Three Moroccan work documents sound similar but serve very different purposes. The employment certificate (attestation de travail) confirms you currently work somewhere, issued on request, used for visas, account opening, credit. The salary certificate (attestation de salaire) adds your salary figure, used for mortgage and visa applications with means-testing. The end-of-service certificate (certificat de travail, Labour Code article 72) is mandatory at contract end, within eight days, and lists only your dates and roles. It’s the only one of the three the Code provides for. Below: what each one contains, how to request them, and what to do if your employer drags their feet.
The three documents to distinguish
Employment certificate (attestation de travail)
Confirms you are currently employed. The employer issues it on request, at any time. Used for:
- visas and travel;
- certain administrative registrations;
- opening an account, applying for credit.
Minimum content, employee identity, role, hire date, statement that the contract is active.
Salary certificate (attestation de salaire)
Adds the salary amount (usually the last three months or a monthly gross average). Used for:
- bank or mortgage credit applications;
- visas with means-testing;
- some rental applications.
Neither the employment certificate nor the salary certificate appears in the Labour Code, which provides only for the end-of-service certificate. Both are a matter of employer practice, which is why a dated written request helps.
End-of-service certificate (certificat de travail)
Issued when the contract ends, within eight days at most, on pain of damages (Labour Code article 72). It must state only:
- the date you joined the company and the date you left;
- the positions you held.
If you and the employer agree, it can also mention your professional qualifications and the services you rendered. It is exempt from registration duties even with those additions, and the exemption covers the wording “libre de tout engagement” (free of all commitments) or any other formula saying the contract ended normally.
The final settlement receipt
When you leave, the employer will usually ask you to sign a reçu pour solde de tout compte, a receipt recording what you were paid at the end of the contract (article 73). To be valid it must state the total with the payments itemized, the 60-day deadline for challenging it in legible print, and that it was made in two copies, one of them yours. Your signature must be preceded by the words “lu et approuvé” (read and approved). If the employee can’t read, a labour inspector must countersign it (article 74).
You can challenge it within 60 days of signing, by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt or by a summons before the court, stating the rights you are claiming (article 75). Any waiver of money owed to the employee is void (article 73), and a challenged receipt counts only as a receipt for the sums written on it (article 76).
How to request
- Written request (email or letter) to HR or management, stating the document type and purpose.
- Date needed: say when you need the document, and follow up in writing if it doesn’t arrive.
- Check the document bears date, employer stamp and signature.
In case of unjustified refusal, you can refer the matter to the labour inspectorate.
Model request letter
Moroccan employers usually expect the request in French:
Objet : demande d’attestation de salaire
Madame, Monsieur,
Salarié(e) de [company name] depuis le [hire date] en qualité de [job title], matricule CNSS [number], je vous prie de bien vouloir me délivrer une attestation de salaire mentionnant ma rémunération brute et nette des [trois / douze] derniers mois.
Ce document est destiné à [une banque / un consulat / un bailleur]. J’en aurais besoin au plus tard le [date].
Je vous remercie par avance et vous prie d’agréer, Madame, Monsieur, mes salutations distinguées.
[Name, signature, date]
It asks for a salary certificate showing gross and net pay for the last three or twelve months, says what it is for, and gives a date. For an employment certificate (attestation de travail), change the document named and drop the pay details. The end-of-service certificate doesn’t need requesting: the employer must hand it over within eight days of the contract ending.
Moving on after the certificate?
If you just received your end-of-service certificate, the next move is finding what’s next. Browse current openings in Morocco on Bayt.com, your seniority and prior role unlock listings that aren’t visible without a track record.
Further reading
- Labour Code glossary entry, article 72
- Guide: Understanding your Moroccan payslip, the gross figure your certificate restates
- Guide: Severance pay calculation, what other documents you should request at exit
- Guide: How to get your CNSS number, your CNSS number must appear on every salary certificate
- Guide: First job checklist, admin docs to ask for from day one
- Blog: Remote work in Morocco, certificates are location-neutral
Source
Labour Code (Law 65-99), as published in Bulletin officiel n° 5210 of 6 May 2004: article 72 (end-of-service certificate) and articles 73 to 76 (final settlement receipt), read 15 October 2026.