How To Write a Freelance Contract and What To Include (2026)

A freelance contract is a written agreement between a client and an independent contractor that sets out the terms of a working engagement. It covers scope of work, payment terms, deadlines, intellectual property rights, and what happens if things don't go as planned. 

Key takeaways for writing a freelance contract

• Learning how to write a freelance contract protects both parties by setting clear expectations on scope, payment, and ownership before a single task begins.
• The more specific your scope of work, the less room there is for scope creep; vague contracts are where most disputes start.
• The clauses that matter most when things go wrong are payment terms, IP ownership, revisions, termination, and AI use.
• As of 2025, written contracts are legally required under state law for freelancers in California ($250+ projects) and New York ($800+ projects).
• If a client won’t sign a freelancer contract, don’t start the work.

Before working with any client, having a well-written freelance contract in place sets your working relationship up for success and helps the project run smoothly. In this article, we’ll review 11 clauses that other freelancers and independent contractors have found worthwhile to add to their contracts. You can use these as a starting point and customize them as needed for each project to build contracts that help protect your business.

(Note: While we’ve found the tips below helpful in my own business, this is not legal advice and you should have a lawyer review all contracts and legal documents to make sure that they protect your best interests and are legally enforceable.)

Why are freelance contracts important?

Freelance contracts are important because they allow you to specify what you’re doing, how much it’s worth, and what your or the client’s responsibilities are.  A strong contract also protects your work, project, and payment terms once work begins.

A freelance work contract can:

• Reduce disagreements or misunderstandings
• Outline how to handle conflicts if they do arise during the working relationship
• Provide acknowledgment and agreement in advance from all parties about payment, time, and deliverables
• Protect both the client and freelancer 

Freelance contracts are one of several types of employment contracts. Like all of them, they’re legally binding, meaning each signing party formally agrees to the terms before work begins. That shared agreement is what gives you protection if something goes wrong. If you get clients as a freelancer but start work without a well-written contract, you can run into issues that are hard to resolve, including:

• Nonpayment or late payment
• Projects with unclear bounds
• Scope creep
• Limited avenues to enforce any terms that were only discussed verbally
• Additional legal ramifications and liability
• Financial losses

For example, Bonsai analyzed invoicing data from more than 100,000 freelancers and found that 29% of all freelance invoices are paid late. A written contract with clear payment terms is one of the most direct ways to protect yourself if payment issues arise. That’s just one of the reasons why having a freelancer contract in place is nonnegotiable, even if you’re just starting out and learning how to become a freelancer.

As of 2025, written freelance contracts are legally required in some U.S. states. California’s Freelance Worker Protection Act mandates a written contract for any freelance work valued at $250 or more. New York has had similar protections for independent contractors for services totaling $800 or more since enacting its Freelance Isn’t Free Act. 

Even where not required by law, a signed contract is your clearest protection. 

What should be included when writing a freelance contract? 

A freelance contract should have key clauses that protect both parties and clearly lay out the terms of the agreement. A freelance contract, or freelance agreement, should include details about:

• Payment terms

• Deliverables
• Timelines
• Usage rights
• Liability
• Other key terms, such as revisions or termination

Many professionals find it helpful to work with a lawyer to create a freelance contract template. The freelancer can then customize this template for each project and client.

How to write a freelance contract — 11 important clauses

Writing a freelance contract from scratch can feel daunting. One that’s well written will cover your scope of work, deadlines, deliverables, payment terms, revisions, and necessary clauses like termination terms before being sent out for signature. We use the 11 contract elements in this article with my clients, but your needs may vary. 

Here’s an overview of the different clauses to consider when learning how to write a contract for freelance work, with more details on each clause in the upcoming sections.

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1. Identify party names and titles

It’s a good idea to start each freelance contract by detailing the names, titles, companies, and contact information for each party that will be signing the agreement. This way, it’s clear who’s agreeing to the contract terms, and you know how to get in touch with the client if issues should arise.

2. Define your scope of work and deliverables

Establishing project scope when creating your contract is crucial to setting work expectations for the project. Effective freelance contracts list what you’ll deliver, what’s not included, and any project constraints.

The more detailed and specific you can be in listing what is and isn’t covered by a contract, the better. Without a detailed description of contract work, many freelancers experience scope creep. That’s when the amount of work within the project increases without a change in budget or payment.

Consider including these four elements in your scope of work statement when writing a freelance contract:

1. Project start date
2. A detailed description of the project, including any milestone deliverables
3. Milestone or project deadlines and contract end date
4. Payment schedules, rates, and methods

It’s also important to consider how you’ll perform the work outlined in a project’s scope. Make sure you and your client agree on the use of any subcontractors or artificial intelligence (AI) tools.

This is especially relevant in 2026 and beyond. 

Considerations for AI clause

If you use AI tools in your workflow to perform tasks, it’s important to specify whether AI-assisted work is permitted, who owns AI-generated outputs, and whether AI use must be disclosed to the client.

