An employment certificate comes in two forms in French-speaking Africa: the attestation de travail, which the employer issues on request during the contract to confirm that the person is on the payroll, since when and in which role; and the certificat de travail, which is compulsory at the end of the contract and whose content is set by each country’s Labour Code. In Morocco the end-of-contract certificate must be issued within 8 days (Article 72); in the DRC within 2 working days (Article 79); in Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Benin on departure. This guide gives a template for each employment certificate, a salary certificate template and the rules in six countries. Up to date as of 5 November 2026.
Key points
- Attestation de travail (employment certificate during the job): issued on request, for a bank, landlord, consulate or administration. No Labour Code article governs it: its content is free but must be accurate.
- Certificat de travail (end-of-contract employment certificate): compulsory when the contract ends, whatever the reason (resignation, dismissal, end of a fixed-term contract). Content is limited by law, usually to start and end dates and jobs held.
- Deadlines: 8 days in Morocco, 2 working days in the DRC, on departure elsewhere.
- Penalty: damages in every country; in Senegal, a daily penalty set by the judge.
- Salary certificate (attestation de salaire): a separate document stating pay, also a matter of practice.
Employment certificate during the job or at the end: what is the difference?
| Attestation de travail | Certificat de travail | |
|---|---|---|
| When | During the contract | At the end of the contract |
| Obligation | Practice, at the employee’s request | Legal obligation of the employer |
| Content | Free: identity, job, hire date, contract type, sometimes pay | Set by the Code, often "exclusively" certain items |
| Used for | Bank loan, rental, visa, administrative file, school enrolment | Proving experience, registering with employment services, being hired elsewhere |
| Deadline | None in law; a few days in practice | Varies by country (table below) |
| Penalty for refusal | No specific penalty | Damages; daily penalty in Senegal |
In Ivory Coast and Cameroon, many employees search for "certificat de travail" when they need an attestation de travail, and vice versa. The simple rule: if you are still employed, you need an attestation; if the contract has ended, you need a certificat.
Employment certificate template (attestation de travail)
Print this employment certificate on company letterhead (in French, the language the receiving bodies expect), have it signed by an authorised person (CEO, HR director) and stamped.
[Raison sociale]
[Forme juridique, adresse du siège]
[Numéro d’immatriculation (registre du commerce, identifiant fiscal), numéro d’affiliation employeur à la caisse sociale]ATTESTATION DE TRAVAIL
Je soussigné(e), [prénom, nom], agissant en qualité de [fonction] de la société [raison sociale], atteste que :
M. / Mme [prénom, nom], né(e) le [date] à [lieu], titulaire de [la carte nationale d’identité / du passeport] n° [numéro], immatriculé(e) à [caisse sociale] sous le n° [numéro],
est employé(e) au sein de notre société depuis le [date d’embauche], en qualité de [intitulé du poste], catégorie [catégorie ou classification], dans le cadre d’un contrat de travail [à durée indéterminée / à durée déterminée jusqu’au (date)], [à temps plein / à temps partiel].
L’intéressé(e) fait toujours partie de notre personnel à la date de la présente attestation.
Cette attestation de travail est délivrée à la demande de l’intéressé(e) pour servir et valoir ce que de droit.
Fait à [ville], le [date]
[Nom, fonction, signature et cachet de l’entreprise]
What a useful employment certificate contains
- Full employer identity: company name, address, social security employer number (CNSS, CNPS, IPRES…). Banks and consulates check it.
- Employee identity and ID document.
- Hire date and job, with contract type: a bank does not read a permanent contract and a fixed-term contract ending in three months the same way.
- "Still on the payroll" and the issue date: many bodies require an employment certificate less than three months old.
- Signature of an authorised person and the company stamp. Some bodies also ask for a legalised signature.
What it should not contain: any assessment of the employee, health information, or ongoing disciplinary action. Pay appears only if the employee asks; otherwise, issue a separate salary certificate.
End-of-contract employment certificate template (certificat de travail)
This certificate is issued when the contract ends. The template below contains the items common to all six countries; add the country-specific items from the next table, and nothing else, because several Codes limit content to items "exclusively" listed.
