PTO Request Form Template
A free paid time off request form in Word, a request log in Excel with balance formulas, five PTO request email examples, and the approval workflow that keeps balances and payroll accurate.
Download the Templates →Download the Templates
Both files open in Microsoft Office, Google Docs and Sheets, and LibreOffice. No sign-up, no branding beyond a footer line. Edit the leave types and the wording to match your policy.
| Template | What it does | Format | Download |
|---|---|---|---|
| PTO request form | One request per form. Employee details, leave type, dates and hours, balance before and after, coverage, signatures, and a manager decision block. | Word (.docx) | Download → |
| PTO request log | Every request in one sheet. Status and leave-type dropdowns, a summary of pending and approved hours, and a Balances sheet that calculates remaining hours per employee. | Excel (.xlsx) | Download → |
The Excel log keeps 200 request rows, a status dropdown (Pending, Approved, Approved with changes, Denied, Cancelled), and a Balances sheet where each employee's used and remaining hours calculate from approved requests.
What a PTO Request Form Should Include
A PTO request form has one job: capture everything the manager, the scheduler, and payroll need in one place so nobody has to ask a follow-up question. These ten fields cover it.
Employee name, ID, department, and manager
Routes the request to the right approver and ties it to the right balance.
Type of time off
Vacation, sick, personal, floating holiday, bereavement, or other. The type decides which balance is charged and which policy rules apply.
First day off, last day off, and return date
Removes ambiguity about whether the end date is a day off or the first day back.
Total working days and total hours
Hours are what payroll and the balance use. Days are what the schedule uses. Record both.
Partial day details
Half days and hourly requests need start and end times so the timesheet is right.
Balance before and after the request
Catches requests that exceed the available balance before they are approved.
Coverage arranged
Who is covering and what has been handed over. The single most useful field for a manager.
Employee signature and date
Confirms the employee understands the request is subject to the policy.
Manager decision, reason, and date
Approved, approved with changes, or denied. A reason is required for anything other than a plain approval.
Recorded in the tracker or payroll
The final checkbox. A form that is approved but never recorded creates the balance disputes the form was meant to prevent.
The form covers vacation, sick leave, personal days, floating holidays, and bereavement. If your policy uses a single PTO bank, keep the type field anyway; knowing what the time was used for helps with coverage planning and with state rules that treat sick leave differently from vacation. For background on how the categories differ, see our guide to what PTO is and how it works.
How the Approval Workflow Should Run
The form is only useful if it moves through a predictable process. This six-step workflow works for an office team on a shared spreadsheet and for a contact center running hundreds of requests a month.
Employee checks the balance and the calendar
Before submitting, the employee confirms they have enough hours and that the dates are not in a blackout period. A visible balance prevents most denials.
Employee submits the form with coverage noted
The request goes to the direct manager with the leave type, dates, hours, and who is covering. Requests without coverage details go back for completion, not to the manager.
Manager checks coverage, not the reason
The manager reviews the schedule for the requested dates, the daily cap for the team, and any conflicting approved requests. The reason for the time off is not part of the decision unless the policy requires one for that leave type.
Manager responds within the policy window
A defined response time, typically two to five business days for planned leave and same day for sick or emergency requests, keeps requests from sitting in inboxes.
Decision is recorded and the balance updated
Approved requests are logged, the balance is reduced, and the schedule is updated. Denied requests are logged with the reason so patterns can be reviewed.
Payroll reads from the log, not from memory
At the end of the pay period, paid time off on the timesheet should match the approved requests in the log. Anything that does not match is investigated before payroll runs.
For shift-based teams, add a daily cap per queue or department and approve competing requests in order of submission. Pair the form with a shift change request form so employees can propose their own coverage.
PTO Request Email Examples
Most requests still start with an email or a chat message before the form is filled in. A good request states the dates and leave type in the first line, gives the return date, confirms the balance covers it, and names who is covering. Adapt these five to your situation.
Vacation request (planned, two weeks or more notice)
Subject: PTO request: June 15 to June 19
Hi Maria, I would like to request five days of vacation from Monday, June 15 through Friday, June 19, returning Monday, June 22. My current balance is 96 hours, so this leaves 56 hours. I have moved the two client reviews to the week before, and Priya has agreed to monitor the shared inbox while I am out. Please let me know if those dates work. I will submit the request form today. Thanks, Daniel
Sick day (same-day notice)
Subject: Out sick today, March 3
Hi Maria, I am not well this morning and will be taking a sick day today, Tuesday, March 3. I have let Sam know so the 10 AM handoff is covered, and my status is set to out of office. I will check in tomorrow morning and update you on whether I am back. Thanks, Daniel
Personal day (short notice)
Subject: Personal day request for Thursday, October 8
Hi Maria, I need to take a personal day on Thursday, October 8. I have cleared my calendar for that day and Sam is covering the support queue in the afternoon. I will be back Friday and reachable by phone for anything urgent. Please let me know if there is any issue with the date. Thanks, Daniel
Half day (appointment)
Subject: Half-day PTO request: Wednesday, April 22 afternoon
Hi Maria, I would like to take four hours of PTO on Wednesday, April 22, from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM for an appointment. I will finish the weekly report in the morning before I leave, and nothing else on my calendar is affected. Thanks, Daniel
Last-minute or emergency request
Subject: Urgent: need tomorrow off, Friday, August 14
Hi Maria, Something has come up at home and I need to take tomorrow, Friday, August 14, off. I am sorry for the short notice. I have messaged the team; Sam can take my morning calls and I will prepare handover notes tonight. I am happy to use a personal day or PTO, whichever the policy allows. I will confirm my return on Monday. Thank you for understanding. Daniel
Two rules apply to all five. Do not over-explain: the manager needs the dates and the coverage, not the story. And follow up the message with the form, so the request is recorded against your balance rather than living in someone's inbox. For the difference between a personal day and a sick day, and when each applies, see our personal day guide.
