Return of Company Property Letter: 6 Free Templates for 2026

A return of company property letter tells a departing employee which company items to give back, by which date, and how. Below are six versions of this letter requesting return of company property, also called a return of company property form. Many go wrong on the "how": one buyer's process was "please mail it back" and hope for the best.

Return of Company Property Letter Templates

Copy the letter that fits, fill the bracketed fields, and delete the Optional lines you do not need.

Pro tip: write dates in words, such as 4 March 2027. 03/04 is 4 March in the US and 3 April in most of Europe.

Download all six return of company property letter templates (Word, .docx)

Resignation

Use when: an employee resigns. Send it during the notice period.

[Date of first letter]

[Employee name]

[Employee home address]

Dear [Employee name],

Thank you for your work at [Company name]. Your last working day is [Last working day]. Please return the company items listed below by [Return deadline].

You can return them in one of two ways:

1. Bring the items to [Drop-off address].

2. Ask for a courier pickup from your home. Reply by [Confirm by date] and we will arrange packaging, a label and a pickup slot.

If an item is missing or damaged, tell me before [Return deadline].

If you have any questions, contact me at [Your email] or [Your phone].

Kind regards,

[Your name]

[Your job title], [Company name]

The same letter filled in for a fictional employee in Lisbon:

Termination or Layoff

Use when: the company ends the employment. Send it separately from the termination notice.

[Date of first letter]

[Employee name]

[Employee home address]

Dear [Employee name],

Your last working day is [Last working day]. Please return the [Company name] items listed below by [Return deadline].

You can return them in one of two ways:

1. Bring the items to [Drop-off address].

2. Use a courier pickup from your home. Packaging and a prepaid label will be arranged, and [Courier name] will collect on [Pickup date], [Pickup time window].

Returning the items costs you nothing.

If the pickup date does not suit you, or you have a question, contact me at [Your email] or [Your phone].

Regards,

[Your name]

[Your job title], [Company name]

Tip: keep the reason for the exit out of this letter; a letter about equipment alone is easier to answer.

Remote Employee

Use when: the employee works from home and the items are collected there.

[Date of first letter]

[Employee name]

[Employee home address]

Dear [Employee name],

Your last working day at [Company name] is [Last working day]. The company equipment listed below will be collected from your home. You do not need to buy packaging or pay for postage.

What happens next:

1. Reply to [Your email] by [Confirm by date] to confirm your address and choose a pickup slot.

2. Packaging and a prepaid label will reach you by [Packaging arrival date].

3. [Courier name] will collect the box on [Pickup date], [Pickup time window].

Pack the device, its charger and every item in the table. Keep the courier receipt.

Optional: Please sign out of your personal accounts and do not reset the device. [Company name] erases it after it arrives.

If you have any questions, contact me at [Your email] or [Your phone].

Kind regards,

[Your name]

[Your job title], [Company name]

Keep the optional line when you may need the files, for example under a legal hold; a laptop enrolled through zero-touch deployment re-enrolls in your MDM after a reset anyway. In a return of company laptop letter, list the charger and dock on their own rows.

International Employee

Use when: the employee lives in another country from the office that receives the items.

[Date of first letter]

[Employee name]

[Employee home address]

[Country]

Dear [Employee name],

Your last working day at [Company name] is [Last working day]. The company equipment listed below will be collected from your home in [Country]. You will not pay for packaging, postage or customs.

Please reply to [Your email] by [Confirm by date] to confirm your address and a pickup slot. Packaging and a prepaid label will reach you by [Packaging arrival date], and [Courier name] will collect the box on [Pickup date], [Pickup time window].

Option A, use only if you have storage or a collection service in [Country]: The equipment stays in [Country]. You do not fill in any export or customs form.

Option B, use in all other cases: The equipment is sent to [Drop-off address]. [Company name] or its courier prepares the export paperwork. You only hand over the box.

Optional: If you would like this letter in your local language, reply and we will send a translation.

If you have any questions, contact me at [Your email] or [Your phone].

Kind regards,

[Your name]

[Your job title], [Company name]

Choose A with storage or a collection service in that country and a future hire there. Choose B if the device must reach an office, and check what shipping a laptop internationally asks of your company as sender. With no next hire there, it can be sold back for cash locally.

Reminder Email

Use when: the return deadline or a pickup has passed. Send it to the personal email.

Subject: Return of [Company name] equipment: new pickup date

To: [Employee personal email]

Dear [Employee name],

The return deadline in my letter of [Date of first letter] has passed, and the items listed there are still with you. [Courier name] can now collect them on [Pickup date], [Pickup time window]. Please reply by [Confirm by date] to confirm this date or to suggest another.

Kind regards,

[Your name]

[Your job title], [Company name]

[Your phone]

Final Demand Letter

Use when: the reminders have had no answer. HR signs it after legal review.

[Date of this letter]

[Employee name]

[Employee home address]

Final request to return [Company name] property

Dear [Employee name],

On [Date of first letter], we asked you to return the items listed below by [Return deadline]. We have not received them.

Under clause [Clause number] of the [Equipment agreement name] you signed on [Date agreement signed], these items are the property of [Company name] and must be returned when your employment ends.

