Experience letters that say what you did

“This is to certify that the above-named was employed with us from this date to that date. We wish them all success.” A great many experience letters read like that. It is a perfectly good letter for a new employer. For a regulator, it answers almost nothing.

A regulator reading your experience wants to know what you did as a practitioner: the patients, the procedures, the settings, the responsibility. A letter that only confirms employment leaves all of that to your word, and a file built on your word alone draws questions.

What the letter is for

Where a regulator reads experience, it is usually doing one of two things. It may be weighing your practice alongside your education when it assesses whether you meet its standard. Or it may be checking that your practice is recent enough. Either way, it needs facts it can verify, signed by someone who can vouch for them.

CAMLPR in Canada puts the first purpose plainly:

Through this process, CAMLPR reviews your academic credentials and work experience to determine if your knowledge, skills, and professional competencies meet the level of competency, safety, and professionalism expected in Canada.

Source: camlpr.org · Prior Learning Assessment · 2026-10-04

Which regulators ask for it, and in what form

The format varies more for experience than for any other document.

• CORU has its own verification by employer form, signed and stamped by the employer, marked optional and only where relevant to your application.
• The HCPC asks for your professional experience in a section of its online application.
• The Medical Radiation Technologists Board in New Zealand lists a clinical experience form. The Medical Sciences Council lists evidence of employment, and the Dietitians Board a professional reference from your current or last employer.
• NZSTA asks for certified evidence of recent speech-language therapy practice hours.
• In Canada, CAMLPR asks for an employment verification letter, and a statement of no employment where that applies. CAMRT asks for a confirmation of employment letter and a letter of reference. The Ontario social work college’s equivalency route uses a form on length of practice and supervision, sent directly by each supervisor.

Source: coru.ie · hcpc-uk.org · mrtboard.org.nz · mscouncil.org.nz · dietitiansboard.org.nz · speechtherapy.org.nz · camlpr.org · camrt.ca · ocswssw.org · each regulator's international applicant checklist, as recorded in our guidance notes · 2026-10-04

Where a regulator has its own form, use it. The rest of this post is about the letter you ask an employer to write when it does not.

What a good letter says

This is the content we ask employers for. It is our practice, not a regulator’s template, and your regulator’s own wording comes first where it gives one.

• On letterhead, with the hospital’s or clinic’s address and contact details
• Your full name exactly as on your passport, and your registration number if you held one
• Your title and, if it changed, each title with its dates
• Exact dates: the full date of joining and of leaving, or “to date”
• Hours: full-time or part-time, with weekly hours if part-time
• Settings: the departments, wards or units, and the kinds of patients
• Duties: what you actually did, in clinical terms, in the active voice
• Supervision: whether you practised independently or under supervision, and of whom
• Signed by someone with authority to sign, a head of department, medical superintendent or HR head, with their name, title and contact details printed
• Dated and stamped

The duties are where most letters fall short. “Treated patients” says nothing. “Assessed and treated adult inpatients in orthopaedic and neurological wards, including post-operative mobilisation” says what the regulator came to read.

Why experience letters come back

• No duties, only dates
• Dates that disagree with your CV or another letter
• Signed by a colleague with no authority to sign for the employer
• A title the regulator does not recognise, with nothing describing the role
• The name differs from your passport
• Sent by you where the regulator wanted it from the employer

When an employer has closed or will not help

It happens: a clinic shuts, a manager leaves, an HR office will only issue its standard format. Do not invent a letter to fill the gap. Tell your regulator what happened and offer what you have: appointment and relieving letters, salary slips, a reference from a former supervisor who can speak to your work. Whether that is enough is the regulator’s decision, so check its guidance before you rely on it.

Preparing it right the first time

1. Draft the points you need covered and give them to the employer. A busy HR office writes what you ask for; make the request specific.
2. Read it before it is signed. A correction now is a phone call. After filing, it is a query.
3. Cross-check every date against your CV and other letters.
4. Keep one letter per employer, and one per role if your title changed.

How it works in our portal

Your employment folder has a slot for each employer. You add an employer, then upload that employer’s letter, page by page. We read every letter against your CV and the regulator’s form before it goes anywhere. If duties are missing or a date disagrees, the page comes back with what it needs to say, so you can take it back to the employer with a precise request.

Your next steps

• List every employer and role, with exact dates
• Check whether your regulator has its own experience form
• Send each employer a short list of what the letter must say
• Check every letter against your CV before it is final

Sources

The requirements above were read on each regulator’s own pages on 4 October 2026; the dated list is on our sources page, and the CORU page covers its verification forms.

Your regulator’s checklist comes with your route. Choose your profession and country in the Route Finder below.