Your original certificates are your property, not a bargaining chip for a bond or notice-period dispute. A formal legal notice — addressed to the registered office, naming every document and a firm deadline — is usually the step that ends the standoff.
Serve-ready notice from ₹299, or ₹799 and we post it by Registered Post A.D. — a lawyer charges ₹2,000–5,000 for the same letter — this one is grounded in the same bailment law (your employer has a legal duty to return what was handed over for safekeeping).
One or two sentences in your own words. We match them against what each document is for and point you at the right one — nothing is sent anywhere, and nothing is saved.
This is the same checklist we show once you've bought the notice. Nothing here is a test you can fail: it tells you what to gather, not whether you're allowed to act.
Missing one of these does not stop you sending anything. It does mean this is the first thing you will be asked for, so it is the first thing worth chasing.
Your appointment letter or offer letter
It proves you were employed and on what salary. Almost every dispute about dues is answered from it.
If you don't have it: No letter? An email confirming the role and pay, or the messages where it was agreed, will do.
Payslips or salary credits showing what you were normally paid
They establish the monthly figure the unpaid months are calculated from.
If you don't have it: Bank statements showing the salary arriving each month do the same job.
Not strictly required, and the difference between a demand that gets taken seriously and one that gets ignored is usually somewhere in here.
Your resignation or termination letter
It fixes the last working day, which is what the notice pay and full-and-final settlement are counted from.
If you don't have it: The email or message ending the employment works just as well.
The times you already asked HR or your manager
They show the employer knew about the dues and did nothing, which is what turns a request into a claim.
If you don't have it: Even one dated email to HR asking about the pending amount helps.
Missing something? Send it anyway. Most people in a genuine dispute have less on paper than they should. The list is here so you know what to chase, not so you're told to wait.
The law gives you a window, not a wall. Here is what it actually says — never a date, because only you know when this started, and never a verdict on your case, because that is a lawyer's judgment, not this page's.
Wage claims must generally be raised within 3 years of the claim arising
Counted from: the salary or dues falling due
If you think you're already past it: The wage authority can admit a later claim on sufficient cause shown, and a written acknowledgement or a part-payment can separately restart the clock. If it is close or already past, that is a reason to see a lawyer this week, not to give up on it.
Section 45(6), Code on Wages, 2019 — an application to the authority may be filed within three years from the date on which the claim arises, and the authority may entertain a later application on sufficient cause being shown; Limitation Act, 1963 for a civil suit on the contract
Describe what happened
Tell us which original documents they are holding and, if there's a bond or notice-period dispute tied to it, that too. You confirm every detail before anything is final.
Preview your notice free
See the full serve-ready legal notice in your own name — the documents demanded back, and any dues owed — before you pay.
Download, or let us post it
Download the serve-ready PDF for ₹299, or pay ₹799 and we send it by Registered Post A.D. and email you the tracking number.
We post it on Wednesday 2 September. Miss that date and we refund your ₹799 in full — guaranteed.
Can an employer legally hold my original certificates?
No — not as security for a bond, a notice period, or any other money claim. Certificates handed to an employer for verification or record are held in trust (a bailment, Indian Contract Act, 1872, §§148 and 160) and must be returned on your demand. If a bond genuinely exists, the employer's remedy is to claim the money — not to keep documents that stop you working or studying elsewhere.
I do owe a bond amount — does that change anything?
It's still a separate question from the documents. Whether an employment bond is even enforceable depends on its amount and reasonableness (courts have struck down bonds that operate as a penalty rather than genuine compensation, under Section 27 of the Indian Contract Act's restraint-of-trade rule) — that's a fact question for an advocate. Our notice keeps the two demands separate: return the documents unconditionally, and address any dues on their own footing, exactly as our free guide recommends.
Can I demand the documents and any unpaid dues in the same notice?
Yes — the intake has a field for documents being withheld and a separate one for any amount owed, and both can be named together or on their own. If you only want the documents back, leave the amount blank; the notice will not invent a money claim you didn't make.
What if I don't have the exact dates I handed the documents over?
A best estimate is fine, and your appointment letter or joining date is a reasonable anchor. What matters most is naming each document specifically — vague notices are easy to stall on.
How is this different from hiring a lawyer?
You get the same serve-ready notice, addressed in your own name, at a fraction of the cost and in minutes rather than days. We're a document tool, not a law firm — if a bond dispute is genuinely large or contested, we'll tell you when a lawyer is the better call.
Free preview · from ₹299 · ready in minutes
What this costs, and what you get for it
Not ready to send anything yet? Read the free step-by-step guide first
Been sent a notice yourself? Check what it means, free — upload the notice, summons or letter that landed on you and find out what it says and whether it's genuine, in plain English, Tamil, Telugu or Hindi. Nothing to pay, and it's a separate job from sending one of your own.
Agreements.co.in is a document service, not a law firm — we don't give legal advice or guarantee outcomes. You send the notice in your own name and confirm every detail before you pay.