Free Notice to Leave Template Scotland: Where to Get the Official Form

The official notice to leave form for Scotland is free and always has been. The Scottish Government publishes it on mygov.scot through a "Create a Notice to Leave" tool that generates the prescribed form as a PDF after you select the eviction ground and enter the property and tenant details. There is no charge and no registration required.

This is not a template you fill in by hand — the tool generates a completed, correctly formatted notice using the statutory prescribed form that is legally required under the Private Residential Tenancies (Prescribed Notices and Forms) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 (SSI 2017/297). From 1 April 2027, SSI 2026/279 replaces the current regulations and the mygov.scot tool will update to the new prescribed form automatically.

Why Third-Party Templates Are Risky

The Upper Tribunal held in McAnally v Boyle [2025] UT 53 that a notice must use the prescribed style. But an error in completing that form is not automatically fatal: under Section 73 of the 2016 Act, it invalidates the notice only if it materially affects the notice's effect. A notice that is not in the prescribed style cannot be relied on.

Third-party templates found on legal document sites, Etsy, Amazon Kindle or landlord forums carry several risks:

• They may use the pre-2017 Short Assured Tenancy notice format, which is entirely the wrong document for a PRT
• They may omit the mandatory statutory notes for tenants
• They may contain English law language (Section 21, Section 8) that has no relevance to Scottish law
• They may not update when the form changes (as it will on 1 April 2027)

The mygov.scot generator eliminates these risks because it always outputs the current prescribed form.

What the Form Must Contain

A valid notice to leave must include:

1. The full names of all tenants on the PRT
2. The full address of the let property
3. The specific statutory eviction ground(s) under Schedule 3 of the 2016 Act
4. Detailed facts explaining how each ground applies to the tenancy
5. The exact date the notice period expires (correctly calculated with any postal delivery allowance)
6. The statutory notes explaining the tenant's rights and advisory contacts

The mygov.scot tool handles items 1–3, 5 and 6. Item 4 — the detailed factual basis for each ground — is where the landlord's own input matters most. The tool prompts for this, but the quality of what you write determines whether the Tribunal accepts the notice as properly specifying the ground.

What the Free Form Does Not Give You

The government tool generates the notice itself. It does not provide:

• Day-counting calculations — you still need to work out the correct expiry date, including the 48-hour deemed-delivery allowance for postal and email service
• Service proof documentation — you need to keep your own records (Royal Mail tracking, email headers, hand-delivery witness statements)
• Evidence checklists — each ground requires specific documentary evidence (Home Report for Ground 1, rent ledger for Ground 12, affidavit for Ground 4) that the tool does not list
• Post-notice workflow — what to do if the tenant stays, how to complete Form E, when to serve the Section 11 local authority notice
• Pre-Action Requirements for rent arrears — Ground 12 requires a mandatory four-step protocol before the Tribunal will even look at the case

The form is the starting point, not the complete process. Our Notice to Leave in Scotland guide builds around the official form and fills the gaps — the day-counting worksheets, the service audit log, the evidence checklist for each ground, and the tribunal-application roadmap.

See more Scotland guides →