This free influencer contract template is a complete, fill-in-the-blanks influencer agreement between a brand and a creator, followed by a plain-words explanation of every clause and notes on where UK and EU rules differ from the US. Copy it into Word or Google Docs, replace each [BRACKETED] field, delete the options you don't use, and attach your brief as Schedule B. A filled-in influencer contract example for one TikTok deal follows the template.
Not legal advice. This page is general information from the Kolect Research Team, written from regulators', legislatures' and platforms' own documents checked in October 2026. It does not say whether any clause is enforceable in your country or state, and contract, advertising, copyright, tax and data-protection law differ by jurisdiction. Before signing, the brand and the creator should each have a lawyer review the agreement for their own jurisdiction.
What should an influencer contract include?
An influencer contract should settle five things in writing: what gets published, when and with whose approval, what it costs and when it is paid, what the brand may do with the content afterwards, and what happens if either side pulls out. The template below does that in fourteen clauses and two schedules:
| Clause | What it settles | What you fill in |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Services and deliverables | What the creator publishes, where, and how long it stays up | Platforms, formats, dates, minimum time live (Schedule A) |
| 2. Timeline, drafts and approval | Who sends what by when, and how many rounds of changes the fee covers | Draft dates, response times, revision rounds |
| 3. Fee, payment and late payment | Amount, instalments, method, currency, late interest, product, taxes | Fee, split, payment days, interest rate |
| 4. Disclosure and advertising rules | How each post is labelled as an ad, which claims are allowed, AI use | Target countries, approved claims (Schedule B) |
| 5. Brand safety and conduct | When either side can step away over reputational risk | Triggers, what happens to fees already paid |
| 6. Ownership of the content | Whether the creator keeps the copyright (licence) or the brand buys it | Option A or B, buy-out fee |
| 7. Usage rights and paid ads | Where, how, how long and in which countries the brand may use the content, including Spark Ads and partnership ads | Usage periods, territories, extension price |
| 8. Exclusivity | Which competitors the creator can't work with, where and for how long | Competitors or category, period, fee |
| 9. Cancellation, delays and kill fee | What the brand owes if it cancels at each stage, and what happens if the creator doesn't deliver | Kill-fee stages, grace period |
| 10. Confidentiality and personal data | Embargoes, non-public information, personal data | Embargo date, data-processing agreement if needed |
| 11. Term and termination | When the deal ends and how either side can end it early | Cure period |
| 12. Relationship, responsibility and limits | Independent-contractor status, each side's promises, liability | Indemnity and liability cap, drafted by lawyers |
| 13. Governing law and disputes | Which law applies and where disputes go | Left blank for the parties' lawyers |
| 14. General | Whole agreement, changes, e-signature, language version | Prevailing language |
Paid-ad rights belong in almost every version. In Kolect-run campaigns, 80.4% of single-post agreed deals (2,908 of 3,619) included paid-usage, whitelisting or ad-code rights, and only 63 were explicitly organic-only27. Bundles are the minority: 14.5% of agreed deals with written deliverables covered more than one post (614 of 4,233)27. That is why the template keeps the body short and puts each deliverable on its own row in Schedule A.
How to use this influencer contract template
Fill in the commercial terms first, then the legal text, then send it for review. In order:
- Agree Schedule A by email before anyone drafts. Deliverables, dates, fee, usage, exclusivity and kill-fee stages are the terms people argue about later. Price ad rights and exclusivity in this first conversation: our influencer rates guide has 2026 fee benchmarks, and the free influencer rate calculator checks a quote against the creator's views.
- Attach the brief as Schedule B. It holds the approved claims, the claims to avoid and the exact disclosure wording, so the creator and the reviewer of the draft work from the same page.
- Replace every bracket. Pick one option wherever the template offers a choice separated by "/", and delete the rest. When the brand and the creator are in different countries, write every deadline with a time zone.
- Name the real parties. Use the creator's legal name or company, not only the handle. If a manager or agency signs, get written confirmation that it may sign for the creator.
- Send it for legal review on both sides. Local rules can add requirements. New York City requires freelance contracts worth $800 or more, including all agreements that total $800 in any 120-day period, to be in writing and to state the work, the pay and the payment date22, and New York State's Freelance Isn't Free Act took effect statewide on 28 August 202423. A lawyer in each party's jurisdiction will know what else applies.
- Sign, file and set reminders. Keep the signed copy with the brief, the approved drafts, the live links and the payment records, and put the end of every usage and exclusivity period in a calendar.
