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Resigning from your job in Germany: form, notice period, handover

The new job is signed — now the resignation goes to your old employer. Stricter rules apply here than for a phone or gym contract: an email is not enough. Here is how to do it right.

Updated August 2026 · 5 minutes read

Employee hands her manager a signed resignation letter across an office desk

Written form: paper and handwritten signature

Under § 623 BGB, terminating employment requires written form — electronic form is expressly excluded. That means a printed letter with a handwritten signature. Email, WhatsApp, fax or a scanned PDF are invalid.

The notice period

Unless your contract or collective agreement says otherwise, employees give four weeks' notice to the 15th or the end of a month (§ 622(1) BGB); two weeks during probation (§ 622(3) BGB). The longer periods in § 622(2) BGB only bind the employer — unless your contract extends them to you. What counts is receipt by the employer. Use the notice period calculator.

Desk calendar with marked weeks, a fountain pen and a signed letter
Four weeks to the 15th or month-end — counted from receipt, not from sending.

What to include

  • your name and address, the employer's name, the date,
  • a clear sentence: "I hereby terminate my employment with due notice as of [date], alternatively at the next possible date."
  • optionally: a request for a qualified reference and confirmation of receipt,
  • your handwritten signature. No reason is needed.

Hand it over safely

  1. In person, with receipt confirmed on a copy — the safest way.
  2. With a witness who knows the letter's content, if the employer won't sign.
  3. By Einwurfeinschreiben if handing over isn't possible — allow a few days' buffer.

By post, the letter must carry your original signature; an online-printed letter with an inserted signature does not satisfy § 623 BGB. You can still draft it in the letter editor, download the PDF, print and sign it.

Note: This article is not legal advice.

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