The Ministry of Labour, in its letter No. 14-6/ООГ-734 of 26 February 2026, reminded employers and employees alike: work experience is not a single category. There is insurance experience (for pension purposes), uninterrupted experience, and professional-specialty experience. The last type is the most important for career advancement — and the hardest to prove.

The Labour Code does not define it precisely. It becomes a mandatory criterion only where a law or job qualification standard explicitly requires it. Where a position demands specialty experience, you must prove not just “the fact of employment” but your actual professional function.

Employees under employment contracts

For those working under a standard employment contract, the standard package applies:

employment record book (paper or electronic);
employment contracts;
employer letters confirming the position held and the period of work.

One critical point: if your job title does not clearly indicate your specialisation, you will need job descriptions. “Manager” or “specialist” is vague. “Lead engineer for ventilation system design” speaks to the function. Keep job descriptions, even when they seem unlikely to matter.

Sole traders (ИП)

For sole traders, experience is confirmed through the actual nature of activities performed:

extract from the Unified Register of Individual Entrepreneurs (EGRYP) — the OKVED codes show the declared activity type;
contracts with clients and completion acts describing the work done.

A registered OKVED code is not experience. You need to show that you actually did the work, not merely that you were registered.

Self-employed (самозанятые)

For those under the self-employment tax regime, the core package is:

a certificate of registration with the tax authority as an NPD payer;
civil-law contracts (GPC) describing the specific tasks performed;
receipts from the “My Tax” (Moi Nalog) application.

An important distinction: self-employment generates professional experience but not pension insurance experience. Pension insurance experience accumulates only if the self-employed person voluntarily enrolled with the Social Fund and paid contributions. Without contributions, specialty experience can be proved; pension entitlement cannot.

Business owners

The picture depends on the owner’s role in the company.

Founder and director: You are a full employee. Experience is proved through the standard package: employment contract, employment record book entry, hiring and termination orders. Even if you are the sole participant in an LLC, the law requires employment relations to be formalised — this is the most reliable basis for demonstrating experience.

Founder only (no employment contract): Holding a share in a company is not, by itself, employment. But if you were genuinely involved in management, this can be documented through:

minutes of general meetings and decisions recording your participation in key matters;
powers of attorney for representation (in courts, at negotiations, with government authorities);
internal documents relating to specific projects you led.

Certification commissions accept such evidence, but it requires careful preparation.

When documentary experience falls short

The Ministry of Labour explicitly states: if formal specialty experience does not technically meet the threshold but the person has sufficient practical knowledge, they may be appointed to the position on the recommendation of a certification commission.

The commission looks not only at employment record entries but at real cases, contracts, and delivered results. This is not a loophole — it is a lawful mechanism provided by qualification handbooks.

Practical takeaway

Any activity — employment, sole trading, self-employment, or running a business — builds professional capital. The question is whether it is documented.

A quick self-check:

Do you have documents proving not just “the fact of work” but your specialisation?
Have you kept job descriptions, completion acts, and contracts that describe your actual tasks?
If you are a sole trader or self-employed, do your contracts reflect the specific specialty that matters for your next role?

If the answer is no — start building the evidence base now, not when an attestation commission is already asking questions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does work as a sole trader (IP) count as specialty experience? Yes — if the sole trader’s OKVED activity codes match the specialty and are supported by client contracts and completion acts. There is no employment record book, so other documents are required.

Does a period of self-employment count as specialty experience? As professional experience — yes, provided there are civil-law contracts and receipts. Pension insurance experience accrues only through voluntary contributions to the SFR; without them, pension entitlement does not build.

What should I do if my documented experience technically falls short? A certification commission may recommend an appointment based on sufficient real-world experience. Prepare case descriptions, contracts, and references — this mechanism is expressly provided by qualification handbooks.

How do I prove experience if documents are lost? Through witness testimony, archive records, and indirect evidence (publications, correspondence with clients). Courts and commissions accept a combination of such materials.

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