Free influencer contract template (copy and fill in)
Copy everything from the note below down to the end of Schedule B. Words in [CAPITALS AND BRACKETS] are for you to fill in or choose.
[NOTE TO BOTH PARTIES, DELETE AFTER LEGAL REVIEW: This template is general information published by Kolect. It is not legal advice, and Kolect does not say that any clause is enforceable in any jurisdiction. Laws on contracts, advertising, copyright, payments, tax and data protection differ by country and state. Before signing, each party should have its own lawyer review and adapt this agreement for the jurisdictions involved.]
INFLUENCER AGREEMENT
This Influencer Agreement (the "Agreement") is dated [DATE] and is made between:
[BRAND LEGAL NAME], [a company registered in COUNTRY OR STATE under number REGISTRATION NUMBER], of [REGISTERED ADDRESS] ("Brand"); and
[CREATOR'S FULL LEGAL NAME, OR CREATOR'S COMPANY NAME AND REGISTRATION NUMBER], of [ADDRESS], who publishes as [HANDLE] on [PLATFORMS] ("Creator").
[IF AN AGENCY OR MANAGER SIGNS FOR EITHER PARTY: ITS NAME AND ADDRESS, AND A STATEMENT THAT IT IS AUTHORISED TO SIGN FOR THAT PARTY.]
1. Services and deliverables
(a) Creator will create and publish the content listed in Schedule A (the "Deliverables") on the platforms and accounts listed there.
(b) Schedule A sets out, for each Deliverable, its format and length, the required mentions, links, discount codes and tags, and its publishing date or window.
(c) The brief in Schedule B forms part of this Agreement. If the brief and the body of this Agreement conflict, the body of this Agreement applies.
(d) Creator will keep each Deliverable public on its account for at least [PERIOD] after it is published [or for any longer paid-use period under clause 7], and will not delete, archive or hide it during that time.
2. Timeline, drafts and approval
(a) Creator will send Brand [a concept / a script] by [DATE, TIME AND TIME ZONE] and a draft of each Deliverable at least [NUMBER] business days before its publishing date.
(b) Brand will approve each draft or send consolidated written feedback within [NUMBER] business days of receiving it. If Brand does not respond in time, [the publishing date moves back by the length of the delay / the draft is treated as approved].
(c) The Fee includes [NUMBER] rounds of revisions per Deliverable. Further revisions, or changes that go beyond the brief, need both parties' written agreement [and will be paid at RATE].
(d) Creator will not publish a Deliverable, or a changed version of it, without Brand's written approval [email is enough].
(e) Within [NUMBER] hours of publishing, Creator will send Brand the live link. Within [NUMBER] days of publishing, Creator will send screenshots of the platform's analytics for each Deliverable showing [views, reach, likes, comments, shares, saves, link clicks, code redemptions].
3. Fee, payment and late payment
(a) Brand will pay Creator [AMOUNT AND CURRENCY] (the "Fee") for the Deliverables, the rights in clauses 6 and 7 [and the exclusivity in clause 8] [, except for items priced separately in Schedule A].
(b) Brand will pay [SHARE] of the Fee [on signing / on approval of the concept] and the balance within [NUMBER] days after Creator has published the last Deliverable and sent the live links [OR OTHER SCHEDULE].
(c) Creator will send an invoice for each payment. Brand will pay by [BANK TRANSFER / PAYPAL / OTHER METHOD] in [CURRENCY]. [Brand / Creator / each party for its own side] will bear transfer and currency-conversion fees.
(d) If Brand disputes an invoice, it will say so in writing within [NUMBER] days of receiving it and will pay any undisputed part on time.
(e) If Brand pays an undisputed amount late, [Brand will pay interest on it at RATE from the due date until payment / interest at the statutory rate applies where the law provides one] [, and Creator may pause the remaining Deliverables after giving written notice].
(f) Brand will send [PRODUCT AND QUANTITY] to Creator at Brand's cost by [DATE]. Creator [may keep it / will return it at Brand's cost after the campaign]. The product is [in addition to the Fee / part of the Fee].
(g) Brand will reimburse only expenses it has approved in writing in advance, against receipts.
(h) Each party is responsible for its own taxes. Creator will give Brand the tax forms and details Brand reasonably requests [such as IRS Form W-9 or W-8 BEN, or a VAT number]. [If the law requires Brand to withhold tax from a payment, Brand will tell Creator before paying and send proof of the withholding.]
(i) [OPTIONAL BONUS: Brand will pay Creator a bonus of AMOUNT if METRIC reaches TARGET by DATE, as shown by SOURCE OF DATA.]
