How to certify a copy of an employee’s work record in 2021

The work book is one of the most important documents recording labor relations. It contains important information about the professional “baggage” of a working citizen, well-deserved rewards, as well as the reasons for his dismissal from previous positions. The responsibility for filling it out lies with the employer, and this document is stored in the personnel service, with the possibility of handing it over only to dismissed employees.

Meanwhile, there are often situations when a person needs a copy of the specified book to be submitted to one or another authority. How to get it if the book is not with you, but with your employer? In addition, a simple copy will be invalid; it must be certified in a certain way.

Let's consider how to correctly carry out this procedure and avoid some common mistakes so that the resulting copy is actually relevant at the place of provision.

Why might you need a copy of the employment document?

A document indicating a person’s consistent official employment may be needed not only when applying for employment at his main place of work. The list of reasons for needing to obtain a copy can be quite extensive:

Prevention of loss or damage to the original . It is always a good idea to have a copy of such an important document. After all, despite the fact that the employer is responsible for the safety of your work record, unforeseen situations cannot be ruled out when it is damaged or lost, whether due to a human factor or an emergency situation. Restoring data from work records is a rather labor-intensive and time-consuming procedure, so a certified “just in case” copy is insurance against possible troubles.
Part-time employment. If the combination of positions is internal, the labor issue is not relevant. After all, the employer, and therefore the personnel service, are the same. But if an employee combines positions in different organizations, then he will need a duplicate of this document to provide it to another employer.
Looking for a new job. If a person plans to change his place of employment and is looking for a new job before leaving, then he may need this copy to compile a resume, as well as during interviews.
For banking organizations. Banks require this paper in cases where a person is counting on a loan or intends to act as a guarantor when issuing a loan to another person.
When applying for a foreign passport. A citizen of the Russian Federation, when filling out an application for a foreign passport, must indicate data on his professional employment as they are formulated in the employment contract. Even if by law it is not necessary to provide a copy for this purpose, having it in front of your eyes in this case will be much more convenient.
The social security authorities will ask you to present your work book or a copy of it when assigning a subsidy, allowance or other payments for which work experience matters. An incorrectly certified copy will force you to go through the difficult procedure of waiting in line to see the inspector again.
To obtain a visa to certain countries. Some consulates prefer to receive, among other documents for a visa, information about the work experience of the departing citizen.

NOTE! The law does not limit situations in which an institution may require a copy of a person’s employment record. It all depends on the specific situation and goal.

How to certify a work book according to the new rules

Starting from July 1, 2018, the work record book will be certified in a new way in 2021 - according to GOST R 7.0.97-2016. The standard came into force on July 1, 2021 (Order of Rosstandart No. 435-st dated May 25, 2017). According to the new GOST, the certification rules (in general, and not just the work book) now directly depend on the purpose for which a person needs a copy.

First of all, you need to make copies of all pages on which there are entries, and certify all pages of the copy of the work book (manually or stamped). The sheets must be of good quality. If a document is drawn up for submission to the Pension Fund of Russia, a bank or another organization, it should be certified in a certain order, indicating the location of storage of the original form.

Here is how the TC assures a third party:

on the document it is written o;
indicate the full name and position of the employee responsible for processing personnel documents;
the date of certification is noted;
The storage location of the original is determined.

Some banks require the following entry to be included: “currently in operation.” The new GOST does not indicate the need to include such a phrase in the document. But for banks, it is additional confirmation that the potential borrower has a permanent source of income and will be able to repay the loan. If a credit institution requires this phrase, it must be entered.

In order for the photocopy to have the proper appearance, its pages must be stitched. Folded sheets are stitched along the left edge. The edges of the threads with which they were stitched are sealed with paper. The date of stitching is indicated on the paper, and then the seal of the organization is affixed. The seal must partially affect the record and partially the document sheet.

If the document is issued for internal use, a record of the location of the form does not need to be made. Instructions on how to certify a TC for local purposes:

indicate the entry “True”;
register the full name, position, signature of the personnel officer;
enter the certification date.

Where to certify a copy of a work permit for a non-working person?

The work record is yours, not the employer's, but for some reason you need a certified copy. Where should a citizen who is currently not officially employed or is already a pensioner turn? He has the right to certify a “double” of his employment document in the established manner:

from the last employer, if he agrees (at the end of the copy, the authorized person will indicate the reason why the person is no longer an employee of this organization);
from any notary (they are authorized to certify copies of any documents if the original is available, the contents are not checked).

We receive a statement from an employee

An employee has the right to receive documents (copies) related to work (Article 62 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, clause 7 of the Rules for maintaining and storing work books, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of April 16, 2003 No. 225).

The basis for issuing copies of work-related documents to an employee is a written application addressed to the director. On the received application, the manager puts his signature and gives permission to the HR department to issue documents, putting the inscription: “Agreed” or “Issue documents.” The application signed by the director is transferred to the authorized officer for execution.

The deadline for issuing the requested documents is 3 business days from the date of receipt of the application.

Don't Make These Mistakes

The most common mistakes that can negate the validity of a certified duplicate or extract from a work record book:

lack of a copy of the cover page with personal data;
the presence of the o, signature, date and seal not on all pages of the copy (the absence of any of these elements is enough to lose relevance);
the bound version does not indicate the number of sheets of copy;
the seal does not capture the text of the copy, but stands on the empty field below it.