[Raison sociale, adresse, numéro d’affiliation employeur]
CERTIFICAT DE TRAVAIL
Je soussigné(e), [prénom, nom], [fonction] de la société [raison sociale], certifie que :
M. / Mme [prénom, nom], [immatriculé(e) à (caisse sociale) sous le n° (numéro) : obligatoire en RDC],
a été employé(e) dans notre société du [date d’entrée] au [date de sortie],
en qualité de :
[emploi 1], du [date] au [date] ;
[emploi 2], du [date] au [date].[Catégorie professionnelle de la convention collective : obligatoire au Sénégal, et au Bénin si une convention la prévoit.]
M. / Mme [nom] nous quitte libre de tout engagement.
Fait à [ville], le [date], pour servir et valoir ce que de droit.
[Nom, fonction, signature et cachet]
Reçu le [date] : [signature du salarié]
The phrase "libre de tout engagement" (free of any commitment) is allowed by the Codes of Morocco, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Benin, which state it triggers no stamp or registration duty. In the DRC, Article 79 forbids adding anything beyond the listed items: remove it.
Employment certificate content and deadlines by country
| Country | End-of-contract certificate content | Deadline | Article |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morocco | Exclusively: start date, end date, jobs held. Qualifications and services only if both parties agree | Within 8 days of the end of the contract | Labour Code, Art. 72 |
| Senegal | Exclusively: start date, end date, nature and dates of successive jobs, collective agreement category | On final departure | 2026 Code, Art. 140 |
| Ivory Coast | Exclusively: start date, end date, nature and dates of jobs; plus a named salary statement from the social security fund | When the contract expires | Labour Code, Art. 18.18 |
| Cameroon | Exclusively: start date, end date, nature and dates of jobs | At the time of departure | Labour Code, Art. 44 |
| DRC | Nature and length of service, start and end dates, social security registration number; nothing else | Within 2 working days | Labour Code, Art. 79 |
| Benin | Exclusively: start date, end date, nature and dates of jobs, professional category if an agreement provides one | Made available at the end of the contract | Labour Code, Art. 62 |
Employment certificate rules, country by country
Morocco
Article 72 of the Labour Code (Law 65-99, as published by the Ministry of Justice) requires the employer to issue the certificat de travail "within a maximum of eight days, failing which damages are due". It states "exclusively" the start date, end date and jobs held; by agreement of both parties it may mention qualifications and services rendered. It is exempt from registration duties, including with "libre de tout engagement". During the contract, no article governs the attestation de travail: banks and consulates often want it recent and signed by an authorised person. The certificate goes with the final settlement receipt (Articles 73 to 75). See our guides to the notice period in Morocco, severance pay in Morocco, the fixed-term contract in Morocco and the Moroccan Labour Code.
Senegal
The 2026 Labour Code (Law No. 2026-18) toughens the penalty: an employer who fails to issue the certificate faces "a daily penalty set by the judge" on top of damages (Article 140). The certificate states exclusively the start date, end date, nature and dates of successive jobs and the collective agreement category. It is handed over against acknowledgement of receipt or by any means giving date and proof; if the employee does not collect it, it is kept available. The employer may give no "biased or erroneous" information about the employee. On death, it is issued to the heirs (Article 136). See our guides to the Senegal Labour Code 2026 and severance pay in Senegal.
Ivory Coast
When the contract expires, the employer must issue, failing which damages are due, a certificate stating exclusively the start date, end date, nature and dates of jobs held, together with a named salary statement from the social security institution the employee belongs to (Article 18.18 of the 2015 Labour Code). The obligation survives the employee’s death for the heirs (Article 18.19). It is one of the few rules where the end-of-contract employment certificate comes with a salary document: prepare it as soon as the departure is announced. See severance pay in Ivory Coast.
Cameroon
"When the employment contract expires, whatever the reason for its termination", the employer issues on departure a certificate stating exclusively the start date, end date, nature and dates of successive jobs (Article 44 of the 1992 Labour Code). Judgments on handing over a certificat de travail or payslip are final with no appeal, except on jurisdiction (Article 152): disputes move fast. See severance pay in Cameroon.
DRC
The shortest deadline: the certificate is issued "no later than two working days after the end of the contract" (Article 79 of the Labour Code). It states the nature and length of service, start and end dates and the social security registration number (the 2002 text refers to the national social security institute, INSS); "no other information may be added". It is exempt from stamp and registration duty. See severance pay in the DRC.
