Influencer contract template
A plain-English agreement for paying a creator to post about your product, with the blanks in square brackets. Copy it or download it, no email needed, then read below what each clause is for.
By Nick Jaffrey, founder · Last updated
A starting point, not legal advice. Laws differ by country and state, and the template comes with no guarantee. Have a lawyer check it before a large deal, a long partnership or work with a creator in another country.
INFLUENCER AGREEMENT
This agreement is between [Brand legal name], [address] ("the Brand"), and [Creator legal name], who publishes as [@handle] ("the Creator"). It starts on the date both have signed it.
1. The work
The Creator will make and publish [number and format, e.g. one Instagram Reel and three Stories] on [platforms], featuring [product]. Points to cover: [key points]. Things to avoid: [e.g. competitor products, claims the Brand has not approved].
2. Timeline
The Creator sends a draft of each piece to the Brand by [date]. The Brand replies within [2] business days. The Creator publishes on [date or date range]. Each post stays live for at least [90] days, unless the platform removes it.
3. Approval and changes
The Brand may ask for up to [1] round of changes to each draft, to correct facts about the product or to follow the Brand’s guidelines and the law. The Creator only says what they honestly think, after really trying the product, and makes no claim about it that the Brand has not approved. Changes the Brand asks for are about facts and rules, never about making the opinion more positive.
4. Payment
The Brand pays the Creator [amount and currency] [plus VAT or sales tax if it applies] for the work in clause 1, by [bank transfer or other method]. The Brand pays [in full within [7] days of the last post going live] [or: [X]% on signing and the rest within [7] days of the last post going live], and within [7] days of receiving the Creator’s invoice if one is needed. The Creator is responsible for their own taxes.
5. Product
The Brand sends the Creator [product] by [date], at the Brand’s cost. The Creator keeps it [or: returns it by [date] at the Brand’s cost].
6. Discount code and links
The Brand gives the Creator the discount code [CODE] for [X]% off and a tracked link, to include in each post. [Optional: the Creator also earns [X]% of net sales made with the code, paid monthly.]
7. Disclosure
The Creator labels every post as an ad, clearly and before anything else the audience sees: "#ad" or "Ad" at the start of the caption, and in a video also said or shown in the video itself. This applies to gifted product too. The platform’s paid-partnership label can be added but does not replace this. If a label is missing, the Creator fixes it within [24] hours of the Brand asking. The Creator follows the advertising rules of the countries the post is aimed at, such as the FTC’s in the United States and the ASA’s and CMA’s in the United Kingdom.
8. Who owns the content, and how the Brand may use it
The Creator owns the content they make. The Creator gives the Brand a non-exclusive licence to repost it unedited, credited to the Creator, on the Brand’s own social accounts, website and emails, in [territory or worldwide], for [6] months from publication. After that the Brand posts it no more, though it need not delete posts already made. Using the content in paid ads, including ads run through the Creator’s account (such as Meta partnership ads or TikTok Spark Ads), [is not included and needs a separate written agreement on length, territory and fee] [or: is included for [X] months in [territory]].
9. Exclusivity
For [30] days after the first post goes live, the Creator will not promote [named competitors, or products in the category of [category]], except partnerships the Creator already has and has told the Brand about: [list]. [Or: there is no exclusivity.]
10. Results
Within [7] days of each post going live, and again after [30] days, the Creator sends the Brand screenshots of the views, reach and link clicks the platform shows for it.
11. Cancelling
Either side can end this agreement with [7] days’ notice in writing. If the Brand ends it after the Creator has started the work, the Brand pays for work already delivered and at least [50]% of the fee. If the Creator does not deliver by the agreed date, and the delay was not caused by the Brand, the Brand gives [5] days’ notice to deliver; if the Creator still does not, they refund anything already paid and [return the product] [or: pay for the product].
12. Conduct
Either side may end this agreement straight away if the other publicly does something illegal, or something that clearly and materially harms the first side’s reputation, and says why in writing. The Creator keeps payment for work already delivered. If the Creator caused it, the Brand may take down its reposts of the content.
13. Promises
The Creator promises that the content is their own work, that they are 18 or over, and that they have permission for everything in it, using the platform’s licensed music or their own. The Brand promises that what it tells the Creator about the product is true and can be backed up, and that the product is lawful to sell where it is promoted.
14. Confidentiality
Neither side shares the fee, the terms of this agreement or any unreleased product information, except with their own advisers or where the law requires.
15. Independent creator
The Creator works for themselves and is not the Brand’s employee.
16. Law
This agreement is governed by the law of [country or state]. If there is a dispute, both sides first try to settle it by talking. If they cannot, the courts of [place] decide.
17. The whole agreement
This is the whole agreement. Changes count only if both sides agree them in writing. Neither side is liable to the other for more than the fee, except for fraud or deliberate wrongdoing.