4. Disclosure and advertising rules
(a) Every Deliverable, including any post about gifted product, will disclose Creator's relationship with Brand in the content itself: "Ad" or "#ad" at the start of the caption and before any "more" cut-off, naming Brand where the sponsor is not obvious, for example "Ad | Paid partnership with [BRAND]"; "Ad" on screen and said aloud at the start of any video; and repeated during live streams.
(b) Creator will switch on each platform's branded-content setting (on TikTok, the commercial content disclosure; on Instagram, the paid partnership label; on YouTube, the paid promotion setting) and tag Brand where the platform allows it.
(c) Disclosures will be in the language of the content and will meet the advertising rules of [COUNTRIES THE CONTENT IS AIMED AT].
(d) Creator will use the product before endorsing it, will give only their honest opinion and genuine experience, and will make no claims about the product other than those approved in Schedule B. Brand is responsible for the accuracy of the product information and claims it supplies or approves.
(e) Creator will correct a missing or inadequate disclosure within [NUMBER] hours of Brand's request. Brand may monitor the published Deliverables for as long as this Agreement lasts.
(f) Creator will tell Brand before using AI tools to generate or materially alter realistic people, voices, places or events in a Deliverable, and will apply each platform's AI-content label where the platform requires it. Brand will not use Creator's name, image or voice to create AI-generated or synthetic content [or to train AI models] without Creator's separate written consent.
5. Brand safety and conduct
(a) From the date of this Agreement until [PERIOD] after the last Deliverable is published, Creator will not publish content that [LIST, FOR EXAMPLE: is hateful or harassing, promotes illegal activity, or disparages Brand or its products], and will follow each platform's rules.
(b) If Creator [DEFINE THE TRIGGER, FOR EXAMPLE: is publicly linked to conduct likely to bring Brand into serious disrepute], Brand may pause or end this Agreement by written notice and ask Creator to take down the Deliverables. Fees for Deliverables already published [remain payable / will be refunded in proportion].
(c) If Brand or its product [DEFINE THE TRIGGER, FOR EXAMPLE: becomes subject to a product recall, a regulatory action or serious public disrepute], Creator may stop publishing and take down the Deliverables by written notice, and will be paid for work already done.
(d) Creator confirms that it has not bought followers, views, likes or comments on the accounts named in this Agreement, and that the audience information it has given Brand is accurate.
6. Ownership of the content
[CHOOSE OPTION A OR OPTION B AND DELETE THE OTHER.]
(a) [OPTION A, LICENCE: Creator owns the copyright in the Deliverables [and the raw footage] and grants Brand the licence set out in clause 7.]
(a) [OPTION B, BUY-OUT: In return for [the Fee / a buy-out fee of AMOUNT], Creator assigns to Brand all copyright in the Deliverables [and the raw footage], worldwide, for the full term of copyright. Brand grants Creator a licence to keep the Deliverables on Creator's own accounts and show them in its portfolio. [Creator waives its moral rights in the Deliverables to the extent the applicable law allows / Creator keeps the right to be identified as the author.]]
(b) Brand keeps ownership of its trademarks, logos, products and materials, and gives Creator a limited right to use them only to make the Deliverables during this Agreement.
(c) Creator keeps ownership of everything it owned before this Agreement, including its channels, name, style and earlier content, and of anything it makes outside this Agreement.
(d) Creator will use only music, footage, fonts and other third-party material that is licensed for the uses in clauses 6 and 7, or that Brand supplies.
7. Usage rights and paid ads
(a) Organic use: Brand may repost, share and embed the Deliverables on Brand's own social media accounts, website and emails for [PERIOD / as long as the original post is live].
(b) Paid use: Brand may run the Deliverables as paid ads [from Creator's account as Spark Ads on TikTok and as partnership ads on Instagram and Facebook / from Brand's own ad accounts / on OTHER PLATFORMS] for [PERIOD] from [START DATE], in [TERRITORIES].
(c) Platform permission: within [NUMBER] business days of publishing, Creator will give Brand the platform permission for paid use [a TikTok authorization code / approval of Brand's partnership ad request / OTHER PERMISSION] covering the whole paid-use period, and will keep those posts public and unedited during that period. Brand will not ask for Creator's login details.
(d) Edits: Brand may [cut, crop, resize, add subtitles, translations, logos, ad text and calls to action] but will not change the meaning of what Creator says or shows.
(e) Other uses, such as [retail displays, print, out-of-home or TV], need Creator's written agreement and an additional fee.
(f) Extension: Brand may extend any usage period by [PERIOD] for [AMOUNT] by written notice before the period ends.
