If a company has offered you a job over the phone or in a meeting, the right next step is to ask for it in writing. Send a short, warm email to whoever extended the verbal offer — the hiring manager or the recruiter — thanking them, confirming your interest, and asking for a formal offer letter so you can review the details before you commit. Most recruiters expect this request and treat it as a normal part of closing the hire. Asking does not signal doubt; it signals that you take the role seriously.
The written offer matters because a verbal promise leaves nothing to point to when something shifts. Under the at-will employment doctrine, either side can end the relationship at almost any time for almost any reason, and most offer letters have limited legal enforceability compared to a formal employment contract. What the letter does do is create a specific record of what was promised — salary, title, start date, benefits, any perk you negotiated — and it triggers the employer’s internal machinery: payroll setup, benefits enrollment, background checks. Without that paper trail, verbal terms can quietly drift.
How to Word the Request
Address the email directly to the person who made the offer, not a general HR inbox. That gets it to someone with authority to start the paperwork. Open by thanking them and confirming your enthusiasm, then ask plainly. Something like: “I’m thrilled about the opportunity and looking forward to joining the team. Could you send over a formal offer letter so I can review the details and get my transition planning underway?” That frames the request as a next step rather than hesitation.
If you’re currently employed, add that you need the letter before you can give notice at your current job. Hiring teams understand that reason immediately. If you don’t hear back within a business day or two, follow up by phone. State your name and the role, ask whether they need anything from you to finalize the paperwork, and ask which platform they use for document delivery. That last question moves the conversation from waiting to doing. If the person who made the offer isn’t reachable, an HR coordinator can often push things along.
When the Deadline Feels Too Tight
Most employers give candidates one to two weeks to review and sign. Candidates coming out of internships or campus recruiting sometimes get up to two months. A window shorter than a week — especially a 24- or 48-hour “exploding offer” — is worth pushing back on.
Lead with enthusiasm, then ask for time with a specific reason. Requesting a meeting with HR to walk through the health insurance details, or asking for a few days because a partner needs to weigh a potential relocation, gives the employer something concrete to work with. You can also be direct: explain that you make major career decisions carefully, and that the same thoroughness will apply to your work. A good employer respects that. An employer who refuses any flexibility at all is telling you something about how they operate.
Check These Terms Before You Sign
Compare the written offer against what you were told verbally, line by line. If you didn’t take notes on the call, write down everything you remember immediately after the letter arrives.
Pay and Classification
Base pay should appear as a specific dollar figure, either per pay period or annualized. Check whether the role is classified as exempt or nonexempt. Exempt employees receive a fixed salary regardless of hours and are not entitled to overtime. Nonexempt employees must be paid at least minimum wage for hours worked and overtime beyond 40 hours in a week.1U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 17G – Salary Basis Requirement and the Part 541 Exemptions Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) If you negotiated an hourly role and the letter says “exempt salaried,” that changes your overtime rights.
If a bonus is included, confirm whether it’s discretionary or tied to defined performance targets. Discretionary bonuses can disappear at the employer’s option. Performance bonuses with clear metrics give you something measurable. The letter should spell out how the bonus is calculated, when it pays out, and any conditions that can reduce or eliminate it.
Benefits and Time Off
A vague reference to “competitive benefits” is not something you can enforce. Ask for specifics: what percentage of health insurance premiums the employer covers, the 401(k) match formula, and when eligibility starts. Some employers begin benefits on day one; others impose a 30-, 60-, or 90-day waiting period, which affects your coverage planning.
Paid time off should appear as a specific number of hours or days accrued per pay period or per year. If the employer uses a combined PTO bank rather than separate vacation and sick buckets, the letter should say so. Confirm whether unused PTO rolls over or follows a use-it-or-lose-it policy. That distinction changes the real value of the benefit.
Equity and Vesting
If the offer includes stock options or restricted stock units, the share count alone doesn’t tell you much. The vesting schedule does. In tech and most venture-backed companies, the standard is a four-year vesting period with a one-year cliff: nothing vests until your first anniversary, when 25% of the grant vests at once, and the rest vests monthly over the following three years. Leave before the cliff and you walk away with nothing. Confirm the total grant, the schedule, any cliff, and what happens to unvested shares if you’re terminated without cause.
Start Date and Manager
The start date should appear explicitly, since it typically drives seniority calculations, benefits eligibility, and time-based vesting. The letter should also name your direct manager and department. Verbal offers sometimes come from an executive who won’t be your day-to-day supervisor, and the written version should make the actual reporting structure clear.
The Fine-Print Clauses That Can Cost You
Boilerplate at the end of the letter deserves as much attention as the pay figure, sometimes more. These provisions can lock you into repaying thousands of dollars or restrict where you can work next.
