Freelance services agreement template
A written agreement saves a freelancer and a client from the most common disputes: what exactly was included, when payment is due, and who owns the finished work. Fill in the details below and the contract is laid out as a PDF with signature blocks for the client and the freelancer, ready to download or to send for signature.
This template is a general starting point, not legal advice. Laws differ between countries and states, so have it checked before signing anything important.
Fill in the details
Anything you leave empty becomes a blank line in the document, to fill in by hand or during signing.
Opens the signature request with this document and a signature box for each party already placed.
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Freelance Services Agreement
This Freelance Services Agreement (the "Agreement") is made on __________ between __________, of __________ (the "Client"), and __________, of __________ (the "Freelancer").
1. Services
The Freelancer will provide the following services and deliverables (the "Services"): __________
Any change to the Services, including additional work, must be agreed in writing, which may be by email, before it starts, together with any change to the fee or timing.
2. Fees and Expenses
The Client will pay the Freelancer __________. Expenses are payable only if the Client approved them in writing before they were incurred.
3. Invoicing and Payment
The Freelancer will invoice the Client as set out above or, if nothing is set out, when the Services are completed. The Client will pay each correct invoice __________. If the Client disputes part of an invoice, it will tell the Freelancer promptly in writing and pay the undisputed part on time.
4. Independent Contractor
The Freelancer is an independent contractor and not an employee, partner or agent of the Client. The Freelancer decides how the Services are carried out, provides their own equipment, and is responsible for their own taxes and any required insurance.
5. Ownership of the Work
Once the Client has paid in full for the Services, the Client owns the deliverables created specifically for it under this Agreement, and the Freelancer transfers to the Client all rights in them to the extent the law allows. The Freelancer keeps ownership of tools, templates and materials that existed before this Agreement or were developed independently of it, and grants the Client a non-exclusive, perpetual licence to use any of them that are included in the deliverables.
The Freelancer may mention the Client and show the deliverables in a portfolio only with the Client’s permission.
6. Confidentiality
Each party will keep confidential any non-public information it receives from the other in connection with this Agreement and will use it only to perform or receive the Services. This obligation continues after the Agreement ends. It does not prevent either party from reporting a possible violation of law to a government or regulatory authority, or from making a disclosure protected by whistleblower laws.
7. Quality of Work
The Freelancer will perform the Services with reasonable skill and care and in line with any written description in clause 1. If a deliverable does not match that description, the Client will tell the Freelancer within 14 days of delivery and the Freelancer will correct it within a reasonable time.
8. Limitation of Liability
To the extent the law allows, neither party is liable for indirect or consequential loss, and each party’s total liability under this Agreement is limited to the total fees paid or payable under it. Nothing in this Agreement limits liability for fraud, or for any liability that cannot be limited by law.
9. Term and Termination
This Agreement starts on the effective date and continues until the Services are completed. Either party may end it early by giving __________ written notice. The Client will pay for Services performed and approved expenses incurred up to the date the Agreement ends.
10. General
This Agreement is governed by __________. It is the entire agreement between the parties about its subject. It may only be changed in writing signed by both parties, and neither party may assign it without the other’s written consent. It may be signed in counterparts and with electronic signatures, each of which is treated as an original.
Client
__________
Freelancer
__________
When to use a freelance services agreement
Use it for any project-based or ongoing work where one side provides a service to the other as an independent business: design, development, writing, translation, consulting or photography. It works for fixed-fee projects and for hourly or daily rates.
The details that prevent most disputes
Spend most of your time on the first field; it is where misunderstandings start.
- Describe the work so that someone outside the project could tell when it is finished, including the number of revisions.
- Write the fee and the payment schedule in the same place, for example a deposit before work starts and the rest on delivery.
- Ownership passes to the client after full payment under clause 5, which protects the freelancer if an invoice goes unpaid.
- Whether someone is legally a contractor or an employee depends on how the work is actually done, not only on what the contract says. If the arrangement looks like employment, get local advice.
- If the work means handling personal data for the client, such as customer lists or user accounts, data protection laws like the EU and UK GDPR usually require a separate data processing agreement as well.
Frequently asked questions
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