If AI use is permitted, you remain responsible for reviewing AI‑assisted outputs for accuracy and originality, protecting any confidential information you handle, and reviewing work to make sure that final deliverables meet the project requirements and any applicable legal or ethical standards.

3. Set your payment terms

In addition to outlining how much you’ll charge the client, you also need to include specific payment terms in freelance contracts. This section of the agreement goes into more detail than just your hourly or fixed-project rate.

Consider these questions when adding payment terms to a contract:

• Will the contract be paid according to an hourly rate or a fixed price?
• What will be the payment method if you’re not using a platform like Upwork? Will it be Zelle? Venmo? Wise? ACH?
• Is there a minimum or maximum number of hours that will be billed?
• Are you working on a long-term retainer or short-term contract?
• When will you get paid? Will it be up front, on delivery, within 30 days, or at specific milestones?
• Will you receive a deposit before work begins?
• If your client doesn’t pay on time, will there be a late fee. What amount or percentage and after how many days?
• Who’s responsible for project expenses and material costs?

4. Define end product ownership rights and licenses (copyrights)

A copyright clause is included in freelance contracts to establish who owns the completed work. Since the client is paying for the project, they’ll often require full rights and ownership of every project deliverable. When ownership transfers from you to the client, they decide how the work is used, and you relinquish your intellectual property rights.

If you plan to retain ownership of certain elements, such as proprietary software you’ve developed, you’ll need to define the client’s rights and their usage terms. The standard practices for end product ownership rights and licenses can depend on the type of work you do and your industry.

For example, freelance photographers may be more likely to license an image rather than transfer it outright. Freelance writers or graphic designers often give up all ownership to the client. If your work involves AI-generated content, it's also worth specifying who owns those outputs.

Copyright law is complex and specific. Consider speaking with a lawyer to draft your copyright clause and review your full freelance agreement.

5. Outline terms and termination

A termination clause or right to terminate creates a process for ending the freelance contract if the relationship isn’t working or the project is discontinued. Throughout the agreement, either party could recognize that they aren’t the right fit to work together due to communication issues, missed deadlines, and more.

In the terms and termination section of your contract, you can outline the grounds for acceptable termination as well as any required expenses, penalties, and written notice periods.

Freelancers often consider this section vital to include, even when there’s a specific project deadline and contract end date. It becomes even more critical for ongoing work because it can provide both parties the ability and time to prepare for a loss of income or work product when the contract is terminated.

6. Define allowance of competitive engagements

It’s important that freelance workers communicate the exclusivity of their services. A client may not want you working with them while also helping the competition. In contrast, your experience working with a client in the same industry, but a slightly different geographic service area, may be seen as a benefit.

This is why it’s best to outline your policy on working with clients who may have overlapping services, audiences, or business areas when you write a freelance contract. 

Consider the following:

• Will you engage in any business or activity that directly competes with the client?
• How will conflicts of interest be disclosed when you have clients that overlap in some way?
• Is a geographic area restriction relevant? If so, is it limited to clients with the same type of business?
• How long will you remain exclusive to one client?
• Does your contract allow you to work with competing businesses after your work for one client is complete?

You may also see fit to include a nonsolicitation or noncompete provision in your contract. You may want to consult with an attorney to see if agreeing to such a clause is a good idea for you and your business.

7. State nondisclosure, right to disclose, and confidentiality

It’s also important to include a clause covering the mutual nondisclosure of any confidential information.

As a freelancer, you may receive private and confidential information related to your client’s business. This could include client lists, business strategies, secret recipes, financial documents, and more.

Clients will typically want to prevent you from disclosing any confidential information, and you may also want to limit their ability to disclose elements of your work or your background intellectual property (IP) used during the project.

A mutual nondisclosure agreement (MNDA) may be inserted into your contract, or it might be necessary to have a separate and more detailed MNDA document.

Note that MNDAs (and NDAs, which may apply to a single party in the agreement) are legally binding agreements that establish a confidential relationship and outline how sensitive information will not be made available to others.

8. Define rules for changes and revisions

A clause that covers how changes and revisions will be handled is important because work, especially creative work, can be subjective. It outlines how many (if any) revisions are included and is agreed upon ahead of time. Including this when writing a contract can protect a freelancer’s time from excessive scope creep caused by multiple rounds of time-consuming edits and revisions. 

In this section of the freelance contract, you can specify the rate you’ll charge for additional edits or revisions. It may also be necessary to define what constitutes a “round,” “edit,” or “revision” so that all parties are on the same page. For example, a freelance designer working on a brand logo could outline a revision as any change made to the delivered design, with revisions limited to three rounds, and an hourly rate for additional changes.

9. State an indemnity clause

If something goes wrong, it’s important to know who’s responsible … and who’s financially liable. An indemnity clause covers the financial responsibility in this type of situation and is one of the most important clauses to get right before work begins.

