People · free template

Time Off Request Form

Standard employee time off request form covering dates, leave type, cover arrangements and manager approval.

A ready-to-use human resources form for HR, people ops and hiring managers: 11 questions, 1 page, 2 conditional rules.

Questions
11
Pages
1
Layouts
classic · card
Conditional rules
2
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Live preview and test console

This is the real form. Answer it to test the 1 conditional rule — nothing is sent or stored.

Time off request

Full day or half day?

1 question is hidden by conditional logic right now — change an answer above to reveal it.

Compliance checklist

Ready to publish
  • Payment items priced — passingEvery payment question charges a real amount, so a submission always records a payment.
  • Conditional logic resolves — passingEvery rule points at a question or page that exists in this template.
  • Legal text not required — passingThis template collects neither health nor regulated financial information.
  • Question labels unique — passingLogic and exports address questions by label, so duplicates are ambiguous.

What happens after submit: nothing is stored in this preview. On your own copy, every response triggers an instant email notification and lands in your response dashboard, ready to export or forward.

Happy with it? Take a copy into your workspace — every question, rule and setting comes with it.

Who this template is for

Time Off Request Form is built for HR, people ops and hiring managers who need to run hiring and internal people processes on one auditable record.

  • HR, people ops and hiring managers working in human resources.
  • Teams who need to run hiring and internal people processes on one auditable record without writing code or paying for a custom build.
  • Anyone replacing CVs, requests and approvals scattered across inboxes with one structured record per enquiry.
  • Respondents are candidates and employees — the form asks them 11 questions across 1 screen.
  • Mobile-heavy audiences, thanks to the one-question-per-screen card layout.

Why this form is useful

It removes the cost of CVs, requests and approvals scattered across inboxes and turns each submission into a record your team can act on immediately.

  • 6 questions are required, so submissions arrive complete instead of needing a follow-up email.
  • It collects a verified email address so replies and confirmations land.
  • It pins the request to a specific date.
  • Conditional logic hides 2 questions until they are relevant — shorter forms convert better than long ones.
  • Every response is stored, searchable and exportable, so nothing depends on one person's inbox.

How to use this template

From copy to live form is a few minutes of work, and every step is reversible.

  1. 1Press “Use this template” — a fresh copy of Time Off Request Form lands in your workspace, ready to edit.
  2. 2Rename or delete any question, and change what is required. Nothing here is fixed.
  3. 3Open Notifications and add the email addresses that should be alerted on each submission; add an auto-reply to the respondent if the form collects an email address.
  4. 4Publish it, then either share the link directly or paste the embed snippet into your site — the embedded form resizes to fit and loads no marketing or advertising trackers.
  5. 5Watch responses land in Submissions, where you can filter, label and export them to CSV or PDF.

Logic and conditions blueprint

Exactly how this form behaves as it is answered — 2 conditional rules ship with it.

  • Features conditional validation: if “Type of leave” is Unpaid leave, “Reason for request” becomes mandatory before the form can be sent.
  • Features advanced show logic: if “Full day or half day?” is Half day, the form dynamically exposes “Which half of the day?”. Otherwise that question never appears.
  • All 2 rules are editable in the Logic tab, and the built-in checker warns about rules that contradict each other.

About this template

A time off request form is the everyday routing document between an employee who needs a date off and the manager who has to approve it — this version keeps that exchange to a single page. It asks for the employee's name and department, the type of leave, the date range and whether it's a full or half day, then a reason field that stays optional for most leave types but becomes required when someone selects unpaid leave, since that typically needs more context to approve. A cover-arrangement field lets the employee note who's picking up their work while they're away, which managers appreciate seeing before they approve rather than after. This is deliberately the general request form used for day-to-day absence — sick days, appointments, personal days, short holidays — rather than the formal vacation-scheduling document a larger HR team might run separately, and it's shorter than a full leave-balance tracking system. If your organisation already runs structured PTO accrual tracking, the Leave Request Form is the closer fit; for a one-tap single-day request, Quick Leave Request is faster still.

What this form asks

Every question is editable — rename it, make it optional, or delete it entirely.