(g) End of use: when a usage period ends, Brand will stop running ads with the Deliverables and stop new organic uses within [NUMBER] days. [Brand's existing organic posts may stay up / will be removed.]
(h) Name and likeness: Creator allows Brand to use Creator's name, handle, image and voice as they appear in the Deliverables, and a short bio and photo Creator approves, only in connection with the uses in this clause and only during the usage periods.
8. Exclusivity
(a) From [START DATE] until [END DATE], Creator will not create paid or gifted content for [NAMED COMPETITORS / BRANDS THAT SELL PRODUCT CATEGORY] on [PLATFORMS] in [TERRITORIES].
(b) This clause does not restrict Creator's other content, or the existing partnerships listed in Schedule A.
(c) Exclusivity is [included in the Fee / paid separately at AMOUNT].
9. Cancellation, delays and kill fee
(a) Brand may cancel any Deliverable by written notice before it is published. For a cancelled Deliverable, Brand will pay [NOTHING / SHARE OF ITS FEE] if Creator has not started work, [SHARE OF ITS FEE] after Brand has approved the concept or script, and [ITS FULL FEE] after Creator has delivered the final draft (the "kill fee"). Brand will not use cancelled content [unless it pays the full Fee for it, in which case clauses 6 and 7 apply].
(b) If Creator does not publish a Deliverable within [NUMBER] days after its agreed date without Brand's written agreement, Brand may cancel that Deliverable without paying a kill fee, and Creator will refund any amount already paid for it.
(c) Either party may ask, once per Deliverable, to move a publishing date by up to [NUMBER] days by written notice at least [NUMBER] days in advance. The other party will not unreasonably refuse.
(d) Neither party is responsible for a delay caused by events outside its reasonable control [DEFINE, FOR EXAMPLE: platform outages, natural disasters, serious illness], if it tells the other party promptly. If the delay lasts more than [NUMBER] days, either party may cancel the affected Deliverables, and Brand will pay for work done up to that point.
10. Confidentiality and personal data
(a) Each party will keep confidential the terms of this Agreement [including the Fee] and the other party's non-public information, such as unreleased products, launch dates, campaign plans and performance data, and will use it only for this Agreement. This does not apply to information that becomes public without the receiving party's fault, or that must be shared by law, with professional advisers, or with a platform to set up ad permissions.
(b) Creator will not reveal [PRODUCT OR CAMPAIGN] before [DATE, TIME AND TIME ZONE].
(c) Each party will use personal data received under this Agreement, such as Creator's shipping address, only for this Agreement and in line with the data-protection law that applies to it. [IF ONE PARTY WILL PROCESS PERSONAL DATA ON THE OTHER'S BEHALF, FOR EXAMPLE BY RUNNING A GIVEAWAY FOR BRAND, ADD A DATA-PROCESSING AGREEMENT.]
(d) This clause continues for [PERIOD] after this Agreement ends.
11. Term and termination
(a) This Agreement starts on the date above and ends when all Deliverables have been published and paid for [or on DATE]. Clauses [3, 4(d), 6, 7, 8, 10, 12 and 13] continue after that for as long as their own terms require.
(b) Either party may end this Agreement by written notice if the other party materially breaches it and does not fix the breach within [NUMBER] days of being told about it in writing [, or immediately if the other party becomes insolvent].
(c) Brand may also end this Agreement under clause 5(b), and Creator under clause 5(c).
(d) When this Agreement ends early, Brand will pay for Deliverables already published and any amount due under clause 9 [unless it ends because of Creator's breach], Creator will take down the Deliverables if Brand asks [unless Brand keeps a licence under clause 7], and each party will return or delete the other's confidential information.
12. Relationship, responsibility and limits
(a) Creator is an independent contractor, not Brand's employee, partner or agent. Creator decides how to make the Deliverables within the brief and provides its own equipment.
(b) Each party confirms that it is free to enter into this Agreement and that the materials it provides do not infringe anyone else's rights. [IF CREATOR IS UNDER THE AGE OF MAJORITY: A PARENT OR GUARDIAN ALSO SIGNS.]
(c) [INDEMNITY: TO BE DRAFTED BY THE PARTIES' LAWYERS, FOR EXAMPLE EACH PARTY COVERING THIRD-PARTY CLAIMS CAUSED BY ITS OWN BREACH OR ITS OWN MATERIALS.]
(d) [LIMITATION OF LIABILITY: TO BE DRAFTED BY THE PARTIES' LAWYERS, FOR EXAMPLE A CAP EQUAL TO THE FEE, WITH ANY EXCEPTIONS THEY AGREE.]
