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An employee has just told you she needs surgery next month. You have five business days to put the first piece of FMLA paperwork in her hands, and the forms page on the Department of Labor website lists seven documents with similar numbers. Which one goes out first, which ones does the employee carry to a doctor, and which one do you complete at the end?
This guide answers that from the employer's side of the desk: each of the DOL's FMLA forms, the step where it belongs, the deadline attached to it, and the completion errors that cause trouble.
The Seven DOL FMLA Forms at a Glance
The Wage and Hour Division publishes the forms as fillable PDFs on its FMLA forms page: two notice forms, which the employer completes and gives to the employee, and five certification forms, which the employee returns to the employer.
| Form | Official title | Who completes it | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| WH-381 | Notice of Eligibility & Rights and Responsibilities | Employer | Tells the employee whether he or she is eligible, and sets out expectations and obligations. |
| WH-382 | Designation Notice | Employer | Tells the employee whether the leave is approved as FMLA leave and how much will be counted. |
| WH-380-E | Certification of Health Care Provider for Employee's Serious Health Condition | Employer or employee (Section I), health care provider (Section II) | Supports leave for the employee's own condition. |
| WH-380-F | Certification of Health Care Provider for Family Member's Serious Health Condition | Employer, employee, and the family member's health care provider | Supports leave to care for a spouse, child, or parent. |
| WH-384 | Certification for Military Family Leave for Qualifying Exigency | Employer or employee (Section I), employee | Supports leave arising from a family member's covered active duty. |
| WH-385 | Certification for Serious Injury or Illness of a Current Servicemember for Military Caregiver Leave | Employer or employee, and an authorized health care provider | Supports military caregiver leave for a current servicemember. |
| WH-385-V | Certification for Serious Injury or Illness of a Veteran for Military Caregiver Leave | Employer or employee, and an authorized health care provider | Supports military caregiver leave for a covered veteran. |
Current version and expiration date
As downloaded from dol.gov on October 4, 2026, all seven forms are marked "Revised June 2020," carry OMB Control Number 1235-0003, and show "Expires: 8/31/2029." The June 2020 revision is still the current version. If your templates show an earlier expiration date in the corner, download fresh copies so the date matches what DOL now posts; the revision date tells you the content is the same.
The expiration date causes more worry than it should. DOL's forms page says the content of the optional-use forms "is still applicable, regardless of the expiration date."
Are the DOL forms required?
No. The regulations and each form itself say use is optional. DOL describes them as "optional-use forms," and an employer may use its own forms as long as they contain the same basic information. Two limits apply:
- Your own form cannot ask for more. For medical certifications, "no information may be required beyond that specified in §§ 825.306, 825.307, and 825.308" (29 CFR 825.306(b)). The same limit applies to the military forms.
- You cannot insist on your format. DOL's forms page states that employers "must accept a complete and sufficient certification, regardless of the format." If a provider sends a letter that contains everything the regulation calls for, it counts.
The argument for using the DOL forms unchanged is that a fully completed WH-381 or WH-382 "provides employees with the information required by" the notice regulations. Every form also carries one instruction: do not send completed forms to the Department of Labor.
How to Use the FMLA Forms, Step by Step
Step 1: The employee gives notice. Send Form WH-381 within five business days.
The clock starts when the employee requests leave or when you learn that an absence may be for an FMLA-qualifying reason. The employee does not have to say "FMLA." Within five business days, absent extenuating circumstances, you must give the eligibility notice (§ 825.300(b)(1)), and the rights and responsibilities notice must go with it (§ 825.300(c)(1)). Form WH-381 combines both.
What to complete on the WH-381:
- Section I, Notice of Eligibility: Check eligible or not eligible. If not eligible, the regulation requires "at least one reason why" (§ 825.300(b)(2)).
- Section II, Additional Information Needed: Check whether you are requiring a certification and which type. Enter the return date, at least 15 calendar days from your request.
- Section III, Rights and Responsibilities: Check which 12-month period your policy uses (see the four ways to count the 12-month period), key-employee status, whether paid leave will run at the same time, how the employee pays health premiums during unpaid leave, and whether you require periodic status reports.
If the employee later needs leave for a different reason in the same leave year and eligibility has not changed, no new eligibility notice is required (§ 825.300(b)(3)). Our article on employer notice duties and deadlines covers the general posting and handbook notice that comes before any of this.
Step 2: Hand over the right certification form with the WH-381.
The rights and responsibilities notice "may be accompanied by any required certification form" (§ 825.300(c)(3)), and sending them together is the cleanest practice.
| Reason for leave | Form | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Employee's own serious health condition | WH-380-E | Complete Section I yourself: dates, job title, regular schedule, and essential functions or an attached job description. |
| Care for spouse, child, or parent | WH-380-F | The employee completes a section describing the relationship and the care needed. |
| Qualifying exigency | WH-384 | The employee completes it; you may also require a copy of the active duty orders the first time. |
| Military caregiver, current servicemember | WH-385 | You must accept invitational travel orders or authorizations in place of the form for the period they cover. |
| Military caregiver, veteran | WH-385-V | You must accept documentation of enrollment in the VA Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers as sufficient certification of the injury or illness. |
| Bonding with a healthy newborn or newly placed child | None | The certification forms state that you may not request a medical certification for bonding leave; you may ask for reasonable documentation of the family relationship. |
Fill in Section I of the WH-380-E before it leaves your office. If you do not supply the essential functions, the form tells the provider to rely on the employee's own description of the job.
Step 3: Review what comes back. The employee has at least 15 calendar days.
The employee must return the certification within 15 calendar days of your request, unless that is not practicable despite diligent, good-faith efforts (§ 825.305(b)). When it arrives, read it against the regulation:
- Incomplete means one or more applicable entries were left blank.
