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FMLA Medical Certification: Forms WH-380-E and WH-380-F for HR

9/12/2026

Most people searching for Form WH-380-E are employees trying to get a doctor to fill it out. This guide is for the other side of the desk: the HR or leave administrator who decides whether to ask for a certification, sends the form, tracks the deadline, reads what comes back, and has to decide what to do when it comes back blank, vague or late.

The rules are in 29 CFR 825.305 through 825.313. They are more prescriptive than many employers realize. The regulations set when you may ask, how long the employee has to respond, what you may and may not ask the provider, who in your organization may call the doctor's office, when you can get a second opinion and how often you can recertify. Each of those is a place where a well-meant request becomes interference.

The Two Forms and Which One to Send

The Department of Labor publishes two optional certification forms for serious health conditions:

  • Form WH-380-E: certification of the employee's own serious health condition
  • Form WH-380-F: certification of a family member's serious health condition, when the employee needs leave to care for a spouse, son or daughter, or parent

Separate DOL forms cover qualifying exigency leave (WH-384) and military caregiver leave (WH-385 and WH-385-V); this guide covers the two medical forms.

Under 29 CFR 825.306(b) an employer may use the DOL forms or another form containing the same basic information, but no information may be required beyond what the regulations specify. In every case, the information must relate only to the serious health condition for which the current need for leave exists. That limit is the reason many employers simply use the DOL forms: a homegrown form that asks for a complete diagnosis history, a medication list or the employee's prognosis for unrelated conditions is asking for more than the regulation allows.

The forms carry an OMB expiration date. The DOL's FMLA forms page states that the content of the optional forms remains applicable regardless of that date. Download the current version from the Wage and Hour Division rather than circulating an old PDF.

What the certification may contain

Under 825.306(a), a certification can ask for:

  1. The provider's name, contact details and type of practice or specialization
  2. The approximate date the condition began and its probable duration
  3. Appropriate medical facts sufficient to support the need for leave (symptoms, hospitalization, visits, whether medication was prescribed, referrals, a regimen of continuing treatment)
  4. For the employee's own condition, information showing the employee cannot perform the essential functions of the job, any other work restrictions, and the likely duration
  5. For a family member, information showing the family member needs care, with an estimate of the frequency and duration of leave required
  6. For intermittent or reduced schedule leave, information establishing medical necessity and an estimate of the dates and duration of treatments, or the frequency and duration of episodes of incapacity

That last item is what makes intermittent leave administrable. A certification that says "intermittent leave as needed" with no frequency or duration estimate is insufficient, and the employer can ask for it to be cured.

Step 1: Decide Whether to Ask, and Ask on Time

Certification is optional for the employer, but if you want one, the regulation sets the timing. Under 825.305(b), the employer should request certification when the employee gives notice of the need for leave or within five business days after, or, for unforeseen leave, within five business days after the leave begins. A later request is permitted only if the employer later has reason to question the appropriateness of the leave or its duration.

The request must be in writing whenever it is part of the rights and responsibilities notice (the WH-381), and that notice must state the consequences of failing to provide adequate certification. Under 825.305(d), the employer must advise the employee of those consequences at the time it requests certification. A request that says "please return this form" without saying what happens if it does not come back is a defective request.

Two consistency points:

  • Apply the requirement uniformly. If you require certification for some employees' leave and not others with similar circumstances, the inconsistency becomes evidence in a retaliation or discrimination claim.
  • The employee cannot be required to sign a release. Under 825.306(e), an employee may choose to give you an authorization to talk to the provider directly, but you cannot require it. The employee's obligation is to provide a complete and sufficient certification.

Step 2: Track the 15-Day Window

The employee must return the certification within 15 calendar days after the request, unless that is not practicable despite diligent, good-faith efforts, or the employer gives more time. Calendar days, not business days. Diary the due date on the day you send the request.

What happens if the deadline passes depends on whether the leave was foreseeable (29 CFR 825.313):

Foreseeable leave. The employer may deny FMLA coverage until the certification is provided. The regulation's example: if the employee has 15 days and provides certification on day 45 without sufficient reason, the employer can deny FMLA protection for the 30 days after the 15-day period expired, for any leave taken in that window.

Unforeseeable leave. If the certification is not provided within 15 calendar days and there were no extenuating circumstances (a medical emergency is the regulation's example of one), the employer can deny FMLA protection for leave after the 15 days expire until a sufficient certification arrives. If the employee never produces it, the leave is not FMLA leave.