Signed for the Brand: [name, title, date] Signed by the Creator: [name, date]
What each clause is for
The work and the timeline
Name every post: the format, the platform, the date and how long it stays up. "A few posts in March" is how a brand ends up with one Story that disappears in a day. A minimum live period, such as 90 days, stops a post being deleted the week after it is paid for.
Approval
Seeing a draft first lets you fix a wrong price or a claim you cannot make. Limit it to facts and guidelines, and to one or two rounds. Creators know what works with their audience, and a post rewritten into an ad tends to perform like one.
Payment
Pay in full after the post is live, or split it: a part on signing, the rest after publication. Paying everything up front leaves you nothing to hold if the post is late or never appears. A sensible ceiling for the fee is what the post is likely to earn you after product, shipping and the discount code. Settle the currency, VAT and how the creator invoices you here too.
Disclosure
This is the clause advertising regulators check. The creator labels the post as an ad where people see it before anything else, and in a video says or shows it too; a platform’s paid-partnership tag alone is not enough. The brand is responsible as well: tell the creator the rules, check the post before and after it goes live, and ask for a fix if the label is missing.
Usage rights
Without this clause you can share the post, but you cannot put it on your website or in an ad. Decide up front where you want to use it, in which countries and for how long, and what happens when the time is up. Running ads through the creator’s own account (partnership ads on Meta, Spark Ads on TikTok) is usually priced separately.
Exclusivity
A short window, such as 30 days, stops your creator promoting a direct competitor the week after your post. Every day of exclusivity costs the creator income, so expect to pay more for longer windows or wider categories.
Results
Only the creator can see the reach and views of their own post. Ask for screenshots after a week and after a month, in the contract, so you can judge the deal on the numbers and not on a feeling.
Cancelling
Agree what happens when plans change. A notice period gives both sides time; a kill fee, often half the fee, pays the creator for work already done if you cancel. If the creator does not deliver, and you did not cause the delay, give them a few days to fix it before they refund what you paid.
The disclosure rules, in short
In the US, the FTC asks that a disclosure be hard to miss and sit with the endorsement itself, not only in a profile or behind a link, in plain words such as “ad” or “sponsored”. A free product counts as a connection to disclose, just as a payment does. Its guide for creators is Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers.
In the UK, the ASA requires ads to be obviously identifiable as ads. The CMA's guide for content creators says gifts must be disclosed even when there is no obligation to post, that the label must be upfront, and that tags such as #gifted, #spon or #collab are not clear enough; #ad is. Its guide is Social media endorsements: being transparent with your followers. Other countries have their own rules, so check where the creator's audience lives.
Before you fill in the fee
The contract fixes the fee, so work it out before you write it down. Start from the views the creator's posts actually get, not their follower count, and run them through your own conversion rate and order value. Take off what those orders cost you: product, shipping and the discount code. What is left is the most you can pay before the deal loses money. The free influencer ROI calculator works it out for one creator, and how much to pay an influencer goes through the method.
How Acurrate handles the agreement
In Acurrate you do not start from a blank document. For each deal it drafts the agreement from the terms you set: the posts, dates, fee, usage, exclusivity and cancellation. The creator reads it and accepts it online, and every agreement keeps a disclosure clause. Once the post is live, you pay the creator from the same place.
Terms such as usage rights, whitelisting and kill fee are defined in the glossary. More guides are on the resources page.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a contract to work with an influencer?
We recommend one for any paid deal. Even a short written agreement settles what will be posted, when, what you pay and when, and what you may do with the content afterwards. For gifting with no obligation to post, a short written note of what you are sending and the disclosure rule is still worth having.
What should an influencer contract include?
At least: the posts and their dates, approval, payment and when it is due, disclosure, usage rights, exclusivity, what happens if either side cancels, and which country’s law applies. The template on this page covers each of those.
Who owns the content an influencer makes for my brand?
Usually the creator. The contract gives the brand a licence to use it in named places for a set time. If you want to own the content outright, say so and expect to pay considerably more.
Does a gifted post need to be disclosed?
Yes. The FTC treats free products as a connection between the brand and the creator that has to be disclosed, just like payment. In the UK, the CMA says gifts must be disclosed even when the creator has no obligation to post, and that labels such as #gifted are not clear enough: use #ad.
What is a kill fee?
A payment the brand makes if it cancels after the creator has started the work, usually a share of the fee, such as 50%. It compensates the creator for time already spent and for other work they turned down.
Is this template legally binding?
It can be, if both sides sign it with every blank filled in and its terms are lawful where you are. Whether a court would enforce a particular term depends on the country and the facts. Acurrate is not a law firm, this template comes with no guarantee, and using it creates no lawyer-client relationship. Have a lawyer check it before a large deal, a long partnership or work with a creator in another country.
Acurrate drafts the agreement for every deal
Agree the fee and deliverables, and the agreement is drafted from them for e‑signature, next to the forecast and the creator's payout. 14 days free, then $99 a month.