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FREELANCE SERVICES AGREEMENT
Scope · payment · revisions · ownership · signatures
EDITABLE TEMPLATE — COMPLETE EVERY BRACKETED FIELD
This agreement is between the following parties:
Client [CLIENT LEGAL NAME AND ADDRESS]
Service provider [PROVIDER LEGAL NAME AND ADDRESS]
Effective date [MONTH DAY, YEAR]
Project label [SHORT PROJECT NAME]
1. Services and deliverables
[Describe each deliverable, format, quantity, and what is expressly outside scope.]
Client will provide: [content, access, decisions, and approvals] by [date]. Provider may reasonably adjust the schedule when a required client input is late.
2. Schedule and acceptance
Work begins [START DATE] and the target delivery date is [TARGET DATE]. A target is not a guarantee when dependencies or approved changes affect the schedule.
Client will review each submitted deliverable within [NUMBER] business days and either accept it or give one consolidated list of specific changes tied to the agreed scope. Silence is not acceptance unless applicable law permits and the parties expressly choose that rule here: [YES / NO].
3. Revisions and change requests
[NUMBER] consolidated revision rounds are included. A revision modifies an agreed deliverable; a new deliverable, direction, or requirement is a change request.
Before extra work starts, the parties will approve in writing the changed scope, price, and timing. Extra work rate or method: [RATE / FIXED QUOTE / NOT APPLICABLE].
4. Fees, expenses, and payment
[TOTAL FEE, DEPOSIT, MILESTONES, INVOICE METHOD, AND DUE DATES].
Pre-approved expenses: [NONE / LIST]. Late-payment terms: [INSERT ONLY IF LAWFUL AND AGREED]. Provider may pause future work after written notice when an undisputed payment is overdue, subject to applicable law.
5. Intellectual property and portfolio use
[State what transfers, when it transfers, and what pre-existing tools, fonts, stock assets, or licenses remain separate.]
Each party keeps ownership of materials it owned before this agreement. Third-party materials remain subject to their licenses. Portfolio use: [ALLOWED / REQUIRES WRITTEN PERMISSION / NOT ALLOWED].
6. Confidentiality and data
Each party will protect nonpublic information marked or reasonably understood as confidential, use it only for this project, and disclose it only as legally required or to people who need it and are bound to protect it. Exclusions: information already public, independently developed, or lawfully received without restriction.
7. Independent status and compliance
The parties intend a services relationship, but this sentence does not decide worker classification. Actual facts and applicable federal, state, and local law control. No term waives a nonwaivable wage, tax, employment, consumer, or other legal right. Each party is responsible for obligations legally assigned to it.
8. Warranties and responsibility
Each party promises it has authority to enter this agreement. Provider promises original work or properly licensed materials to the extent stated here: [DETAILS]. Any liability limit, indemnity, disclaimer, or insurance term must be reviewed for the governing law: [CUSTOM TERMS OR NONE].
9. Ending the agreement
Either party may end for material breach if the breach is not cured within [NUMBER] days after written notice. Either party may end for convenience on [NUMBER] days’ written notice. On ending, Client pays for accepted work and authorized work performed through the effective end date, plus approved noncancelable costs, as allowed by law.
10. Notices, law, and complete agreement
Notices go to the contacts above by [EMAIL / MAIL]. Governing law and venue: [STATE AND COUNTY — VERIFY]. This document and approved written changes are the complete agreement. If one term is unenforceable, the remainder continues to the extent permitted.
Signatures
Client signature / name / date ____________________________________________
Provider signature / name / date ____________________________________________
Use note: This general educational template is not legal or tax advice and may not fit your state, industry, or facts. A written label alone does not determine employee or independent-contractor status. Review the actual relationship and local requirements. IRS reference: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/type-of-relationship