ATTENTION! The copy will become invalid one month after issuance, as well as if additional entries were made to the original during this month. The exception is a notarized copy - its validity is unlimited.

Common mistakes

If the personnel officer incorrectly certifies a copy of the work record book, the employee will bring it back and everything will have to be redone. To prevent this from happening, you can print out and keep on hand a sample copy of the work book certified by the employer.

What mistakes do experts often ignore?

Due to the seal imprint, part of the text is hidden, which makes it difficult for the recipient of the document to understand the records. Place the seal correctly so that it does not interfere.
The seal itself is worn out, it is difficult to make out which organization it belongs to.
There are no signatures, position or other information and the person who certified the copy of the work book. Or this employee is not authorized to perform such actions.
Errors were made when making entries and corrections were made. Any blots are unacceptable; because of them, the document may be declared invalid and returned to the person. If an error is made during certification, the sheet must be scanned again, printed, and the correct information entered.
Not all sheets are certified. This is only permissible if all sheets of the copy are stitched, numbered and sealed.

Carefully study the sample on how to certify a copy of a work record book and remember the proposed instructions. It will be needed more than once, since the authenticity of other documents relating to the professional activities of workers is similarly confirmed.

Features and new certification rules in 2021

Now, let's look at the current procedure for certifying a copy of a labor document, which comes into effect on June 1, 2021. In addition to all of the above, the employer needs to make one more entry, which contains information about the actual storage location of the original copy of the issued document! Without this entry, the copy will be considered invalid!

The certifier can indicate as a storage location an ordinary safe located in the personnel department or the number of his employee’s personal file, in which all the employee’s documents are collected for storage. The inscription in question is affixed in one place, namely, on the page of the real employer (where he indicates that this person is still an employee of his organization).

New GOST - new rules

For several years, managers have been using GOST R 6.30–2003. The document specifies the basic rules for certifying copies of the work record book. Now you should use GOST R 7.0.97-2016. New rules for certification of organizational and administrative documents are spelled out here.

These rules are recommended to be used, but there is no direct obligation. As judicial practice shows, this is the standard that should be used when certifying documents. In order to avoid disputes with employees and regulatory authorities, this is the standard that should be used to certify copies of the work record book for employees, for banks and other organizations.

A sample for a bank can only be prepared using GOST.

Copy validity period

It is not defined by law and depends on the purpose for which the copy is intended. Different organizations may set their own deadlines. In practice, a copy is required for submission to a bank, migration service, social security authorities, court, etc.

In the case of issuing a loan to a citizen, the bank’s goal is to ensure his solvency and the “expiration date” can be reduced even to 2 weeks, but, as a rule, it is one month. There is no time limit for submission to court.

Expert opinion

Kurtov Mikhail Sergeevich

Practitioner lawyer with 15 years of experience. Specializes in civil and family law. Author of dozens of articles on legal topics.

If the deadline is missed, to “update” the copy it will be sufficient to simply certify it by an authorized person of the employer, indicating the new date and affixing the organization’s seal. Or, the employee can always request the production of an entirely new copy.

It is the employer’s responsibility to issue the document free of charge and there are no restrictions here.

This is important to know: Letter of guarantee on fulfillment of obligations under the contract: how to draw it up correctly, sample 2021

General introductory information

Every employer knows that the work books of his employees must be kept by him, and he himself is responsible for their safety. At the same time, according to the information established in Article 62 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the employer can provide the original work book at the employee’s request only if the document is required by Social Insurance employees, who, in turn, are obliged to return the work book to the employer no later than 3 days after it receipt.

Thus, in all other cases, the employer issues an extract from the book or a copy of this document. If the book is lost or damaged, the employer issues the employee a duplicate with the corresponding entry and all the information contained in the irretrievably lost original.

Of course, sometimes it is quite difficult to restore records made by other employers, because to enter such information you need to have documents confirming them and all that remains is to record the total length of service.

Failure to comply with the rules for storing documents established by current legislation - the organization and the employer, in particular, may face a fine, the amount of which currently amounts to:

Therefore, according to the requirements of the legislator, for the proper storage of documents of its employees, the employer must have a safe .

Legislation

Every employer should know that the records of his employees are required to be kept by him. And he bears full responsibility for them.

Expert opinion

Gusev Vladislav Semenovich

Lawyer with 10 years of experience. Specializes in criminal law. Member of the Bar Association.

The issuance of books to employees is strictly regulated by Labor legislation, namely Article 62. It says that it is allowed to provide the original only if it is necessary to submit it to Social Security.

And the employee who received it from Social Insurance is obliged to return it to the employer no later than 3 days. In all other cases, a copy or extract of the book must be issued.

If the original is lost, the employer is obliged to issue a duplicate, including all the information that was indicated in the book. However, it is not always easy to recover records from other employers, as documentary evidence of their existence will be required.

In the absence of such evidence, the employer can only enter the information available to him and the total number of working years.

Therefore, in order to avoid this liability, documents should be stored in a safe in an archival manner.