Where to Get FMLA Paperwork and Which Form You Need

You can download every FMLA form for free from the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division at dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla/forms, or ask your employer’s HR department for a copy.¹ The right FMLA paperwork depends on why you need leave: a form for your own serious health condition is not the same as one for caring for a parent, and military-related leave has its own set. Pick the form that matches your situation, fill out the employee portion yourself, and give it to your health care provider to complete the rest.

Which Form Matches Your Situation

The Department of Labor publishes a separate certification for each qualifying reason. Using the wrong one can send you back to your provider for a fresh certification and eat into your 15-day return deadline.

WH-380-E — Medical certification for your own serious health condition. Your health care provider fills out the clinical sections.
WH-380-F — Medical certification when you are caring for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition.
WH-384 — Certification for qualifying exigency leave related to a family member’s military deployment.
WH-385 — Certification for military caregiver leave when you are caring for a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness. This leave provides up to 26 workweeks in a single 12-month period rather than the standard 12.²
WH-385-V — Certification for leave to care for a veteran with a serious injury or illness.

A few boundary notes on when a form applies. FMLA covers leave for your own serious health condition, to care for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition, for the birth or placement of a child, and for qualifying military family needs.³ “Serious health condition” means an illness, injury, or physical or mental condition involving either inpatient care or continuing treatment by a health care provider. Common colds, the flu, earaches, and routine dental problems generally do not qualify unless complications arise.⁴ If your reason for leave falls outside these categories, no FMLA form will cover it.

Eligibility is also separate from paperwork: you need 12 months of employment, 1,250 hours of service in the prior 12 months, and a worksite with at least 50 employees within 75 surface-road miles.⁵⁶ Your employer will tell you where you stand in its eligibility notice, described below.

When Your Employer Uses Its Own Version

Your HR department may hand you a company-branded form instead of the DOL template. That is allowed, as long as the employer’s form does not ask for more information than the DOL version.¹ A different-looking form is not, by itself, a red flag. A form that demands a specific diagnosis, family medical history, or details unrelated to your current condition is.

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) prohibits employers from collecting family medical history. The DOL forms carry a warning telling your provider to leave genetic information off the certification. If your employer’s custom form is missing that warning, mention it to HR before your provider fills anything out.

How to Fill Out the Medical Certification

The certification has two parts. Complete the employee section first, then hand the form to your provider so they can read your job and leave details before answering the clinical questions.

Your Section

You supply your name, contact information, and reason for leave. If the leave is to care for a family member, you identify the person and your relationship. You also indicate whether leave will be continuous or intermittent, plus your best estimate of how long you expect to be out.⁷

Your Provider’s Section

Your health care provider supplies enough medical information to show the condition qualifies as serious. The form asks for when the condition started, how long it is expected to last, relevant medical facts such as symptoms and treatment, and whether hospitalization or ongoing provider visits are involved.⁸ A specific diagnosis is not required. The provider only needs to give enough detail to show the condition meets the legal threshold.⁷

If leave is for your own condition, the provider must also address whether you can perform the essential functions of your job.⁸ Ask HR for a written job description to give your provider. Without one, the provider works from your own description of your duties, and vague answers are a common reason certifications get kicked back.

For intermittent leave, the provider estimates how often episodes will occur and how long each will last. For scheduled treatments, they list the expected dates and recovery periods.⁸ Employers use these estimates for staffing, so overly loose ranges tend to get flagged as insufficient.

The 15-Day Deadline to Return It

Once your employer requests medical certification, you have 15 calendar days to return the completed form. Missing that deadline can delay or defeat your leave, unless you made a good-faith effort and something beyond your control prevented completion.⁹

If your provider’s office is slow to schedule an appointment or turn the paperwork around, do not sit on it. Call HR before day 15 to explain the delay, and document every call or message to the provider’s office. This is where most FMLA problems start, and a written record is your safety net.

Notice to the employer is a separate step from the certification itself. When leave is foreseeable, you must give your employer at least 30 days’ advance notice; when it is not, notice must come as soon as practicable, generally the same day you learn of the need or the next business day.¹⁰ You do not need to say the words “FMLA leave,” but you do need to give enough information for your employer to recognize the absence might qualify.

Forms Your Employer Owes You

Paperwork runs both directions. Your employer has its own two notices, and missing either can work in your favor if the employer later tries to deny leave.

Eligibility and Rights Notice (WH-381)

Within five business days of learning you need FMLA leave, your employer must give you an eligibility notice telling you whether you qualify. If not, the notice must explain why, including months of employment, hours of service, and whether the worksite meets the 50-employee threshold.¹¹ The same notice spells out your rights and responsibilities during leave, including any requirement to use accrued paid time off concurrently.

Designation Notice (WH-382)

Once your employer has enough information to decide, it has five business days to send a designation notice confirming whether your leave counts as FMLA-protected.¹¹ The designation notice tells you how much of your 12-week entitlement (26 for military caregiver leave) the absence will count against, and whether the employer will require a fitness-for-duty certification before you return.¹²

If Your Certification Is Rejected

If your employer finds the certification incomplete or insufficient, it must tell you in writing exactly what is missing and give you seven calendar days to fix it. “Incomplete” means your provider left a required field blank. “Insufficient” means the answers are too vague to determine whether the condition qualifies. If you do not cure the deficiency within seven days, the employer can deny FMLA leave entirely.⁹

The written explanation is what tells your provider what to add or clarify. If HR calls and says the form is “not enough” without putting the specifics in writing, ask for the deficiencies in writing. That written notice starts your seven-day clock and gives your provider a clear target.

Where to File a Complaint

If your employer denies leave you believe you are entitled to, retaliates against you for requesting it, or fails to restore your position afterward, you can file a complaint with the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division at 1-866-487-9243, or find your nearest office at dol.gov/agencies/whd.¹³ You can also file a private lawsuit; talking with an employment attorney first is worth the time. Keep copies of every form you submitted, every email exchange with HR, and every notice your employer sent or failed to send. Those records are the foundation of any FMLA claim.

1
U.S. Department of Labor. FMLA: Forms
2
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #28M: Using FMLA Leave Because of a Family Member’s Military Service
3
eCFR. Part 825 The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 – Section: Subpart A—Coverage Under the Family and Medical Leave Act
4
eCFR. 29 CFR 825.113 – Serious Health Condition
5
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #28: The Family and Medical Leave Act
6
eCFR. 29 CFR 825.111 – Determining Whether 50 Employees Are Employed Within 75 Miles
7
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet #28G: Medical Certification Under the Family and Medical Leave Act
8
eCFR. 29 CFR 825.306 – Content of Medical Certification
9
eCFR. 29 CFR 825.305 – Certification, General Rule
10
eCFR. 29 CFR 825.302 – Employee Notice Requirements for Foreseeable FMLA Leave
11
eCFR. 29 CFR 825.300 – Employer Notice Requirements
12
eCFR. 29 CFR 825.312 – Fitness-for-Duty Certification
13
U.S. Department of Labor. How to File a Complaint