Get the actual request and return instructions
Ask the employer’s leave contact for the certification request, the applicable due date and the correct return channel. Identify the person who handles questions if something is missing. Save the instructions together rather than relying on a supervisor’s summary of them.
DOL describes its certification forms as optional and directs the employee to provide complete certification to the employer. If two offices give you different forms, ask which requested information is needed before asking a clinician to complete both.
Sources: DOL: Information for health care providers completing FMLA certification; DOL Field Operations Handbook, Chapter 39: FMLA certification
Ask the practice about its paperwork process
Send the actual request through the practice’s supported channel. Ask whether the clinician can address it, whether a visit or further records are needed, and how completion or an inability to complete it will be communicated. Do not promise the employer a clinical statement before that discussion.
Give the practice the due date and ask about its expected process. If timing looks difficult, contact the leave administrator promptly about the unresolved request. Keep treatment questions for the clinician and administrative delivery questions for the office handling the paperwork.
Sources: DOL: Information for health care providers completing FMLA certification; DOL Field Operations Handbook, Chapter 39: FMLA certification
Prepare work facts and leave clinical estimates to the clinician
A short preparation note can include your job duties, the dates involved, the employer’s exact questions and which appointment dates are already confirmed. Label tentative information. Describe what actually happened without choosing a diagnosis or writing a medical conclusion for the clinician.
DOL says clinicians use their best medical judgment for estimates such as the frequency and duration of intermittent leave. They are not expected to predict an exact future schedule. Discuss uncertainty honestly, then let the clinician decide what the available information supports.
Sources: DOL: Information for health care providers completing FMLA certification; DOL Field Operations Handbook, Chapter 39: FMLA certification
Track the return and any clarification request
Confirm who will return the completed document and how you can check that the intended recipient received it. Keep your own dated record of delivery. If the leave administrator says something is incomplete, request the specific missing item rather than asking the practice to start over without an explanation.
DOL describes a process for employer clarification through designated representatives; the employee’s direct supervisor may not contact the provider for that purpose. Ask the leave office and practice to coordinate through the appropriate contacts and authorizations. Keep any new request with the original so everyone is answering the same question.
Sources: DOL: Information for health care providers completing FMLA certification; DOL Field Operations Handbook, Chapter 39: FMLA certification
Your next-step checklist
- Obtain the actual employer request and due date.
- Identify the authorized return contact and channel.
- Ask the practice what documentation it can provide.
- Prepare factual job and date information without clinical answers.
- Save delivery confirmation and any specific clarification request.
Keep personal, insurance and medical information in the appropriate organization’s approved secure channel.
Common questions
Who should receive the completed certification?
Follow the employer’s specified return instructions. Confirm with the practice whether it will return the document to you or send it to the authorized employer contact, then check that the intended recipient received it.
Sources: DOL Field Operations Handbook, Chapter 39: FMLA certification
Does certification also settle pay and insurance premiums during leave?
Ask the employer’s leave and benefits contacts about those arrangements separately. Keep their answers with the leave notice rather than assuming the clinical paperwork answers payroll and premium questions.
Sources: DOL: Information for health care providers completing FMLA certification; DOL Field Operations Handbook, Chapter 39: FMLA certification
Sources and verification
The sources below support the administrative information in this guide. Follow the responsible organization’s current instructions when requirements, forms or contact routes change.