A leave request form works for small teams and schools that want structured submissions without dedicated HR software.
Employees or students fill in a form, you get an email notification, and the submission sits in your WordPress dashboard — no chasing emails, no scattered threads.
This guide uses Everest Forms (free) to build one from scratch, with the AI builder, or from a pre-built template. You can have it live in under ten minutes.
If you need approval workflows, leave balance tracking, or payroll integration, a form builder won’t cover it — you’ll need a dedicated leave management plugin instead.
Just want the form? Get the free leave request form template →
New to Everest Forms? Download it free →
Step 1 — Create the form
Go to Everest Forms → All Forms → + Add New. The Add New Form screen opens with three options:
- Create Form Using AI — describe the form you want, EF generates the fields
- Create from Scratch — build field by field from a blank canvas
- Templates — pre-built forms including the Leave Request Form template
For most leave request forms, the template is the fastest starting point. Scroll down to find the Leave Request Form, hover over it, and click Use this template.
Hit Use this template — the form editor opens with fields already configured.
The template includes:
- Full Name
- Leave Type (dropdown with options: Sick Leave, Casual Leave, Maternity Leave, Paternity Leave, Exam Leave, Transfer Leave, and Other)
- Start Date
- End Date
- Reason for Leave.
For most small teams and schools, this is sufficient. Customize or remove any field that doesn’t fit your setup.
Prefer to describe it instead? Use the AI builder
If the template fields don’t match your requirements, select Create Form Using AI. No API key required — the AI builder is built into Everest Forms free.
Type a plain-language description of what you need:
“Create a leave request form with employee name, id, email, department, leave type, start date, end date, number of days, and reason.”
Everest Forms generates the leave request forms with required fields from your description.
Review them in the form editor, adjust anything that needs changing, and hit Use This Form.
This will open the form in the drag and drop form builder. You can configure form settings or connect this form to external tool from here.
For a full walkthrough of the AI form builder, including tips on writing effective prompts, see our guide to creating WordPress forms with AI.
Building from scratch
Select Create from Scratch if you want full control over every field from the start.
Provide a name to the form and drag fields from the left panel onto the form canvas. The Date/Time field handles start and end dates. Dropdown handles leave type.
See Step 2 for recommended fields.
Step 2 — Set up the form fields
A leave request form only needs the information the person reviewing it will act on. Keep it short.
Core fields — include these:
| Field | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Name | Required |
| Email address | Required — used for the confirmation notification | |
| Leave type | Dropdown | Customise the options to match your org (see below) |
| Start date | Date/Time | Uses the date and time form field — supports date picker, time picker, or both combined. |
| End date | Date/Time | Uses the date and time form field — supports date picker, time picker, or both combined. |
| Reason | Paragraph Text | Optional — some orgs don’t require this |
If you want employees to select their full leave period in a single field rather than two separate date fields, see how to add date range and multiple dates to a WordPress form.
Optional fields — add only if you need them:
| Field | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Department | Dropdown or Single Line | Useful for larger teams |
| Manager name | Single Line | If submissions go to a central admin, not direct managers |
| Number of days | Number | Self-reported or leave blank and calculate manually |
| Supporting document | File Upload | Medical certificate, etc. — requires Everest Forms Pro |
Customize the Leave Type dropdown
The pre-built template includes common leave types. Edit the dropdown options to match what your organisation actually uses. Options to consider:
- Annual leave
- Sick leave
- Unpaid leave
- Maternity / paternity leave
- Bereavement leave
- Study leave
Remove any that don’t apply. Add organisation-specific types if needed. A student form might use: Sick leave, Family emergency, Academic reasons, Other.
To edit the dropdown options, click the Leave Type field in the form editor and update the choices in the Field Options panel on the left.
Step 3 — Configure email notifications
This step is what separates a WordPress leave request form from a Google Form. Two notifications matter: one for the person reviewing requests, one for the person submitting.
Go to Settings → Email.
Admin notification (the reviewer gets alerted)
This fires when someone submits the form. Configure it so the notification goes to whoever reviews leave requests — a manager, HR coordinator, or school admin.
- To Address: Enter the reviewer’s email, or use
{admin_email}to send to the site admin - Subject: Something specific — “New leave request from {field_id=”1”}` pulls the submitter’s name automatically
- Message: Use the
{all_fields}smart tag to include all form data in the notification body
If different departments or managers should receive notifications for different leave types, conditional notifications are available in Everest Forms Pro.
User notification (the submitter gets confirmation)
Click Add New Email and configure a second notification. This goes to the person who submitted the form, confirming their request was received.
- To Address: Use the smart tag for the Email field —
{field_id="2"}(adjust the ID to match your Email field) - Subject: “Your leave request has been received”
- Message: Keep it short. Confirm receipt, tell them when to expect a response, include the submitted dates for their reference using smart tags
Step 4 — Configure submission settings
Go to Settings → Confirmation.
Two settings matter for a leave request form:
Success message: Replace the default text with something specific. “Your leave request has been submitted. You’ll receive a confirmation email shortly.” This confirms to the submitter that the form went through.
Disable form after submission: Leave this off for a leave request form — the same person may need to submit multiple requests over time.
Everything else in Confirmation Settings is optional. Skip it unless you have a specific need.
Step 5 — Publish the form
Go to Pages → Add New.
Gutenberg block method: Click the + button, search for Everest Forms, select the block, and choose your form from the dropdown. Add a page title and hit Publish.
Shortcode method: Copy the form shortcode from Everest Forms → All Forms (shown under the form name). Paste it into any page, post, or widget area.
Test the form after publishing. Submit a test entry and confirm:
- The admin notification arrives at the reviewer’s email
- The user confirmation arrives at the submitted email address
- The entry appears in Everest Forms → Entries
Frequently Asked Questions
What fields should a leave request form include? At minimum: name, email, leave type, start date, and end date. Everything else depends on your organisation. Keep it to fields the reviewer will actually use — a long form increases abandonment without adding value.
Can I use this for student leave as well as employee leave? Yes. The field structure is the same. Customise the Leave Type dropdown to match student leave categories (sick leave, family emergency, academic reasons) and update the form name and notification email to go to the relevant school administrator.
How is a leave request form different from a leave management system? A leave request form collects the submission and emails it to a reviewer. The reviewer then responds manually. A leave management system handles the full workflow: submission, approval routing, balance tracking, and payroll integration. Everest Forms handles the form. If you need the full workflow, look at dedicated WordPress HR plugins instead.
Does the AI form builder require an API key or a paid plan? No. The AI form builder in Everest Forms is available in the free version and requires no API key. It runs inside the plugin without any external account setup.