Request details

  • Employee namerequired
  • Department
  • Email addressrequired
  • Type of leaverequired
  • Start daterequired
  • End daterequired
  • Full day or half day?required
  • Which half of the day?
  • Reason for request
  • Who will cover your work while you're away?
  • Manager notes

11 questions in total.

How the form changes as it's filled in

This template ships with 2 conditional rules, grouped into 2 behaviours driven by 2 questions. Everything below is already set up — edit or delete any rule once the template is in your workspace.

Driven by “Type of leave”

  • Makes answers required

    If “Type of leave” is Unpaid leave, “Reason for request” becomes required before the form can be submitted.

Driven by “Full day or half day?”

  • Reveals questions

    If “Full day or half day?” is Half day, the form reveals “Which half of the day?”.

Set it up step by step

  1. 1

    Require a reason only where it matters

    Most leave types don't need justification — make the reason field required just for unpaid leave, where managers need more context.

  2. 2

    Ask about cover before approving

    The cover-arrangement field lets a manager see the plan for ongoing work in the same view as the request, not in a separate follow-up message.

  3. 3

    Set an approval turnaround

    State how quickly requests are normally approved so employees know when to expect confirmation, especially for date-sensitive plans.

  4. 4

    Route by leave type

    If sick leave and annual leave go to different approvers or systems, use the leave-type answer to notify the right person.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Requiring a reason for every leave type, which turns a routine request into an uncomfortable disclosure.
  • Not capturing whether it's a half day, so payroll or scheduling records the wrong amount of time off.
  • Leaving out a cover field, so managers approve without knowing who's picking up urgent work.

What it pairs with

Most teams don't run this form on its own. These are the forms and systems it sits next to.

What to do with the responses

Confirm the approval decision to the employee in writing and update whatever leave-balance record or calendar your organisation keeps.

Works in both layouts

Browse classic templatesBrowse card templates

Forms that overlap this one

These pages cover the same subject ground as the time off request form, matched on the words people actually search for.

Privacy & compliance

This form holds employee or applicant data. Route it to a named HR mailbox rather than a shared inbox, and keep the audit trail on so you can show who viewed each response.

Frequently asked questions

How is this different from the Leave Request Form?

The Leave Request Form ties into formal PTO balance tracking with accrual and carryover context. This Time Off Request Form is the simpler, everyday version for routine absence approvals without a balance calculation attached.

Is there a faster option for a single day off?

Yes — Quick Leave Request is a one-page, minimal-field version built for a single day's notice rather than date ranges and cover arrangements.

Can this replace a timesheet?

No, it only records approved absence. Pair it with the Employee Timesheet Form if you need to track worked hours as well as time off.

Does this calculate remaining leave balance?

No, it captures the request only — balance tracking should sit in your HR system or payroll software, with this form feeding into it.

Is the Time Off Request Form template free to use?

Yes. You can preview and test Time Off Request Form on this page without an account, and take a copy into your own HelloForms workspace on the free plan. There is nothing to install and no card required to publish it.

What does the Time Off Request Form template ask for?

It asks 11 questions across 1 page, 6 of which are required. Every question is listed in full further down this page, and each one can be renamed, reordered, made optional or deleted after you copy the template.

Can I edit the Time Off Request Form form after copying it?

Yes — the copy is entirely yours. Change wording, add or remove questions, switch between the classic and card layouts, restyle it to match your brand, and set who gets notified on each submission.

How does the conditional logic in this human resources form work?

2 conditional rules ship with the template: Features conditional validation: if “Type of leave” is Unpaid leave, “Reason for request” becomes mandatory before the form can be sent. Features advanced show logic: if “Full day or half day?” is Half day, the form dynamically exposes “Which half of the day?”. Otherwise that question never appears. All 2 rules are editable in the Logic tab, and the built-in checker warns about rules that contradict each other. All rules are editable in the Logic tab.

Where do responses to the Time Off Request Form form go?

Submissions land in your workspace under Submissions, where you can search, filter, label and export them to CSV or PDF. You can also email a notification to your team on every submission and send the respondent an auto-reply.

Can I embed the Time Off Request Form form on my own website?

Yes. Publish the form and paste the embed snippet into any page or share the direct link. The embedded form resizes to fit its container and loads no advertising or marketing trackers inside the iframe.

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