- Insufficient means the entries are complete but the information is "vague, ambiguous, or non-responsive" (§ 825.305(c)).
In either case, you must tell the employee in writing what additional information is needed and allow seven calendar days to cure. There is no separate DOL form for this. Section II of the WH-382 has checkboxes for "incomplete" and "insufficient," a space to specify what is missing, and a line for the cure deadline.
A January 2026 DOL opinion letter (FMLA2026-2) is worth knowing here: a certification for appointments does not need to estimate travel time to be complete and sufficient. The details of clarification, authentication, and second opinions are in our article on medical certification, recertification, and second opinions.
Step 4: Designate. Send Form WH-382 within five business days.
Once you have enough information to decide whether the leave qualifies, for example after receiving the certification, you have five business days, absent extenuating circumstances, to notify the employee in writing whether the leave will be designated as FMLA leave (§ 825.300(d)(1), (4)).
What to complete on the WH-382:
- Section I: The decision: approved, not approved (with the reason), or additional information needed.
- Section II: Used only when more information is needed: incomplete or insufficient certification, or a second or third opinion at your expense.
- Section III: The amount of leave that will be counted, if known; whether paid leave will run at the same time; and the return-to-work requirement.
If you will require a fitness-for-duty certification, this is where you must say so. If you want that certification to address the essential functions of the job, check the box and attach the list (§ 825.300(d)(3)). Skip it here and you generally cannot delay reinstatement for it later. See FMLA fitness-for-duty certification requirements and our walk-through of FMLA designation notice deadlines and errors.
Only one designation notice is required per qualifying reason per 12-month period, whether the leave is continuous or intermittent.
Step 5: During leave. Recertification and annual certification.
DOL has no separate recertification form. The regulation says the employer "may ask for the same information when obtaining recertification as that permitted for the original certification" (§ 825.308(e)), so the WH-380-E or WH-380-F is used again. When a condition lasts beyond one leave year, you may require a new certification in each later leave year (§ 825.305(e)).
Step 6: Return to work.
There is no DOL fitness-for-duty form either. A note from the employee's health care provider stating that the employee is able to resume work satisfies the requirement, and if you gave notice in the WH-382 and attached the essential functions, the provider must address them (§ 825.312(b)).
The Deadlines on One Page
| Event | Who acts | Deadline | Form |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employee requests leave, or you learn leave may qualify | Employer | 5 business days | WH-381 |
| Employer requests certification | Employee | At least 15 calendar days | WH-380-E, WH-380-F, WH-384, WH-385, or WH-385-V |
| Certification incomplete or insufficient | Employee, after written notice | At least 7 calendar days to cure | WH-382, Section II |
| Employer has enough information to decide | Employer | 5 business days | WH-382 |
| Employee asks for a copy of a second or third opinion | Employer | 5 business days | None |
| Recertification requested | Employee | At least 15 calendar days | WH-380-E or WH-380-F |
Completion Errors That Cause Trouble
- Holding the WH-381 until the doctor's note arrives. The eligibility notice does not depend on medical information.
- Leaving Section I of the certification blank.
- Mixing up the day counts. Your notices run in business days; the employee's deadlines run in calendar days.
- Rejecting a certification without written notice of what is missing and the seven-day cure period.
- Asking for more than the form asks, such as a release of medical records. An employee may not be required to sign an authorization or release (§ 825.306(e)).
- Not checking the fitness-for-duty box on the WH-382 and then demanding a release at return.
- Never sending the WH-382.
- Filing certifications in the personnel file instead of separate confidential files (§ 825.500(g)).
Where the Forms Live After They Are Signed
Keep copies of every notice you give and every certification you receive for at least three years (§ 825.500(b)). Our articles on payroll recordkeeping for the FMLA and standardizing leave documentation go further.
The DOL forms cover federal FMLA only. State family and medical leave laws, paid leave programs, the ADA, and workers' compensation each have their own paperwork and their own limits on medical information. Check each state's agency to see whether a separate state form is required or whether the state restricts what a certification may ask. Running those processes alongside the federal forms is the subject of our Leave and Accommodation Management course, whose learning objectives include making sure FMLA medical certifications are complete, sufficient, and authentic without violating privacy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do employers have to use the DOL FMLA forms?
No. They are optional. An employer may use its own forms if they contain the same basic information and do not ask for more than the regulations allow. An employer must accept a complete and sufficient certification in any format.
Which FMLA form does the doctor fill out?
Form WH-380-E for the employee's own serious health condition, or Form WH-380-F for a family member's. The employer or employee completes the first section, and the health care provider completes the medical section and signs.
What is the difference between Form WH-381 and Form WH-382?
WH-381 comes first. It tells the employee whether he or she is eligible and explains rights and responsibilities, and it is due within five business days of the leave request. WH-382 comes after you have enough information to decide. It tells the employee whether the leave is designated as FMLA leave and how much will be counted.
Are FMLA forms still valid after the expiration date printed on them?
Yes, according to DOL. Its forms page says the content of the optional-use forms is still applicable regardless of the expiration date. The forms currently posted show an expiration date of August 31, 2029.
The Bottom Line
The sequence is short: WH-381 within five business days, the right certification form with at least 15 calendar days to return it, written notice and seven days if it is deficient, and WH-382 within five business days of having what you need.
Build the sequence into a checklist. Our FMLA Compliance Checklist and the articles on key components of FMLA administration and common pitfalls in FMLA administration are good starting points, and the FMLA Guide links the rest of this series. If your cases regularly involve more than one law, the two-day Leave and Accommodation Management course works through them with case studies and hands-on exercises.
This article is general education, not legal advice for a specific situation.
