A job requisition form is the request a manager submits to get permission and budget to hire. This job requisition form template captures the position, the reason, the full cost and every sign-off in one place, and it is free to copy and edit. You will also find short versions for a straight backfill and for temporary or contract help.
Job requisition form template
When to use it
Use the full form for any new headcount, any role outside the approved hiring plan and any backfill where the level, pay or location is changing. Nothing gets posted and no recruiter starts sourcing until the last required approval is in. Many teams also start the time-to-fill clock on the approval date, so a clean record of that date makes your time to fill numbers trustworthy.
Use the short backfill version when someone resigns and the role is coming back unchanged. It keeps the approval moving in a day or two instead of a week, which matters when the departing person can still help train their replacement.
How to customize it
- Set your approval chain by risk, not by habit. A budgeted backfill may need only the manager and finance, while an unbudgeted senior role needs an executive.
- Make the pay range a required field. You will need it for the posting, the intake meeting and the offer, and a growing number of states and cities require a range in job ads.
- Ask HR to confirm the overtime classification before approval, because changing it after an offer goes out is awkward for everyone.
- Estimate recruiting spend up front with the cost per hire calculator, especially if an agency fee is likely.
- Look up the closest occupation on O*NET OnLine before choosing a level. Its task lists and wage data help you check that the title, duties and range belong together.
- Keep the business case to three sentences. Approvers read the first two and skim the rest.
Variations
Mistakes to avoid
- Letting recruiting start "while approvals come through". If the req stalls, you have candidates in process for a job that may not exist.
- Approving a title without a level. Two "Senior Analysts" in different bands lead to pay disputes later.
- Writing the business case around the departing person instead of the work. The role should be justified by what needs doing next.
- Deleting old requisitions when a role is cancelled. EEOC regulations require employers to keep all personnel or employment records for one year.
- Stating requirements in the form that would read as a preference for age, sex or another protected trait if they were copied into the ad.
Keep the approved form with the role's hiring records, and ask HR or counsel about retention rules that apply to your company. This is not legal advice.
Automating this with Carolina
Requisition approval belongs to people. What Carolina, NTRVSTA's AI Head of Talent, handles is the work that follows: it sources candidates for the open role, scores every resume against the job, schedules interviews and keeps candidates updated, all inside your ATS. Ask Carolina how many approved reqs have no candidates in final rounds, and it answers in plain English. The same view shows up in the morning digest in Slack or Microsoft Teams.
If an approved range needs to move during the search, that decision stays with you, because offers and compensation changes always wait for a person. Your first open role is free on the Starter plan; see our pricing.
Questions
What is a job requisition form?
It is an internal request to open a position. It records the job title, level, location, reason for hiring, pay range, budget and the approvals needed before the role can be posted or sourced.
Who approves a job requisition?
Usually the hiring manager, the department head, finance and HR. Many companies add an executive approval for roles that are not in the hiring plan or that cross a pay threshold.
What is the difference between a job requisition and a job description?
The requisition asks for permission and money to hire. The job description tells candidates what the job involves and what it requires. The approved requisition comes first, and the job description is written or updated after the intake meeting.
Want your approved reqs sourced and screened the day they open? Book a 20-minute demo with our team. Then run the hiring manager intake form, check the role against your hiring plan, and find more in our templates.