Please return all items by [Final date]. [Courier name] can collect them on [Pickup date], [Pickup time window], at no cost to you. Reply to [Your email] to confirm.

If the items are not returned by [Final date], the next step set out in that clause is: [Next step].

This letter is sent by email to [Employee personal email] and by tracked post.

Regards,

[Your name]

[Your job title], [Company name]

This demand letter for return of company property follows the reminders. With no clause on missed returns in your agreement, use a [Next step] agreed with your legal advisor.

What to Include in a Return of Company Property Letter

Every letter to employee to return company property needs eight parts:

1. Employee details: the letter must reach a home, since the work inbox closes.

2. An item table: both sides agree on what is owed.

3. A return route: "send it back" leaves the logistics to the employee.

4. One date in words: it cannot be misread.

5. A cost line: postage to pay is a reason to wait.

6. A named contact: questions reach one person.

7. The agreement reference (final demand): the request rests on what was signed.

8. A neutral next step: the employee knows what follows.

An example item table:

Tip: copy serials from the asset register or MDM, never from memory: with a wrong serial you cannot prove which device is owed. Hardware asset management software can export them per employee. Record "Condition when issued" during laptop deployment, so nobody argues about wear later.

How to Send the Letter and Follow Up

Days count from the last working day, following Tequipy's recovery guide.

How long to give: set the return date 5 to 10 days after the last working day, the window in Tequipy's recovery guide. When a service runs the collection, the whole process, including transport, inspection and wipe, usually takes 7 to 21 days from the request, so the device can reach the office after that date with nothing gone wrong.

Email every letter to the personal address, since the work inbox closes, and post the termination letter and final demand tracked, for proof of delivery. Log each message on the device's record.

Capterra's 2022 offboarding survey reports: "While 61% of HR workers who witnessed an exiting employee not return company equipment in the past year say their employer threatened criminal or legal action as a result, only 48% say the company ultimately filed a police report. Less than that (21%) sued the employee in civil court."

After the final date, the routes are a remote lock, a write-off after a wipe, or legal advice. Abroad, keeping the device in that country avoids customs on the return leg; a laptop retrieval service can run the pickup and the chasing.

Getting Property Back From Remote and International Employees

A letter cannot book a courier, and for staff at home that is the whole remote equipment management problem. If you book it yourself, send the box and a prepaid label first, then book the pickup for a date the employee confirms.

In Capterra's November 2022 survey of 287 HR employees, 71% had seen a leaver keep company equipment in a year, worth $1,963 each by their estimate; remote and hybrid leavers were 17% more likely to keep it. A commenter in r/ITManagers wrote: "Terms are much more likely to respond to a courier than shipping".

Tequipy runs the courier side for globally distributed teams; its co-founder did this as Head of IT at Revolut without losing a laptop.

• Contact: five emails to the leaver, then escalation to your team and, if needed, a formal notice about device ownership.
• Pickup: packaging, a label and a home pickup in 180+ countries, for devices bought anywhere; storage in that country and a wipe, with certified wipes or a legal hold as options.
• Results: Tequipy's RemoFirst case study records 100% of company-issued devices returned. That is a share of devices, while Capterra's 71% is a share of HR workers.

Offboarding collection costs $70 to $150 per device by country, shipping included. The platform is a flat $99 a month however large the fleet grows, and nothing below 100 devices; the HR sync is an optional $199 a month (pricing).

Legal Points to Check Before You Send

• Cite the agreement the employee signed, and keep the wording factual.
• US federal rule. Federal law bars a deduction that takes pay below the minimum wage or overtime due (29 CFR 531.35).
• California. Wage orders allow one only where the employer proves dishonesty, wilfulness or gross negligence, and the state labor agency warns this "may, in fact, not comply" with the Labor Code. The rule covers "breakage or loss of equipment" without saying whether a kept laptop counts. The same page says one who deducts anyway does so "at its own risk".
• UK. A deduction needs the contract or a prior written agreement to allow it (GOV.UK, Acas).

This is general information, not legal advice. Deductions from final pay are restricted in other countries too, so ask an employment lawyer first.

Free templates for the rest of the device's life

• To track each device: the IT inventory template (Excel), or the IT asset inventory Excel template (Excel), which adds a returns tab for leavers.
• When someone gives notice: the employee offboarding checklist (PDF or Word), 30 steps with an owner and a deadline each.
• When a device will not be reused: the asset disposal form (PDF, Word or Excel), the signed record that it was wiped and left the business.
• At month end: the fixed asset register template (Excel), with cost, depreciation and book value for each device.
• For the whole process: the IT asset management checklist (PDF), 40 tasks from purchase to disposal.

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What Is a Return of Company Property Letter?

A written request asking a departing employee to give back named company items by a set date.

What If the Employee Has Moved Since the Letter Was Sent?

Ask for the new address in the reminder and rebook the pickup.

Should the Employee Sign Anything When They Hand Over the Device?

Yes, ideally. A courier receipt or a signed handover note listing the serials closes the record.

Who Should Sign the Letter?

HR or the employee's manager, as one named contact.

Who Pays for Return Shipping When an Employee Works Remotely?

Usually the company, by practice rather than law.