Four acceptance emails you can copy, and what to read before you send one

Most people searching how to accept a job offer have already decided. They said yes in their head days ago. What they actually want is the wording: what goes in the email, whether to repeat the salary back, and whether the phone call already counted as acceptance. That’s closer to a formatting problem than a career problem, so this page leads with four emails you can copy and edit in about two minutes, then covers the things worth checking before you send one.

One warning first. Whether a written offer plus your acceptance forms a binding contract depends on where you work, and the answer really is different in the UK, the US, India and most of the EU. Nothing below is legal advice. If a notice period or a relocation payment is at stake, check the rules for your country or ask an employment solicitor or attorney.

What should a job offer acceptance email say?

A job offer acceptance email needs five things: a plain statement that you accept, the exact job title, the agreed salary, the agreed start date, and a reference to the offer letter you are accepting. Keep it under about 150 words. Longer emails invite a conversation you didn’t ask for.

Use this one when the written offer arrived, you read it, and nothing in it surprised you.

Subject: Offer acceptance, [Your Name], [Job Title]

Hi [Name],

Thank you for the offer. I'm pleased to accept the role of
[Job Title] at [Company], starting on [Date].

I've signed the offer letter dated [Date] and attached it here.
Let me know what you need from me before day one, and who I should
speak to about equipment and building access.

Best,
[Your Name]
[Phone number]

Send it to the recruiter and copy the hiring manager. Recruiters move roles, get sick and go on holiday, and an acceptance sitting unread in one inbox is how start dates slip by a fortnight.

Template 2: acceptance that confirms salary, title and start date

This is the version worth using if any part of the package was negotiated over the phone, or if the offer letter is vague about bonus or equity. It costs you thirty extra seconds and it produces a record that both sides read the same numbers.

Subject: Acceptance of offer, [Job Title], start date [Date]

Hi [Name],

I'm writing to formally accept the offer of [Job Title] at
[Company]. To confirm the terms as I understand them:

  Job title:     [Title], reporting to [Manager]
  Base salary:   [Amount] per year
  Bonus:         [Target %], [discretionary or contractual]
  Equity:        [Number] units over [X] years, [Y] cliff
  Start date:    [Date]
  Work pattern:  [e.g. hybrid, 3 days in the [City] office]

If any of that doesn't match the offer letter dated [Date],
please correct me before I hand in my notice.

Signed copy attached.

Best,
[Your Name]

The line that does the work is the last one. You are asking them to fix a mismatch now, while you can still walk, rather than in month three when payroll runs a number you don’t recognise. Discretionary bonus wording is the usual culprit. So is a vesting schedule that turns out to be five years with a one year cliff rather than the four years everybody assumed in the interview.

How to accept a job offer while asking one clarifying question

Accept first, ask second, and say clearly that the acceptance isn’t conditional on the answer. That order matters. An email that opens with a question reads as hesitation, and some recruiters will pause the paperwork until you reply, which costs you days you didn’t mean to spend.

Subject: Accepting the [Job Title] offer, one question on [topic]

Hi [Name],

I'd like to accept the offer of [Job Title] at [Company] on the
terms in the letter dated [Date]. My acceptance isn't conditional
on the answer below. I'd just like it in writing before I resign.

The question: the letter mentions relocation support "up to a
reasonable amount". Could you tell me the actual cap and what it
covers, in particular whether temporary accommodation is included?

Happy to sign as soon as you can confirm, and I can start on
[Date] either way.

Best,
[Your Name]

One question. Not four. If you have four questions you don’t have a clarification, you have an unfinished negotiation, and that belongs in a different conversation. Our notes on negotiating after the offer arrives cover that case, and the short version is that the negotiating window closes the moment you write the word accept.

Accepting a verbal offer before the contract arrives

Reply to a verbal offer in writing the same day, repeat the numbers you heard, and ask for the written contract. Then wait for that contract before resigning. A verbal offer can be legally binding in some places and worth nothing in others, and you generally can’t tell which from the phone call.

Subject: Following up on today's call, [Job Title]

Hi [Name],

Thanks for the call this morning and for the offer of [Job Title]
at [Company]. I said yes on the phone and I meant it.

So we both have the same version on record, here's what I heard:
base of [Amount], start date of [Date], reporting to [Manager],
and [any bonus or equity discussed].

Could you send the written offer and contract when you get a
chance? I'll sign and return it the same day.

I'll give notice to my current employer once the signed contract
is back with you.

Best,
[Your Name]

That last paragraph is the one people delete because it feels blunt. Leave it in. It tells the recruiter, politely, that the paperwork is on the critical path, and it gives you a reason to chase on day three that isn’t nagging.

On the written side, the UK rules are unusually explicit and worth reading even if you work elsewhere, because they list what a decent contract actually contains. GOV.UK sets out the written statement of employment particulars that UK employers must give on or before the first day, and Acas has a plainer explainer on what an employment contract is and when it starts. I read both on 6 September 2026 and the Acas page makes a point that’s easy to miss: a contract can exist as soon as an unconditional offer is accepted, before anyone signs anything.

What to check before you sign

Read the whole letter once, then read these bits again:

• Conditions. References, right to work, background check, sometimes a medical. If the offer is conditional, you are not safe to resign yet.
• Bonus wording. “Discretionary” means they can pay nothing and be entirely within their rights.
• Equity. Number of units, vesting length, cliff, and what happens if you leave. Ask for the plan document, not the summary.
• Notice period. Yours going in, and how long you’d have to give if you left later. Three months is common at senior levels and it will restrict your next move.
• Probation. Length, and what notice applies during it.
• Non-compete or garden leave. Enforceability varies enormously by country and by state.
• Start date. Does it clear your current notice period with room to spare?

That last one causes more trouble than the rest combined. Acas explains how notice periods work, and GOV.UK covers handing in your notice. Count the weeks before you agree a start date, not after. When you’re ready for that step, our resignation letter guide keeps it to one page.

What not to put in an acceptance email

Don’t mention the other offers you turned down. Don’t apologise for the time you took. Don’t reopen salary. Don’t promise anything about your notice period until your current employer has confirmed the leaving date in writing, because “I can start on the 1st” is easy to type and hard to undo. And don’t attach a signed PDF while writing “subject to a couple of things I want to discuss”, because those two acts contradict each other and a lawyer will eventually have to decide which one you meant.

If you’re closing one offer down while accepting another, the way you decline the other one matters more than people expect, since recruiters talk and companies rehire.

Here’s an opinion that not everyone shares: the standard advice to always ask for 48 hours is overplayed. If you’ve read the letter, the numbers match what you negotiated, and you’ve already decided, sitting on it for two days buys you nothing and occasionally costs you goodwill. Take the time when you need the time. I don’t have data on how often a delayed acceptance actually changes an outcome, so treat that as a preference rather than a rule.

One last practical thing. If you’re still in the interview stage for a second company while this offer sits open, Craqly is a desktop assistant that puts a structured answer on a private overlay during a live call, and the free Starter plan gives you 20 credits a month, where 1 credit is a minute of live session. Credits reset monthly. Beyond that, plans start at $19 a month billed yearly, or $38 month to month.

Send the email. Then don’t resign until the countersigned contract is in your inbox.