Attendance Shortage Letter
Explains a shortfall in attendance.
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Dear Sir / Madam,
I am a student of [class or course] bearing Roll No. [roll no.]. My attendance stands at [percentage]%, which is below the required minimum.
The shortfall arose because: [reason]. Supporting documents are enclosed.
I request you to kindly condone the shortage and permit me to appear for the examinations. I undertake to maintain the required attendance for the remainder of the course.
What is an Attendance Shortage Letter?
An attendance shortage explanation is the letter a student, trainee or employee writes when their recorded attendance has fallen below the required minimum and a decision — sitting an exam, keeping a place on a course, closing a payroll query — is waiting on it. It matters because the institution needs something on file to justify a concession. Without a written account and dates, the register stands as the only record, and the register says you were absent.
Students write this most often, because attendance rules bite hardest at the point of an exam: a college or university sets a minimum percentage, the register falls short, and the candidate is told they will be detained or barred unless they explain. Employees write a version of it when an HR system flags unauthorised absence. Trainees on apprenticeship or professional courses write it when a regulator or awarding body ties attendance to certification. In all three cases the letter is addressed to whoever holds the discretion — a principal, a head of department, a line manager or HR.
The minimum attendance figure and the grounds for waiving it are set locally, not nationally. Indian universities commonly publish a percentage in the examination ordinance or academic regulations, with medical grounds and approved representation handled separately. UK schools distinguish authorised from unauthorised absence under local authority rules, and persistent unauthorised absence can lead to a penalty notice for a parent. US institutions vary by school district, college and, for international students, visa conditions on full-time enrolment. Check your own institution's current regulation or handbook before deciding what to claim.
The letter does not change the register. It asks a person with authority to exercise a discretion they already have; it does not create one. If the regulation sets a hard floor with no waiver, no letter will move it, and you need to know that before you spend a week waiting. It is also not a medical certificate, a police report or a bereavement record — it refers to those documents and attaches them. And it is not a retrospective attendance correction: if the register is simply wrong, that is a different request, made to the person who maintains it.
What to put in an Attendance Shortage Letter
These are the details this template asks for. Anything left blank is marked in red on the preview so you can see what is still missing.
| Field | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Institution name | For example: Andhra Christian College |
| Organisation address | For example: 1420 Kinnear Road, Columbus, OH 43212 |
| Course / class | For example: B.Com (Computer Applications), III Year |
| Roll / register no. | For example: 20B41A0512 |
| Present attendance % | For example: 62 |
| Reason | For example: A sudden illness in the family required me to travel out of station at short notice. |
| Issued to (full name) | For example: James Whitfield |
| Their address | For example: 588 Kinnear Road, Columbus, OH 43212 |
How to write an Attendance Shortage Letter
State the exact shortfall in numbers
Open with the figures the office already holds: course and section, enrolment or employee number, the period covered, classes held, classes attended and the resulting percentage. If you do not know the exact number, say so and ask for it rather than guessing. A letter that opens with 'my attendance is 63 per cent against the required 75' is answerable. 'My attendance is low' is not.
Account for the absences by date
Group the missed sessions into blocks with dates and a reason for each: 12–19 March, hospitalised, discharge summary attached; 4 May, sister's wedding, prior application filed with the department. Reasons that were already notified at the time carry far more weight than reasons produced afterwards, so say when you notified and whom. Leave unexplained absences unexplained rather than inventing a cause for them.
Attach the evidence, listed and numbered
Name each enclosure in the letter and number it, then attach in the same order: medical certificate with the doctor's registration number, hospital discharge summary, death certificate, employer's letter, travel tickets. An office that has to hunt for the proof will often just return the file. Keep the originals and send copies unless you are asked for originals in person.
Ask for one specific outcome
Say what you want the reader to do: condone the shortfall for the November examination, permit make-up classes, grant attendance on medical grounds under the relevant clause, or refer the case to the committee that decides. Cite the clause number if your handbook has one. A request with a named remedy can be granted by a single signature; a general appeal for sympathy has to be interpreted first, and usually is not.
Route it and keep a receipt
Send it through the channel the regulation names — class tutor, then head of department, then the examination section — because a letter that skips a step comes back. Get it stamped at the receiving counter, or send it by a method that produces a delivery record, and note the date. If the decision is time-bound, say when you need the answer and follow up in person before that date.
Common mistakes
- Writing after the exam timetable is out rather than when the absence happened, which turns a routine condonation into an emergency the office has no time to process.
- Giving a reason with no dates attached, so the committee cannot match your account to the register and defaults to the register.
- Attaching a backdated medical certificate obtained after the fact, which is the fastest way to have the whole application disbelieved and, in some institutions, treated as misconduct.
- Asking for sympathy instead of a named remedy, leaving the reader unsure what they are being asked to sign.
- Sending it to the principal directly when the regulation routes it through the department, so it is returned unread and you lose a week.
Frequently asked questions
How much attendance shortage can be condoned?
There is no common figure — the ceiling is set by your institution's own regulations, and many publish a limit that may be relaxed only on medical or representation grounds. Read the examination ordinance or student handbook, or ask the examination section, before you write. If the rule allows no relaxation at all, the letter is still worth filing but you should plan around a refusal.
Who should sign the letter — the student or the parent?
Both, where the student is a minor: the student writes and signs it, and a parent or guardian countersigns. For adult students the student signs alone, though many colleges still want a parent's signature on medical absences. If a hostel warden, employer or supervising doctor can confirm the facts, a short signed note from them attached to the letter is worth more than a second signature on it.
Do I need a medical certificate for every absence?
Only for the absences you are claiming as medical. Most institutions want a certificate from a registered practitioner covering the specific dates, with a registration number and contact details, and some require it to be countersigned by the college medical officer. For non-medical absences, use whatever corroborates the reason: a death certificate, a competition entry, a court summons, a travel record.
Can I write this letter for absence caused by a job or internship?
You can, but say so plainly rather than dressing it up as illness. Some institutions recognise internships, placements, sporting fixtures and official representation as attendance-earning duty, usually where the activity was approved in advance. If yours does, cite the approval. If it did not approve the activity, an honest letter asking for relaxation has a better chance than a false medical claim that unravels.
What happens if the shortfall is not condoned?
The usual consequences are being barred from the examination, repeating the paper or the term, or losing a semester. Ask in writing what the next step is: many institutions run make-up or remedial classes, an appeal to an academic committee, or a re-registration route. Get the refusal and the reason in writing too, because an appeal or a later application will need it.
This page explains general practice and is not legal advice. Requirements differ between countries and, in some cases, between states — check what applies where the document will be used.