13. Governing law and disputes
(a) This Agreement is governed by the law of [COUNTRY AND, WHERE RELEVANT, STATE].
(b) The parties will first try to settle any dispute by good-faith discussion for [NUMBER] days. If that fails, [the courts of PLACE will have exclusive jurisdiction / the dispute will be finally settled by arbitration under RULES, seated in PLACE, in LANGUAGE].
(c) Notices under this Agreement must be in writing and sent to Brand at [NAME, EMAIL, POSTAL ADDRESS] and to Creator at [NAME, EMAIL, POSTAL ADDRESS]. Email counts as writing [for all notices / for all notices except termination].
14. General
(a) This Agreement and its schedules are the entire agreement between the parties about this campaign and replace earlier discussions about it. Changes must be agreed in writing by both parties.
(b) Neither party may transfer this Agreement without the other's written consent [, except that Brand may transfer it to a buyer of the relevant brand].
(c) If any part of this Agreement is found invalid, the rest continues.
(d) This Agreement may be signed electronically and in separate copies. [If this Agreement is translated, the LANGUAGE version applies where the versions differ.]
Signatures
For Brand: signature __________ name [NAME] title [TITLE] date [DATE]
Creator: signature __________ name [NAME] date [DATE]
[PARENT OR GUARDIAN, IF REQUIRED: signature __________ name [NAME] date [DATE]]
Schedule A: Deliverables and commercial terms
| Term | Details |
|---|---|
| Platforms and accounts | [PLATFORM AND HANDLE FOR EACH] |
| Deliverables | [ONE ROW PER DELIVERABLE: FORMAT AND LENGTH, FOR EXAMPLE ONE TIKTOK VIDEO UNDER ONE MINUTE] |
| Concept, draft and publishing dates | [DATES, TIMES AND TIME ZONE] |
| Required mentions, links, codes and tags | [DETAILS] |
| Minimum time live | [PERIOD] |
| Fee and payment schedule | [AMOUNT, CURRENCY, INSTALMENTS, PAYMENT DAYS] |
| Product supplied | [PRODUCT, QUANTITY, KEEP OR RETURN] |
| Organic use by Brand | [CHANNELS, PERIOD] |
| Paid use by Brand | [FORMAT, PLATFORMS, PERIOD, TERRITORIES, EXTENSION PRICE] |
| Exclusivity | [COMPETITORS OR CATEGORY, PLATFORMS, PERIOD, FEE] |
| Existing partnerships excluded from exclusivity | [LIST] |
| Kill fee | [AMOUNT AT EACH STAGE] |
| Reporting | [METRICS AND DEADLINE] |
| Contacts | [NAMES AND EMAILS] |
Schedule B: Brief and approved claims
- Campaign goal: [GOAL]
- Key messages Creator may use: [MESSAGES]
- Claims Creator must not make: [FOR EXAMPLE: health or medical claims, earnings claims, "best" or "number one", comparisons with named competitors, prices or offers not listed here]
- Disclosure wording: [FOR EXAMPLE "Ad | Paid partnership with BRAND"], in [LANGUAGE]
- Must show or say: [LIST]
- Must not show or say: [LIST]
- Materials supplied by Brand: [LIST]
Influencer contract example: Schedule A for one TikTok deal
Here is Schedule A filled in for a hypothetical deal: a US skincare brand hiring one TikTok creator for one video with Spark Ads rights. It shows the level of detail that keeps disputes small; it is an illustration, not a recommended price or term.
| Term | Hypothetical example |
|---|---|
| Platforms and accounts | TikTok: [CREATOR HANDLE] |
| Deliverables | One TikTok video under one minute, showing the product in use |
| Dates | Concept first, a draft five business days before publishing, publishing within an agreed one-week window; all deadlines in New York time |
| Fee and payment | $500, the median agreed creator fee per collaboration across all platforms in Kolect-run campaigns27; half on signing, half within thirty days of the live link |
| Product supplied | One unit; the creator keeps it |
| Organic use by Brand | Reposts on the brand's TikTok and Instagram while the original post is live |
| Paid use by Brand | Spark Ads from the creator's account for 60 days, which is TikTok's default authorization period for branded content6; United States only; extension priced in advance |
| Exclusivity | No paid or gifted content for three named competitors on TikTok until thirty days after publishing; included in the fee |
| Kill fee | Nothing before concept approval, half the fee after concept approval, the full fee after the final draft |
| Disclosure | "Ad: Paid partnership with [BRAND]" first in the caption, on screen and spoken; TikTok's commercial content disclosure switched on5 |
| Reporting | Live link within one day; analytics screenshots after seven days |
Every clause explained in plain words
Each explanation says what the clause does, what to decide before filling it in, and where UK or EU rules differ. None of it says how a court would read a clause; that is your lawyer's job.
