The clearance note: is it mandatory, what it contains and a template

The nota de lichidare (the clearance note) is the document that half of all HR people believe is required by law, while the other half believe it does not exist. The truth lies in between and is worth clarifying, because it affects what you can ask of an employee who is leaving — and what can be asked of you.

No, the Codul muncii does not provide for it

Let us start with what is missing: the Labour Code (Codul muncii) does not govern the clearance note. It does not appear in the list of documents the employer is obliged to issue when the contract ends. That list contains the termination decision, the length-of-service and income certificate, and the REGES extract.

The practical consequence, often ignored: a former employer cannot make the issuing of certificates conditional on signing a clearance note, and a new employer cannot refuse to hire you because you do not have one. In the general case, the demand to “bring your clearance note” has no legal basis.

But there is a real exception: gestionari

For employees holding gestionar positions — those who receive, keep and issue material goods — the situation is different. Legea 22/1969 on the employment of gestionari requires the stock to be checked on handover, and the document attesting that the stock was handed over with nothing missing is essential.

Here the clearance note (or the stock handover report) does become genuinely necessary, and the new employer has a legitimate reason to ask for it.

Why it is used everywhere anyway

Beyond gestionari, the clearance note has established itself as a practice for pragmatic reasons:

• it confirms that there are no mutual debts — neither does the employee have anything left to receive, nor the company anything to recover;
• it documents the return of company property (laptop, phone, keys, access cards);
• it records the leave balance that was compensated;
• it serves as evidence in any later dispute over amounts or property.

In practice, it is a piece of administrative hygiene. Useful — but, in the general case, not something the employee is obliged to sign.

What it should contain

• the employer’s and the employee’s details;
• the number and date of the contract that is ending, plus the termination date;
• the status of salary entitlements: amounts left to pay (salary, compensation for untaken leave), any unjustified advances;
• the status of property returned or not returned, with a reference to the handover reports;
• any debts owed by the employee, with their basis;
• any debts owed by the employer to the employee;
• the signatures of both parties and the date.

Watch out for one sensitive point: if the note records a debt owed by the employee, that does not entitle you to withhold the amount from the final entitlements without their written agreement or a court decision. The note records; it does not enforce.

Editable template

CLEARANCE NOTE (NOTĂ DE LICHIDARE)
No. ______ / date __________

Employer: [Name], CUI (tax ID) ________, office ____________
Employee: [Surname First name], CNP (personal numeric code) ______________
Position: ______________  Department: ______________
Individual employment contract no. ______ of __________
Date the contract ends: __________
Grounds for termination: _____________________________

I. STATUS OF SALARY ENTITLEMENTS
   Salary due up to the termination date:       ______ lei
   Untaken leave compensation: ____ days =      ______ lei
   Other entitlements (detail): ______________  ______ lei
   TOTAL PAYABLE TO THE EMPLOYEE:               ______ lei

II. STATUS OF THE EMPLOYEE'S DEBTS
   Unjustified advances:                        ______ lei
   Other debts (basis: ______________):         ______ lei
   TOTAL DEBTS:                                 ______ lei

III. STATUS OF PROPERTY RETURNED
   [ ] Laptop / phone, serial ______________ returned / not returned
   [ ] Access card / keys                    returned / not returned
   [ ] Protective equipment                  returned / not returned
   [ ] Other property: ______________        returned / not returned
   Handover report no. ______ / __________

IV. REMARKS
   ____________________________________________________

This note records the position at the date the contract
ends. Any debts may be recovered only with the written
agreement of the employee or under the conditions of the law.

EMPLOYER                           EMPLOYEE
_______________                    _______________
Date: __________                   Date: __________

What must be issued when someone leaves

So that it is not confused with the clearance note, here are the documents the law does in fact require:

• the decision terminating the contract;
• the length-of-service and income certificate — needed for the unemployment file and, later, for the pension;
• the REGES extract;
• on request, certified copies of the documents in the personnel file.

Frequently asked questions

Is the clearance note mandatory? Not under the Codul muncii. It becomes necessary for gestionari (Legea 22/1969) and is widely used as an administrative practice.

Can the new employer ask for it? It can request it, but in the general case it cannot make the hiring conditional on producing it. The exception is gestionar positions.

Can I refuse to issue the certificates if the employee does not sign the note? No. The length-of-service and income certificate and the termination decision are issued independently, being legal obligations.

Does the note allow me to withhold a debt from the final salary? No. The note records the position; withholding requires the employee’s written agreement or a court decision, observing the statutory ceilings.

Who signs it? Both parties — the employer (through a representative) and the employee.

See also the documents due on termination of the contract, deductions from salary and payment for untaken leave.

How Workly helps

The clearance note is only useful if the data in it is correct — otherwise it becomes a piece of paper that generates disputes. In Workly, when the termination of the contract is recorded, the untaken leave balance is calculated automatically and goes into the final payroll run, while the list of property to be returned is generated from the active assignments in the assets module. You no longer find out after someone has left that a laptop is missing.

The package of mandatory documents — decision, length-of-service and income certificates, REGES extract — is produced from consolidated data, within the legal deadlines, and the clearance note is filled in with figures that match the payroll register, not with estimates. Everything stays in the former employee’s digital file, with the retention required by law.

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Informational article, accurate at the date of publication. Not legal advice. The position of gestionari and the treatment of debts have specific rules — consult a specialist for concrete cases.