Template
Freelance project agreement
A freelance project agreement should name the deliverables and revision rounds, the price and deposit, how new requests are quoted, a delivery date tied to how fast feedback comes back, and what is paid if the project stops early. This free plain-words template gives you a one-message short form, a full form and optional clauses for hourly work, approvals, use of the work and your portfolio.
Updated Oct 11, 2026
Pip explains
Tie your delivery date to their feedback time. Then a late reply moves the date instead of starting an argument.
I'm a guide, not a lawyer, so this isn't legal advice.
Short form
One message. Send it and keep the reply.
Project: [DELIVERABLES SUMMARY], with [NUMBER] rounds of revisions. [TOTAL PRICE] [CURRENCY], [DEPOSIT AMOUNT] up front, the rest on delivery. New items or extra rounds get quoted first. Delivery [DELIVERY DATE], as long as feedback comes back within [NUMBER] days. If we stop early, you pay for the work done so far. Reply yes if that's the deal.
This builder runs in your browser and sends nothing to us. Agreements you create on TrustChain are stored on TrustChain's servers.
How to use it
- Fill in the brackets. Fill in every bracket. Where a bracket shows choices split by a slash, keep one. Write money as numbers and dates as dates.
- Send the short form. Send the short form as one message to the other person.
- Keep the reply. Keep their reply, so you both have the same words to come back to.
- Or create it on TrustChain. Or create it as an agreement on TrustChain and invite the other person to sign the same text.
Full form
Fill in every [BRACKET]. Where a bracket shows choices split by a slash, keep one. Write money as numbers and dates as dates. Delete any optional clause you do not need.
- Client:
- [CLIENT NAME], [COMPANY IF ANY], [CLIENT EMAIL]
- Freelancer:
- [FREELANCER NAME], [BUSINESS NAME IF ANY], [FREELANCER EMAIL]
- Date agreed:
- [DATE AGREED]
1. What we're doing
Deliverables, one by one: [DELIVERABLES LIST]. Format: [FILE FORMATS]. Source files: [INCLUDED / NOT INCLUDED / INCLUDED FOR AMOUNT]. Revision rounds included: [NUMBER]. Done means [WHAT DONE LOOKS LIKE], confirmed by [WHO CONFIRMS]. Not included: [EXCLUDED ITEMS].
2. Price and payment
[TOTAL PRICE] [CURRENCY]. [DEPOSIT AMOUNT] before work starts, [MILESTONE PAYMENTS], and the balance on delivery. Invoices are due within [NUMBER] days. If a payment is more than [NUMBER] days late, work pauses until it arrives, and the dates move by the same number of days.
3. Changes
New items or extra revision rounds are quoted in writing. They start after you confirm. Extra rounds are [PRICE PER ROUND] each. Other extra work is [HOURLY RATE] per hour. Each change is its own written note. This text is not edited.
4. Dates
Start [START DATE]. Milestones: [MILESTONE DATES]. Delivery [DELIVERY DATE]. Feedback comes back within [NUMBER] days of each draft. If feedback or materials from you arrive late, delivery moves by the same number of days.
5. If someone walks
If either of us ends the project early, you pay for work completed up to that date. The deposit [IS KEPT / COUNTS TOWARD THE WORK DONE / IS REFUNDED, MINUS WORK DONE]. Once that is paid, I hand over [WHAT IS HANDED OVER].
Agreed
- [CLIENT NAME], [DATE]
- [FREELANCER NAME], [DATE]
Each of us keeps a copy.
Optional clauses
Add any that fit, above "Agreed". Each one stands alone.
Often added
- Paid first round. A first concept round is [PRICE]: [WHAT IT INCLUDES]. If we go ahead, it comes off the project price.
- One channel for approvals. Approvals and changes go through [EMAIL / CHAT / PROJECT TOOL], in writing.
- Use of the work. After full payment, you may use the work for [USES]. [ANY LIMITS].
- Portfolio. I may show the finished work in my portfolio [ANY LIMITS, FOR EXAMPLE AFTER LAUNCH].
More clauses
- Hourly with clear edges. [HOURLY RATE] per hour. Calls and admin [ARE / ARE NOT] counted. I send the hours every [WEEK / TWO WEEKS], so the total is never a surprise.
- Who does the work. [COLLABORATOR] handles [TASKS]. Same price, and I review that work before you see it.
- File storage. I keep project files for [HOW LONG] after delivery.
Filled example
Project: a logo and a one-page brand guide, with 2 rounds of revisions. $1,800 USD, $600 up front, the rest on delivery. New items or extra rounds get quoted first. Delivery March 20, as long as feedback comes back within 3 days. If we stop early, you pay for the work done so far. Reply yes if that's the deal.
Check the rules where you live
Who owns the work, how cross-border payments are taxed, and whether late fees are allowed can differ by place. Get local advice first if the project involves exclusive ownership of the work, a non-compete or exclusivity clause, a client in another country, a long standard contract from a company with its own legal team, or more money than you could afford to lose. This template does not say what the law is anywhere.
Use it on TrustChain
A text and a yes record what you said. On TrustChain, the same lines become one agreement you both sign.
New identity checks are paused for now. If you verified before, you can still sign; if not, signing waits until they're back. Drafting, reading, sharing a link and looking up records all work.
- Each of you passes an identity check by Sumsub before you can sign.
- You both sign the same final text, and each signature goes into a timestamped audit trail.
- Once you've both signed, a public record link that anyone can open without an account shows the status, never your identities.
- Anchoring is optional. It puts the record's fingerprint in a dated Polygon transaction, and only an anchored record is tamper-evident: change it and it stops matching. On Free each anchor is $1 once your identity is verified; Pro includes 20 a month and Elite 100.
- Anchoring writes more than a fingerprint: the Polygon transaction carries the fingerprint together with TrustChain's ID for the record, with two empty wallet slots. No agreement text, names or emails are written on-chain.
- The Free plan includes 1 agreement a month. The person you invite never pays, and your record, certificate and PDF are free on every plan. Prices in USD.
Opens the New agreement form as Work or services, with this text in Scope of work. Free, no card needed.
Questions people ask next
New identity checks are paused for now. If you verified before, you can still sign; if not, signing waits until they're back. Drafting, reading, sharing a link and looking up records all work.
How many revision rounds should I include?
That's your choice, and the template doesn't pick a number for you. Write down the rounds you can deliver at your price, then set a price for each extra round in the Changes part, so one more round becomes a quote instead of a disagreement.
Who owns the work?
The template doesn't decide that. The Use of the work clause writes down what the client may use the work for after full payment, and any limits you set. Who owns the work when nothing is written down differs by place, so get local advice first if the client wants exclusive ownership of the work.
What if the client goes quiet on feedback?
The Dates part covers it. Feedback comes back within the number of days you write down, and if feedback or materials from the client arrive late, delivery moves by the same number of days. A late payment works the same way in the Price and payment part: work pauses until it arrives, and the dates move with it.
Can a client in another country sign?
The short form works anywhere a message reaches. On TrustChain each of you passes an identity check by Sumsub before signing, so it comes down to Sumsub being able to check their ID document. How a payment from another country is taxed, and which rules apply to the project, are questions to ask locally.
Licence and source
This template is from TrustChain's open repository and is licensed CC BY 4.0. Open templates/freelance-project.md on GitHub
Only the template text is CC BY. The rest of this page is not. Read the CC BY 4.0 licence
Not legal advice.