without requiring agreement to the dismissal or payment figures. If collection or signature is refused, preserve the refusal and consider another appropriate, lawful delivery method. A file saved in HR’s folder or an email sent only to a deactivated work account is weak evidence that the employee actually received the certificate.
5. Correct an omission and assess the claimed loss on evidence
Under Article 89, failure to provide the required written certificate can result in an order by the labor administration to correct the omission; the employer must compensate for damage caused to the employee. A late certificate does not by itself create a fixed payment of one month’s wages or automatically prove every claimed period of lost earnings. Review the asserted harm, the causal link and the evidence, including a genuine job offer, a stated certificate requirement, the proposed start date, communications and any reason the new role did not begin. Correcting the document does not automatically erase earlier liability.
For counsel’s review, assemble the employment contracts, end-of-employment documents, certificate versions, delivery trail, handover list and any demand for correction or compensation. Article 50 separately requires copies of ended labor contracts to be retained for at least 2 years; this is not an instruction to delete all HR or dispute evidence after that period. Determine retention for other records and any ongoing dispute separately. An initial enquiry can state the China employing entity, city, end date, missing document and urgent deadline without sending confidential personnel files. Consultations are available in Chinese and English.
Legal sources
Official sources · Checked 2026-10-15. Translations are for reference and are not official legal texts.
- PRC Labor Contract Law (2012 amendment) ↗
Articles 44–45, 50 and 89: expiry and extensions, separate exit duties, contract retention and certificate liability.
- Implementing Regulation of the PRC Labor Contract Law, State Council Order No. 535 ↗
Article 24: contract term, end date, position and service length in the certificate.
- MOHRSS Labor Relations Department reply on termination certificates, 28 September 2022 ↗
Published 28 September 2022: a document issued at termination can qualify if its contents meet the legal requirements.
General information about mainland China. The facts, applicable dates and local rules require individual review.
Partner, Beijing ChangAn Law Firm
China-qualified since 2019 · Beijing & Shenzhen
Review a China exit certificate and delivery file
Check the end date, statutory contents, outstanding handover and any compensation demand before closing the exit file.
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