Before denying anything, document that the employee had a clear written request, knew the deadline, knew the consequences, and did not supply a reason the delay was impracticable. A reminder before the deadline is not required but is cheap and often decisive later.

Step 3: Review for Completeness and Sufficiency

When the form comes back, the regulation draws a precise distinction:

  • Incomplete: one or more applicable entries are blank
  • Insufficient: the form is complete but the information is vague, ambiguous or non-responsive
  • Not returned: not incomplete or insufficient at all; it is a failure to provide certification, handled under the 15-day rules above

For incomplete or insufficient certifications, 825.305(c) requires the employer to tell the employee in writing what additional information is needed and give the employee seven calendar days to cure the deficiency (unless not practicable despite diligent, good-faith efforts). Only if the resubmitted certification still does not cure the specified deficiencies may the employer deny the leave.

Common deficiencies worth a cure letter:

  • No estimate of frequency or duration for intermittent leave ("as needed," "unknown")
  • No statement that the employee cannot perform job functions, or the provider answered a question about a different job
  • Probable duration left blank
  • A family-member certification that does not say the family member needs care
  • Illegible entries (which can also be handled through clarification, below)

Write the cure letter to be specific. "Your certification is incomplete" is not enough; "Question 6 asks for the estimated frequency of flare-ups; the provider wrote 'as needed.' Please have the provider estimate how often episodes are expected and how long each is likely to last" is.

Step 4: Clarification and Authentication

After the employee has had the chance to cure, 825.307(a) permits the employer to contact the health care provider for two narrow purposes:

  • Authentication: sending the provider a copy of the certification and asking them to verify that they completed or authorized it. No additional medical information may be requested.
  • Clarification: asking the provider to explain handwriting or the meaning of a response.

The rule on who may make the contact is strict. It must be a health care provider, a human resources professional, a leave administrator or a management official. Under no circumstances may the employee's direct supervisor contact the employee's health care provider. The employer may not ask the provider for anything beyond what the certification form requires, and HIPAA privacy rules apply when a HIPAA-covered provider shares the employee's health information. If the employee does not authorize clarification and does not clarify the certification themselves, the employer may deny FMLA leave if the certification remains unclear.

If you outsource leave administration, make sure the vendor's contact scripts stay inside these limits; the vendor's overreach is your overreach.

Step 5: Second and Third Opinions

An employer who has reason to doubt the validity of a certification may require a second opinion at the employer's expense (825.307(b)). Doubt needs a basis; routinely requiring second opinions for everyone is hard to defend. The rules:

  • The employer may choose the second-opinion provider, but it may not be a provider the employer employs on a regular basis, or one it regularly contracts with or uses, unless access to care in the area is extremely limited.
  • Pending the second (or third) opinion, the employee is provisionally entitled to FMLA benefits, including group health coverage.
  • If the opinions differ, the employer may require a third opinion, again at its expense, from a provider jointly approved by employer and employee. The third opinion is final and binding. If the employer does not try in good faith to agree on the third provider, it is bound by the first certification; if the employee does not, the employee is bound by the second.
  • The employer must reimburse reasonable out-of-pocket travel expenses, and generally may not require travel outside normal commuting distance.
  • On request, the employer must give the employee copies of the second and third opinions, generally within five business days.

If the opinions ultimately do not establish entitlement, the leave is not designated as FMLA and may be treated under the employer's ordinary leave policies.

Step 6: Recertification and Annual Certification

Recertification (825.308) is a different tool with different limits. No second or third opinion may be required on a recertification, and it is at the employee's expense unless the employer chooses to pay.

The 30-day rule. Generally, the employer may request recertification no more often than every 30 days, and only in connection with an absence.

Longer certified durations. If the certification says the minimum duration is more than 30 days, the employer must wait until that period expires before requesting recertification. But in all cases the employer may request recertification every six months in connection with an absence, even for a condition certified as lifelong.

Sooner than 30 days is allowed if the employee requests an extension of leave, if circumstances have changed significantly (the regulation's examples include absences that run longer than certified, or a pattern of FMLA absences adjacent to scheduled days off), or if the employer receives information that casts doubt on the stated reason or the continuing validity of the certification.

Timing. The employee must have at least 15 calendar days to provide the recertification.

Content. The same information as the original certification. The employer may also send the provider a record of the employee's absence pattern and ask whether the condition and need for leave are consistent with it. This is the right tool for suspected pattern abuse, not discipline.

Annual certification. Separately, under 825.305(e), where the need for leave lasts beyond a single leave year, the employer may require a new medical certification in each subsequent leave year. Unlike recertification, a new annual certification is subject to the full authentication, clarification and second and third opinion process.

