Free Template

Free Freelance Service Agreement Template

A complete, plain-English freelance contract you can customize in two minutes and send to your next client. Download as PDF or Word, no signup required.

Contract language

Your Info

Your Name (Freelancer)*

Your Email*

Your Address

Client Info

Client Name

Client Email

Client Address

Project

Project Name*

Scope of Work*

Start Date*

End Date*

Revisions Included

How will you deliver the work?

Payment

Total Amount*

Currency

Payment Schedule

Payment Method

Late Payment Fee (% per month)

Most freelancers charge 1% to 1.5% per month. Rates above 1.5%/month may be unenforceable in some US states.

Payment Due (days after invoice)

Legal

Termination Notice (days)

Governing Law (State/Country)

Fill in the required fields to enable download.

What this contract covers

Scope of work and project deliverables, with a clear out-of-scope clause that prevents scope creep
Payment schedule, total amount, late fees, and the exact terms a freelancer needs to enforce them
Timeline with start and end dates, plus reasonable-effort language for unexpected delays
Delivery method, acceptance terms, and a defined acceptance window so payment cannot be stalled indefinitely
Intellectual property assignment that transfers ownership to the client only after final payment
Confidentiality, non-solicitation, limitation of liability, indemnification, and termination clauses
Independent contractor language so neither party is mistaken for an employer-employee relationship
Dispute resolution, force majeure, severability, and entire-agreement clauses

Why you need this contract

Roughly half of all freelancers get paid late or not at all, and the most common reason is a vague verbal agreement that gives the client room to dispute the work after delivery. A written contract is the single highest-leverage protection a freelancer has.

A solid contract makes the scope and the payment terms unambiguous, defines what acceptance looks like, and transfers intellectual property only when the freelancer has actually been paid. It also gives the freelancer the evidence trail they need if a payment dispute ever reaches a payment processor like PayPal, Stripe, or Wise.

This template was written in plain English so both sides can read it without a lawyer. Every clause has been reviewed for the situations freelancers actually encounter: clients changing the scope mid-project, late payments, unexpected reuse of deliverables, and refund requests months after acceptance.

When to use this template

·Any one-time freelance engagement where you and your client agree on a fixed scope and price
·Service contracts for design, development, copywriting, marketing, consulting, or video work
·Replacement for a verbal agreement before you start any project worth more than a few hundred dollars
·When a client asks you for a contract and you do not have one ready to send

Get a free Pactful account

Drop your email and we'll send you a one-click setup link. The free trial includes contract sending, evidence-package generation, and full vault access. No credit card required.

Beyond the template

A template is the first line of defense. The second is keeping a tamper-proof copy with a full audit trail of who signed, when, and from which IP address — the kind of evidence payment processors actually accept when a chargeback comes in.

Pactful sends this contract through a real e-signature flow, captures the signer's IP address and timestamp, archives a tamper-proof copy in a public vault, and when a PayPal dispute comes in, compiles a one-click evidence package and drafts the response for you.

Try Pactful free How it works