Tips for Managers Handling PTO Requests
Time off disputes are almost never about the form. They are about inconsistent decisions, slow responses, and rules nobody wrote down. These seven habits prevent most of them.
Decide on coverage, not on the reason
Unless the policy requires a reason for a specific leave type, the only question is whether the team can cover the dates. Asking why invites inconsistency and, for medical or family reasons, legal risk.
Publish the rules employees are measured against
Notice periods, blackout dates, daily caps per team, and the order in which competing requests are approved should be written down and easy to find. Most disputes come from unwritten rules.
Respond inside a fixed window
Two to five business days for planned leave. A request that sits for three weeks is a denial in practice, because the employee cannot book anything.
Use first-come, first-served with a cap
For popular dates, approve in order of submission up to the daily coverage limit. It is transparent and removes the appearance of favoritism.
Let employees solve coverage themselves
A shift swap or a colleague volunteering to cover turns a would-be denial into an approval. Make it easy to propose.
Record every decision, including denials
A log of denied requests with reasons shows whether a team is chronically understaffed for time off, which is a scheduling problem to fix rather than a request problem.
Keep approved time off off the attendance record
An approved personal day or vacation is not an occurrence. If your attendance policy counts points, make sure approved leave never accrues them.
The Policy Behind the Form
A request form enforces a policy; it cannot replace one. Before rolling out the form, make sure the written policy answers the questions the form will raise: how much PTO each employee class receives, whether it accrues or is granted up front, how much notice each leave type needs, which dates are blacked out, whether unused time carries over, and what happens to the balance at separation.
Our company leave policy template covers those sections, and the sick leave policy template handles the leave type most often regulated by state law. If your policy accrues time per pay period, the PTO accrual calculator shows employees what their balance will be on a future date, which prevents requests that exceed it.
Payout rules deserve particular care. Several states treat accrued vacation as earned wages that must be paid at separation and prohibit use-it-or-lose-it forfeiture. The balance fields on the form are the record those rules are enforced against. See PTO payout laws by state for the state-by-state picture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about PTO requests.
A PTO request form is the document an employee uses to ask for paid time off. It records who is asking, what type of leave, the dates and hours, the balance before and after, who is covering, and the manager's decision. Its purpose is to make the request, the approval, and the balance change traceable so payroll and the schedule stay accurate.
At minimum: the employee's name and manager, the type of time off, the first and last day off and the return date, the total hours requested, whether coverage is arranged, and a signature or submission date. Good forms also show the balance before and after the request and include a manager decision block with a reason field.
State the dates and the type of leave in the first sentence, give the return date, confirm your balance covers it, and say who is covering your work. Keep it to a few lines and do not over-explain the reason unless the policy requires one. The five examples on this page cover vacation, sick, personal, half-day, and emergency requests.
It depends on the leave type and the policy. Vacation is commonly requested one to two weeks ahead or more. Personal days are often allowed on 24 to 48 hours' notice. Sick leave is same-day. Shift-based employers usually add a rule that requests should be made before the schedule is published where possible.
Yes, for legitimate business reasons such as a coverage shortage, a blackout period, or a conflict with an already approved request. Employers should not deny protected leave, such as sick leave required by state law or FMLA leave, on those grounds. Denials should be recorded with a reason.
Record both. Days are what the schedule and the employee think in. Hours are what the balance and payroll use, and they handle half days and hourly requests correctly. The form on this page has fields for both.
Treat approved requests as payroll records. The FLSA requires payroll records to be kept for at least three years, and several states require longer. Keeping the log alongside timesheets makes audits and balance disputes easy to resolve.
A form and a log work for small teams. Once requests, approvals, and balances live in three different places, or once a team passes a couple of dozen employees, a leave management system that shows balances, routes requests to the manager, and updates the timesheet automatically saves time and prevents payroll errors.
Replace the Form with a Request Button
HiveDesk leave management lets employees request time off against a live balance, routes the request to their manager, and updates the timesheet when it is approved. $5/user/month, 14-day free trial.