Non-Competes and Non-Solicitation
The FTC’s attempt to ban non-compete agreements nationwide was struck down by the courts, and the agency formally removed the proposed rule from the federal regulations in early 2026. Enforceability is now governed entirely by state law, and it varies dramatically. A handful of states ban non-competes outright for most workers; others enforce them so long as the restrictions are reasonable in scope, geography, and duration. If your letter includes one, research your state’s rules before signing. A clause that’s unenforceable in one state can be fully binding in another.
Non-solicitation clauses are separate. They typically prevent you from recruiting former colleagues or contacting the company’s clients after you leave, and they are generally easier for employers to enforce. Read the scope carefully.
Training Repayment Agreements
Training repayment provisions, sometimes called TRAPs or “stay or pay” clauses, require you to reimburse the employer for training costs if you leave before a set period, often one to two years. They were historically limited to specialized fields like aviation or securities but have spread into lower-paying industries, and some require repayment of amounts that far exceed actual training costs. State attorneys general have stepped up enforcement, and several states have passed or introduced legislation restricting them. If your offer includes one, check whether the repayment amount is proportional to actual training costs and whether the obligation decreases over time.
Signing Bonus and Relocation Clawbacks
A signing bonus usually comes with strings. Most clawback provisions require repayment, sometimes in full, if you leave within one to two years. The letter should specify the repayment window and whether the obligation drops on a prorated basis as time passes.
Relocation packages carry similar risk. A typical relocation repayment agreement runs on a sliding scale: leave in year one and you may owe 100% back; leave during year two and the obligation might drop to 50%. Payback periods usually run one to three years. Some agreements make exceptions for a layoff or termination without cause; others don’t.
One detail people miss: signing bonuses are treated as supplemental wages, and the employer withholds federal income tax at a flat 22% rate.2Internal Revenue Service. Publication 15 (2026), (Circular E), Employers Tax Guide If you have to repay the gross bonus after taxes have already been withheld, you’re out of pocket until you recover the overpaid taxes on your next return. Confirm whether any repayment obligation is based on the net you received or the gross the employer paid.
Conditional Offers and Background Checks
Many written offers are conditional, meaning the job isn’t fully yours until you clear specific hurdles. Common conditions include a background check, reference verification, drug screening, and proof of education. These contingencies should be listed in the letter so you know what stands between you and a final offer.
If the employer uses a third-party background screening company, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires a clear written disclosure that a report will be obtained and your written authorization before the check is run.3Federal Trade Commission. Background Checks on Prospective Employees – Keep Required Disclosures Simple If something in the report causes the employer to reconsider, they must give you a copy of the report and a summary of your rights before taking adverse action such as pulling the offer.4Federal Trade Commission. Using Consumer Reports – What Employers Need to Know That pre-adverse action step is your window to dispute errors before the offer disappears. Report errors are more common than most candidates realize.
When the Letter Doesn’t Match What You Were Told
Common mismatches include a lower base salary than discussed, a different job title, a later start date, or missing mention of a negotiated perk like remote flexibility or a signing bonus. Raise every discrepancy promptly and in a single message rather than sending corrections one at a time.
An email works well: “I noticed the letter lists the base salary as $85,000, but during our conversation on [date] we agreed on $90,000. Could we get this corrected before I sign?” Stick to facts and keep the tone collaborative. If the employer pushes back and claims the verbal discussion was different, you’ll be glad you kept notes.
For complex offers — particularly those with equity, restrictive covenants, or executive-level compensation — an employment attorney can review the letter and flag provisions that are unusual or one-sided. Fees for a straightforward review typically run a few hundred dollars, small compared to the cost of signing a clause you don’t fully understand.
Don’t Resign Until You’ve Signed
This is the most expensive mistake in the job-change process. A verbal offer, even an enthusiastic one, can be rescinded for a failed background check, a budget freeze, a restructuring, or a change of heart. If you’ve already quit, you have no income and few practical options.
If the new employer pressures you to resign before providing signed documentation, treat that as a serious red flag. A company that genuinely wants you understands you need a signed offer before making an irreversible career move. “I want to give my current employer proper notice, and I need the signed offer to set that timeline” is professional and hard to argue with.
Signing the Final Document
Most employers now deliver offer letters through electronic signature platforms, which verify your identity through email, a password, or a PIN sent to your phone. Before you click sign, read the entire document one more time. Confirm every correction you requested actually made it into the revised version. Expect an at-will disclaimer preserving the employer’s right to terminate the relationship at any time; that language is standard, not a reason to worry.
Look at any attachments or documents the letter references, such as a separate non-compete agreement or an employee handbook acknowledgment, because signing the offer letter may bind you to those as well. Once both parties have signed, save a copy immediately. That signed letter is your reference point for every term you negotiated, and you may need it months or years from now.