Employer Keeps Your Original Certificates: How to Get Them Back

Reviewed on: 2026-06-12.

Many companies ask new joiners to “deposit” original degree, diploma, or marksheet certificates “for verification”. That is fine for a short check. Holding them as security, or refusing to return them when you leave, is a different matter. Do these things first, in order.

1. Send a written demand today. Email HR, asking for the return of your specific original documents within a stated reasonable period, for example 15 days. List each certificate by name. Send it from your own email so the request is dated.
2. Reference the deposit acknowledgement. If HR gave you a receipt or a list when you handed the originals over, quote it. If they did not, state the date you deposited them and the documents handed over.
3. Mark it for record. Add a line that you will escalate to the labour authority and, if needed, the police, if the originals are not returned, since these are your personal property.
4. Keep copies and proof of delivery. Save the email, any read receipt, and a registered-post receipt if you also post a copy to the registered office.

There is no general right for an employer to retain your original educational certificates. Verification can be done from copies, and the originals are your property. Holding them to stop you from leaving is not a clean legal basis.

This is for any employee or ex-employee in India whose employer is holding original certificates, whether you are still working there, have resigned, or were asked to deposit originals at joining. It also covers students placed through campus drives whose institution forwarded originals to the employer. It is not personalised legal advice; for a high-value or contested case, consult a lawyer while you continue the written escalation.

Your degree, diploma, and marksheets are issued to you by a university or board. Education regulators discourage the retention of original certificates by third parties, and the University Grants Commission has cautioned institutions against withholding students' original documents. The same logic applies to employers. An employer may inspect and copy your originals for genuine verification, but retaining them as a bond substitute or as leverage during a notice or bond dispute is not a recognised right. The documents remain your property, and you can demand their return.

To,
The Human Resources Department,
[Company Name], [Registered Office Address]

Subject: Return of my original educational certificates, [Your name],
Employee ID [your ID]

Dear Sir / Madam,

At the time of joining on [date], I deposited the following original documents
with the company for verification:
1. [Degree / Provisional certificate]
2. [Class 10 and Class 12 marksheets]
3. [Diploma / other original]

I request you to return these originals to me within [15] days. Verification can
be completed from copies, and the originals are my personal property. Kindly
hand them over in person against my signature, or dispatch them to me by
registered post or reputable courier at the address below, and confirm the
dispatch details.

If the originals are not returned within the period above, I will be constrained
to escalate to the labour authority and to lodge a police complaint regarding
wrongful retention of my property.

Yours sincerely,
[Your full name], [address], [mobile, email], [date]

If a written demand does not work, two parallel routes exist. The labour authority for your area can be approached for an employer wrongfully withholding your documents, depending on your role and state; conciliation can prompt release. Separately, because the certificates are your personal property, persistent refusal to return them can be raised as a police complaint for wrongful retention. Use these where the employer simply will not return clearly identified originals. Keep your written demand and the deposit acknowledgement ready, since both forums look for documented requests and proof of non-return.

RTI helps only where a public authority holds the relevant record. If your employer is a government department or a PSU, you can file an RTI with its Public Information Officer for the office order under which originals were retained, the rule relied upon, and the file movement on your return request. RTI is also useful against the university or board if you need a duplicate or verification of your own certificate while the original is stuck; you can ask the institution's PIO for the issue records. See how to file an RTI online and first and second appeals.

A private employer is not a public authority under the RTI Act, 2005, so you cannot file an RTI for its internal HR records or to force it to return your documents. There, your levers are the written demand, the labour route, the police complaint for wrongful retention, and a lawyer. RTI gives information; it does not by itself compel a private company to return property.

• Only calling HR. A wrongful-retention case needs a written, dated demand.
• Not keeping the deposit acknowledgement, which proves what the employer holds.
• Treating a bond dispute and your originals as the same issue; your documents are property and a separate matter.
• Waiting too long when you need the originals for a new job, higher study, or a visa.
• Filing an “RTI” against a private employer, which has no legal basis.

There is no general right for an employer to retain your original educational certificates. Verification can be done from copies, and the originals are your property. Holding them as security or as leverage in a notice or bond dispute is not a recognised legal basis. You can send a written demand for their return and escalate if it is refused.

Treat the bond and your documents as separate issues. A bond dispute, even a genuine one, does not give the employer a clean right to retain your original certificates, which remain your property. Demand the originals in writing, and address any bond claim separately. If retention continues, the labour and police routes are available.

You can still demand them. State in your written request the date you deposited the documents and list each certificate. The absence of a receipt is the employer's record-keeping gap, not a bar to your claim. Ask them to confirm what they hold, and proceed to escalation if they refuse.

Yes, in many cases. Universities and boards issue duplicate certificates, usually after an application and sometimes an FIR for lost documents and a fee. If you urgently need documents for a job or study, apply for duplicates in parallel while you pursue the originals. RTI to the institution can help you trace the issue records.

Use the labour authority for your area for an employer wrongfully withholding documents, and separately a police complaint, since the originals are your personal property. Keep your written demand and the deposit list ready. For a contested or high-value matter, a lawyer can send a legal notice.

Many cases are resolved by a firm written demand and, if needed, the labour and police routes, without a lawyer. Use one when a large amount, a blacklisting, an employment termination, a court filing, or a limitation deadline is involved, or when the employer responds with its own legal notice.

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Official links: University Grants Commission, Ministry of Labour and Employment, CPGRAMS.

Download the original-certificates recovery checklist (PDF).