1. Services and deliverables
This clause pins down exactly what the creator publishes, on which account, in what format and how long it stays up, so nobody argues later about whether a Story counted as a post. List every deliverable separately in Schedule A, even small ones like Story frames, because each one has its own date, draft and kill-fee stage.
The minimum time live in clause 1(d) has to fit the brand's paid use. On TikTok, a video authorized as a Spark Ad has to be un-authorized before it can be deleted from the creator's account7, so the posting period and the ad period should be agreed together.
2. Timeline, drafts and approval
This clause sets who sends what by when, how fast the brand answers, and how many rounds of changes the fee covers. Clause 2(b) matters to creators: without a rule for what happens when the brand replies late, a slow approval can wreck a creator's posting calendar.
Approval and reporting are also how the brand meets its own duties. The FTC's Endorsement Guides say advertisers should give endorsers guidance, monitor their compliance and take action to remedy non-compliance1, and the FTC's FAQ says that if you have an endorser under contract, you "certainly should monitor them during the length of the contract"2. Draft review and the live link in clause 2(e) are where that monitoring happens.
UK: the ASA says it can act under the CAP Code where a brand has editorial control over influencer content, and that both brands and influencers are responsible for making ads obviously identifiable13. If the campaign targets the UK, raise the brand's approval rights with your lawyer when agreeing this clause.
3. Fee, payment and late payment
This clause says how much, in which currency, in how many instalments, by what method, who pays bank fees, and what happens when money is late. Name the currency even when both sides assume dollars: in Kolect-run campaigns 85.4% of agreed creator deals were priced in US dollars and 10.1% in euros (n = 4,560)27. For scale, the median agreed fee in those campaigns was $500 per collaboration, with the middle half between $300 and $90027; the influencer rates guide breaks it down by platform and follower count.
Gifted product belongs in the contract too. Under the FTC's Guides, free or discounted products are a material connection "regardless of whether the advertiser requires an endorsement in return"1, so the disclosure duties in clause 4 cover posts about gifts as well as paid posts.
Late-payment rules differ by place, which is why clause 3(e) offers a statutory-rate option:
- UK: GOV.UK says statutory interest for business-to-business transactions is 8% plus the Bank of England base rate, and that it cannot be claimed if the contract sets a different interest rate20. With no agreed payment date, a payment is late 30 days after the customer receives the invoice or the service is delivered, if that is later; agreed terms must usually be within 60 days for business transactions19.
- EU: Your Europe says interest is due from the day after the contractual due date; with no agreed period it becomes payable 30 calendar days after the client receives the invoice; if no rate was agreed the statutory rate applies; and a flat EUR 40 compensation can be claimed for each invoice paid late21.
- New York City: the city's consumer and worker protection department says that if a freelance contract has no payment date, the hiring party must pay within 30 days after the freelancer completes the work22.
Clause 3(h) keeps tax paperwork in the contract. The IRS describes Form W-9 as the form used to give a correct taxpayer identification number to a payer that has to file an information return24, and Form W-8 BEN as the form a foreign individual gives the payer or withholding agent when asked25. Which forms, withholding or VAT apply depends on where each party is based, so check with an accountant.
4. Disclosure and advertising rules
This clause turns ad disclosure from a request into a written obligation, with the exact wording, placement and platform settings. The FTC's Guides require a connection between an endorser and a seller to be disclosed clearly and conspicuously when the audience would not expect it, and say advertisers can be liable for failing to disclose it even when the endorser is not1. The FTC adds that a platform's built-in disclosure tool is "no guarantee" of an effective disclosure, so "it's always best to add your own"2, and that a disclosure should be in the language of the endorsement2.
The platforms have their own rules, which clause 4(b) names:
- TikTok: the Branded Content Policy requires creators to enable the commercial content disclosure toggle for content made in exchange for payment or other incentives, including gifted products, and bars branded content for some categories, among them weight-loss products, pharmaceuticals and certain financial services5.
- Instagram: its branded content policies require creators to use the paid partnership label to tag the brand they work with9.
- YouTube: creators select the paid promotion option, which adds a disclosure label at the beginning of the video11.
Clause 4(d) covers what creators say, not just the label. The FTC tells creators "You can't talk about your experience with a product you haven't tried"3, and its Guides make advertisers liable for misleading or unsubstantiated statements made through endorsements1. Clause 4(f) covers AI: YouTube requires creators to disclose realistic content that is AI-generated or meaningfully altered, and can apply a label or penalties to creators who consistently don't12.