Indemnification, also known as a “hold harmless provision,” is a clause used to shift potential costs and responsibility from one party to another when certain circumstances occur. The main benefit of an indemnity clause is that it can protect the indemnified party from losses or third-party claims related to:

1. The contract
2. Outcomes resulting from the work or deliverables of the contract

In a mutual indemnification clause, both parties may agree to compensate the other for losses caused by their own breach of contract.

10. Add other general clauses

A general clause is used as a catchall for any additional items added to the freelancer contract. This section can include legal disclaimers, protections, and other statements.

One good example is an arbitration clause. Arbitration is an out-of-court process used to settle disputes in which a neutral third party decides the matter.

It may be that the majority of freelance projects reach successful conclusions, but disagreements and disputes can arise on occasion. Upwork has a dispute process that helps to resolve many of these issues and provides additional protection for both freelancers and clients.

11. Include party signatures

A freelance contract isn’t legally binding until both parties have signed and dated it. That signature is what turns a written agreement into something enforceable. Including a signature block at the end of your contract makes this easy. Both parties can sign in ink or digitally using a service like Docusign, and either approach holds up under contract law in most jurisdictions.

If a client won’t sign, don’t start the project.

How should AI be treated in freelance contracts?

AI tools now show up in many kinds of freelance work, from writing and design to software development. Because of that, adding a few clear expectations to your contract up front saves both parties from ambiguity later.

You can start by explaining whether AI tools may be used at all and, if so, in what capacity. Your contract might allow AI for generating ideas or early drafts, for example, while making clear that you’re responsible for reviewing, editing, and delivering work that meets the client’s standards. It's also worth being specific about which tools are permitted. Public AI tools like ChatGPT or Gemini may use inputs for model training by default, so you should address whether client data can be entered into them. Confidentiality is worth discussing, too. If a client shares sensitive business information with you, your contract can specify that it won't be entered into any public AI tool. It's a simple clause that protects the client and gives you clear boundaries to work within.

When it comes to ownership, it's worth knowing that the U.S. Copyright Office confirmed in January 2025 that AI-generated content without sufficient human authorship isn't eligible for copyright protection. If your work involves AI-assisted outputs, your contract should clarify who owns those deliverables and what level of human creative input was involved.

If you work with subcontractors, apply the same expectations to them as well. Confirm they follow the same confidentiality and AI use guidelines, and make clear that you remain the point of contact and are responsible for the final deliverable.

Best practices for writing a freelancer contract

Writing a freelancer agreement that’s solid is the first step to protecting your work and client relationships. Keep these best practices in mind every time you draft or send a new contract:

• Write in plain language. Legal jargon creates confusion, not protection. Both parties should be able to read the freelance contract and understand exactly what they’re agreeing to.
• Customize the contract for each project. A template is a starting point, not a final answer. Adjust the scope, payment terms, and timelines to fit the specific engagement before sending.
• Get signatures before work starts. Once work is underway, your leverage to negotiate terms drops. Get a signed contract first, then begin work.
• Keep a copy of every signed contract. Store signed contracts for freelance work somewhere accessible — whether that's cloud storage or a dedicated folder. If a dispute arises, having the original agreement on hand is your clearest reference point.
• Get legal review for high-value projects. Freelancer contract templates work well for standard projects. For long-term retainers or complex engagements, having a lawyer review your contract is worth the investment.
• Update your template at least once a year. Laws affecting freelancers continue to change. California’s FWPA and New York’s Freelance Isn’t Free Act are recent examples. Review your standard freelancer contract regularly to make sure it reflects current requirements.

Tools to help make freelance contract creation and management easier

You don’t have to figure everything out on your own when learning how to create a freelance contract; in fact, you shouldn’t. You can work with an attorney to create a detailed contract that can be modified per client, or use resources and templates available from places like:

• Your state or provincial government
• Your country’s small business development program
• Contract software platforms like Bonsai or HoneyBook
• Professional contract drafters

Upwork is one of the most straightforward options for managing freelance contracts and getting paid.  Our platform provides everything you need to find work, agree on scope, and get paid in one place. You can automatically log your time worked and bill hourly or based on milestones, too.

Your client doesn’t have to be on Upwork to make it work. The direct contracts feature lets you create project proposals and agree to terms with anyone, with the peace of mind that payment is held in project funds until the work is complete.

Get started on Upwork to find work, create and manage freelance contracts, and build lasting client relationships.

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This article is intended for educational purposes and should not be viewed as legal or tax advice. Please consult a professional to find the solution that best fits your situation.

Upwork is not affiliated with and does not sponsor or endorse any of the tools or services discussed in this article. These tools and services are provided only as potential options, and each reader and company should take the time needed to adequately analyze and determine the tools or services that would best fit their specific needs and situation.