Step 7: Fitness for Duty at Return

If the employer wants a fitness-for-duty certification before restoring an employee who took leave for their own serious health condition, it must have a uniformly applied policy for similarly situated employees and must say so in the designation notice. If it wants the certification to address the essential functions of the job, it must include a list of those functions with the designation notice. The certification may cover only the condition that caused the leave, is at the employee's expense, and no second or third opinion is allowed. For intermittent leave, a fitness-for-duty certification may be required up to once every 30 days, and only where reasonable safety concerns exist. See 29 CFR 825.312.

Where Certification Meets the ADA and GINA

The FMLA certification rules do not override other laws on medical information.

ADA. If the condition may also be a disability, 825.306(d) says FMLA does not prevent the employer from following ADA procedures for requesting medical information, and the information may be used to decide FMLA entitlement. After return, any employer-required medical examination must be job-related and consistent with business necessity.

GINA. Family medical history is genetic information under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. A WH-380-F naturally contains information about a family member's health, and an employee's own certification can drift into family history. The EEOC's GINA regulations at 29 CFR 1635.8(b)(1)(i)(B) include safe-harbor language employers can put in medical information requests, telling the provider not to provide genetic information; using that or similar language means any genetic information received in response is deemed inadvertent. Many employers attach it to every certification request.

Confidentiality. Under 825.500(g), certifications and recertifications are confidential medical records kept in files separate from the personnel file. Supervisors may be told about work restrictions and accommodations, not diagnoses.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between WH-380-E and WH-380-F?

WH-380-E is the optional DOL form for certifying the employee's own serious health condition. It asks the provider whether the employee can perform the essential functions of the job and for how long. WH-380-F certifies a family member's serious health condition when the employee needs leave to care for a spouse, son or daughter, or parent; it asks whether the family member needs care and estimates the frequency and duration of the employee's leave. Send the form that matches the reason for leave.

How long does an employee have to return an FMLA certification?

Fifteen calendar days from the employer's request, unless it is not practicable despite the employee's diligent, good-faith efforts, or the employer allows longer. If an employee misses the deadline without a good reason, the employer may deny FMLA protection for leave after the 15 days run until a sufficient certification is provided. If a certification is never provided, the leave is not FMLA leave. Recertification requests must also allow at least 15 calendar days.

What can HR do with an incomplete FMLA certification?

Tell the employee in writing exactly what is missing or unclear and give them seven calendar days to cure it, unless that is not practicable despite diligent, good-faith efforts. Incomplete means entries are blank; insufficient means the answers are vague, ambiguous or non-responsive. Only if the resubmitted certification fails to cure the specified deficiencies may the employer deny FMLA leave. A certification that is never returned is treated as a failure to certify, not as an incomplete one.

Can an employer call the employee's doctor about FMLA paperwork?

Only for clarification or authentication, and only after the employee has had the chance to cure deficiencies. The contact must be made by a health care provider, HR professional, leave administrator or management official, never the employee's direct supervisor. The employer may confirm the provider completed or authorized the form and ask what an entry means, but may not request additional medical information beyond the certification. HIPAA rules apply when a covered provider shares the information.

How often can an employer ask for FMLA recertification?

Generally no more than every 30 days and only in connection with an absence. If the certification gives a minimum duration longer than 30 days, wait until it expires, though recertification every six months is always allowed in connection with an absence. Sooner requests are allowed if the employee asks for more leave, circumstances change significantly, or the employer receives information casting doubt on the certification. No second or third opinion may be required on a recertification.

Can an employer require a second opinion on an FMLA certification?

Yes, if it has reason to doubt the certification's validity. The second opinion is at the employer's expense, from a provider the employer does not regularly employ or use, and the employee keeps provisional FMLA protection while it is pending. If the two opinions conflict, the employer may require a third opinion from a jointly approved provider, also at its expense, and that opinion is binding. The employer must reimburse reasonable travel costs and provide copies on request.

Building the Skill on Your Team

Certification administration is a sequence of dated decisions, and each one either protects the employer's position or quietly waives it. The Certified Leave Administrator program is aimed at the people who make those decisions. For tracking the deadlines and balances that certification feeds into, our intermittent FMLA payroll guide and our FMLA, ADA and workers' comp overlap guide cover the adjacent ground.

Request certification within five business days, diary the 15-day deadline, write specific cure letters, keep supervisors away from providers, and file every certification in the confidential medical file.