Where the creator lives does not decide which rules apply. The FTC says US law applies to a post made abroad if it is reasonably foreseeable that the post will affect US consumers3. Our FTC influencer disclosure guide has the per-platform placement table behind this clause.
UK: the CMA lists "ad", "advert", "advertising" and "advertisement" as labels to use and "#gifted", "#sponsored", "#collab" and "#aff" among those that are unclear, and says gifts must be labelled even when there is no obligation to post14; the ASA advises against "sponsored"13. EU: the Commission's Influencer Legal Hub says influencers who regularly advertise or sell are traders under EU law and that advertising, including brand partnerships and affiliate marketing, must be disclosed15.
5. Brand safety and conduct
A brand-safety (morality) clause lets either side pause or leave the deal if the other becomes a reputational risk. The workable version defines the trigger narrowly, works both ways and says what happens to money already paid; a trigger such as "anything Brand dislikes" invites a dispute.
Clause 5(d) asks the creator to confirm that the audience is real. The FTC's 2024 rule on reviews and testimonials prohibits buying or selling fake indicators of social media influence, "such as followers or views generated by a bot or hijacked account", where the buyer knew or should have known they were fake and they misrepresent the buyer's influence for a commercial purpose4. Check before you sign: Kolect's free fake follower checker gives a 0–100 authenticity estimate from six public signals28, and our guide on how to choose influencers covers the rest of the vetting.
6. Ownership of the content
This clause decides who owns the video: under Option A the creator keeps the copyright and licenses it to the brand; under Option B the brand buys it outright. The US Copyright Act says copyright belongs initially to the author of a work, and that a transfer of copyright ownership needs a written document signed by the owner16. Its definitions say a commissioned work counts as a "work made for hire" only if it falls in listed categories, one of which is "a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work", and only if both parties expressly agree in a written instrument they sign17. Whether a given creator video fits is a question for your lawyer, which is why the template uses an explicit licence or assignment.
| Option A: licence | Option B: buy-out | |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns the copyright | The creator | The brand |
| What the brand may do | Only the uses, platforms, periods and territories in clause 7 | Any use, subject to platform permissions and the creator's name-and-likeness terms |
| How it is paid | A fee for set periods; extensions priced separately | One price that covers ownership |
| Suits | Most social campaigns | Footage the brand will reuse for years, such as product-page video |
UK: GOV.UK says selling or transferring copyright needs a written, signed document, often called an assignment, and that creators also have moral rights, such as the right to be identified as the author and to object to changes, which they can keep or waive18. Clause 6 offers both choices for that reason.
7. Usage rights and paid ads
This clause says where, how, for how long and in which countries the brand may use the content, and how the creator gives the platform permission for ads. Agree it in the first negotiation: 80.4% of single-post agreed deals in Kolect-run campaigns included paid-usage, whitelisting or ad-code rights, and the 63 organic-only deals were too few to price separately27. Our influencer rates guide collects published benchmarks for what usage rights and exclusivity add.
The platform permission has to match the contract:
- TikTok Spark Ads: the creator generates an authorization code from the video's Ad settings8, and the duration of the code can be customized7. A post's caption cannot be edited once it is authorized as an ad8, so the final caption and disclosure must be agreed first.
- Meta partnership ads: permission is account-level, which lets a brand run partnership ads without approving each post, or post-level; if the brand publishes before permission exists, Meta holds the ad in a pending delivery state until the creator approves10.
Clause 7(c) asks for a permission that covers the whole paid-use period within a set number of days, and clause 7(f) fixes the extension price now, while both sides still want the deal. Our Spark Ads vs partnership ads guide walks through both permission flows.
8. Exclusivity
Exclusivity stops the creator from promoting competitors for a set time. Keep it narrow and pay for it, because it costs the creator other deals: name competitors or a tight product category, limit it to the platforms the campaign uses, give it start and end dates, and list existing partnerships it does not touch. A vague "no competing brands" with no end date is impossible for a creator to price, and therefore hard to agree.
9. Cancellation, delays and kill fee
A kill fee is what the brand pays if it cancels a deliverable after the creator has started work. Staging it by milestone keeps it proportionate: a brand that cancels after approving a script, for example because a launch slips, pays the agreed share for that deliverable and does not use the footage. Clause 9(b) is the mirror image for the brand: if the creator misses the date by more than the grace period, the brand can cancel without a kill fee and get any advance back.