Benin
"Whatever the reason the contract ends", the employer must hold at the employee’s disposal, failing which damages are due, a certificate stating exclusively the start date, end date, nature and dates of jobs and the professional category where an agreement or regulation provides one (Article 62 of the Labour Code, Law No. 98-004). It may contain no biased, defamatory or erroneous information. The obligation survives for the heirs (Article 63). See severance pay in Benin.
The salary certificate: what it is for and what it contains
The salary certificate (attestation de salaire) is separate from the employment certificate: it confirms pay, usually monthly gross and net salary, sometimes over the last twelve months. It is requested for loans, rentals, visas or benefit applications. None of the six Labour Codes regulates it: it is drawn from the payslips, which remain the proof, and must match them exactly.
[En-tête de l’entreprise]
ATTESTATION DE SALAIRE
Je soussigné(e), [prénom, nom], [fonction] de la société [raison sociale], atteste que M. / Mme [prénom, nom], employé(e) depuis le [date d’embauche] en qualité de [poste], dans le cadre d’un contrat [CDI / CDD], perçoit une rémunération mensuelle brute de [montant] [devise], soit un salaire net de [montant] [devise] après retenues sociales et fiscales.
[Option : détail des douze derniers mois, mois par mois, brut et net.]
Cette attestation est délivrée à la demande de l’intéressé(e) pour servir et valoir ce que de droit.
Fait à [ville], le [date]
[Nom, fonction, signature et cachet]
Two precautions. First, separate base salary, fixed bonuses and variable bonuses: a bank will count the fixed part. Second, for social security benefits (sickness, maternity, work accident) the fund often has its own forms: ask for them rather than sending a free-form certificate. In Morocco, the CNSS has since 2019 also issued online a statement of the salaries declared in the employee’s name, useful to check that the employer has declared their pay. To go from gross to net, our guide to net salary calculation covers deductions country by country.
For employers: generating every employment certificate without typing
A company with 150 employees receives several employment or salary certificate requests each month, and every departure requires an end-of-contract certificate, sometimes within a very short deadline. With Socium, the employee files the request in the mobile app; the HR approval workflow routes it to the authorised signatory; the HR document management module generates the employment certificate, salary certificate or certificat de travail from the employee record and payroll, using a template for each country, has it e-signed and files it in the employee’s digital vault. No more retyping dates or pay, and a record of every document issued. Book a demo to see your templates in place.
Employment contract guides by country: Morocco, Senegal, Ivory Coast, employment contract in Cameroon, employment contract in the DRC, Benin.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an employment certificate during the job and at the end?
The attestation de travail is issued during the contract, on request, with free content. The certificat de travail is compulsory at the end of the contract and its content is set by the country’s Labour Code.
Can an employer refuse an employment certificate?
No article of the Codes reviewed requires the attestation to be issued, but refusing it without reason is hard to justify: it only describes a real situation. Refusing the end-of-contract certificate, however, exposes the employer to damages, and in Senegal to a daily penalty.
How quickly must the end-of-contract certificate be issued?
Within 8 days in Morocco, 2 working days in the DRC, on departure in Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Benin.
Does an employment certificate need a legalised signature?
The law does not require it, but some consulates, banks or administrations ask for one. Check with the receiving body.
Can I get an employment certificate after leaving the company?
After departure, the end-of-contract certificate is the reference document. If you have lost it, ask your former employer for a duplicate.
Can the certificate state the reason for leaving?
No. The Codes limit content to objective items (dates, jobs, sometimes category or registration number). Only in Morocco may qualifications and services be added, if both parties agree.
Is an e-signed employment certificate valid?
Many bodies accept it if the signature can be verified; some still require a signed, stamped paper original. Keep the option to print.
Who signs the employment certificate?
The company’s legal representative or a person with delegated authority, usually the HR director. A colleague’s or line manager’s signature may be refused by the receiving body.
Key takeaways
- Still employed: attestation de travail, free content, issued on request. Contract ended: certificat de travail, compulsory.
- The end-of-contract certificate contains only the items set by the Code; in the DRC, nothing else is allowed.
- Deadlines: 8 days in Morocco, 2 working days in the DRC, on departure elsewhere; daily penalty possible in Senegal.
- In Ivory Coast, the certificate comes with a named salary statement from the social security fund.
- The salary certificate is a separate document, drawn from payslips.
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