Free Printable Timesheet TemplateFill in the hours, check the preview, then print it or save it as a PDF. Leave the times empty for a blank timesheet. No sign-up, and nothing you type is uploaded.

What is a timesheet?

A timesheet is a record of the hours a person worked, day by day, for a week, two weeks or a month. It shows start and finish times, breaks and the total. Fill it in each day and have it signed before it goes to payroll or the client.

How to make a timesheet in 3 steps

1. 1

   Choose the period

   One week, two weeks or a month, and the first day. Leave the first day empty to print a blank timesheet with lines for the dates.

2. 2

   Fill in the hours

   Time in, time out and the unpaid break for each day. The hours for each day, each week and the whole period are added up for you.

3. 3

   Add overtime and pay if you need them, then sign

   Choose an overtime rule and an hourly rate to see regular and overtime hours and pay before taxes. Print, and sign with the supervisor.

What a timesheet should show

• The employee’s name, and the company, job or department
• The period, and the day each week starts
• Time in and time out for each day, and any unpaid break
• Hours worked each day and each week, and the total
• Regular and overtime hours, when overtime applies
• Signatures of the employee and the supervisor, with the date

Hours, breaks and overtime

Hours worked are usually the time from clocking in to clocking out, less unpaid meal breaks. Under the US Fair Labor Standards Act, short rest breaks of about 5 to 20 minutes count as hours worked, while a real meal break (usually 30 minutes or more) does not, if the worker is fully relieved from duty (29 CFR 785.18 and 785.19).

Under the same law, covered employees who are not exempt get at least time and a half for hours over 40 in a workweek. A workweek is a fixed, regularly recurring period of 168 hours (7 days in a row) that may start on any day, and hours cannot be averaged over two or more weeks. The federal law does not require overtime pay for nights, weekends or holidays as such (DOL Fact Sheet #23).

Some states go further. California, for example, also counts hours over 8 in a workday as overtime, pays double time over 12 hours in a day, and has its own rules for the seventh day worked in a workweek (Labor Code § 510). This timesheet works out daily and weekly overtime when you choose that rule, but not double time or seventh-day hours: check those yourself.

Rounding times to the nearest 5, 6 or 15 minutes is accepted by the Department of Labor only when it averages out so employees are paid for all the time they actually work (29 CFR 785.48). This timesheet uses the exact times you enter.

Keeping timesheets

• US employers must keep payroll records for at least 3 years, and records such as time cards for 2 years (DOL Fact Sheet #21). No particular form is required, so a printed timesheet works, as long as it is complete and accurate.
• Keep the signed timesheets in order by period, with the payroll records for the same dates.
• If a timesheet is corrected, cross out and initial the change rather than writing over it.

Checked in October 2026. This page is general information, not legal or payroll advice. State laws and union agreements can add their own rules.

• US Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #21: Recordkeeping under the FLSA
• US Department of Labor, Fact Sheet #23: Overtime pay under the FLSA
• 29 CFR Part 785: Hours worked (breaks, meal periods, rounding) (eCFR)
• California Labor Code § 510: daily and weekly overtime (California Legislature)