Clauses 9(c) and 9(d) handle the normal mess of campaigns, such as product shipments arriving late, platform outages or illness, without turning every delay into a breach.
10. Confidentiality and personal data
This clause keeps launch dates, fees and campaign data private, and sets how each side handles personal data such as a shipping address. If the creator runs a giveaway and collects entrants' details for the brand, the creator may be processing personal data on the brand's behalf. UK: the ICO says that "whenever a controller uses a processor, there must be a written contract (or other legal act) in place"26, which is why clause 10(c) points to a separate data-processing agreement for that case.
11. Term and termination
This clause says when the agreement ends and how either side can end it early: for a serious breach that is not fixed within the cure period, or under the brand-safety triggers in clause 5. Clause 11(a) lists the clauses that keep running afterwards, such as the usage licence and confidentiality, so a paid-use period does not vanish when the last post goes live.
12. Relationship, responsibility and limits
These clauses say the creator works independently and divide risk between the parties. Indemnities and liability caps decide who pays if something goes wrong, which makes them the part most worth a lawyer's time, so the template leaves them as drafting notes. Employment status is a matter of local law; if one creator works for you regularly, ask your lawyer how that law treats the relationship. If the creator is a minor, ask what the law where they live requires, beyond a guardian's signature.
13. Governing law and disputes
The governing-law clause is left blank on purpose: which country's law and which courts or arbitration make sense depends on where both parties are based, and is a decision for their lawyers. Questions to bring to them: where each party is based and holds its assets, what proceedings would cost and in which language, and what the other side will accept. Clause 13(c) also fixes where notices go, which matters when the creator's email is the only address the brand has.
14. General
These closing clauses settle which document wins, how changes are agreed, whether e-signatures work for both sides, and which language version applies if the contract is translated. If you send a translated copy to a creator, clause 14(d) should name the version that applies.
How UK and EU rules differ from the US
The clauses stay the same across markets; the wording rules, default payment terms and copyright formalities change. As of October 2026:
| Topic | United States | United Kingdom | European Union |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ad label wording | Disclosure clear and conspicuous; platform tools may not be enough12 | "Ad", "advert", "advertising", "advertisement"; avoid "#gifted", "#sponsored", "#collab"14 | Advertising, including brand partnerships and affiliate marketing, must be disclosed15 |
| Who answers for disclosure | Advertisers can be liable even when the endorser is not1 | Both brands and influencers13 | Influencers who regularly advertise are traders15 |
| Gifts with no obligation to post | A material connection; disclose1 | Label as an ad14 | Check each country's guidance |
| Late payment with no agreed date | New York City: pay within 30 days after the work is done22 | Late after 30 days; 8% plus base rate for business-to-business debts1920 | Interest after 30 calendar days; EUR 40 per late invoice21 |
| Transferring copyright | Written and signed by the owner16 | Written, signed assignment; moral rights kept or waived18 | Set by national law; ask a local lawyer |
Checklist before anyone signs
Run through this before the contract goes out for signature:
- Vet the creator. Check views, engagement and audience authenticity, with the free engagement rate calculator and fake follower checker.
- Check the price against the creator's typical views.
- No brackets left. Every option chosen, every date with a time zone.
- Schedule A, the brief and the body agree. Same deliverables, dates and claims everywhere.
- Disclosure is spelled out for each platform: wording, placement, platform setting.
- Every usage and exclusivity period has an end date, territories and an extension price.
- The ad permission is planned: who sends the Spark Ads code or approves the partnership ad request, and by when.
- Both sides' lawyers have reviewed it for their jurisdictions.
- File and diarise: the signed copy with the brief, drafts, live links and payments, and every end date in a calendar.
If you would rather not negotiate and paper every creator yourself, Kolect's managed creator marketing team agrees rates, timing and contracts with each creator and settles every creator fee, while you approve the creator list and the content before anything goes live29. Creators reading from the other side can use the same clause list to check a brand's paper; our guide on how to get brand deals covers the steps before it. More on disclosure and contracts is in our disclosure and compliance guides.
Methodology
The deal figures come from Kolect's managed-service records: creator deals in Kolect-run campaigns where the creator accepted a firm rate and the full deliverable package, for partnerships created between 19 August 2025 and 15 October 2026, excluding test campaigns and creators (4,560 agreed deals, of which 3,619 were single-post deals and 4,233 had written deliverables)27. No brand or creator is identified. Every legal and platform statement cites the regulator's, legislature's or platform's own page, checked in October 2026. The template was written by the Kolect Research Team as general information; it has not been reviewed by a lawyer for any jurisdiction, which is why each party should have it reviewed before signing.