For models

Contracts for models

A UK model, agent, brand or studio needs a signed agreement before the booking: days, hours, fittings, usage, exclusivity, fees, and who may use the model's image. Copyright in the photographs sits with the photographer (CDPA 1988 s.11) unless assigned in writing (s.90). Lex drafts that on one shared link.

Last updated 6 November 2026

Draft this with Lex

Free for the other side

Lex drafts it in Plain English beside the legal wording. Share one link; both sides agree and sign.

Templates models use most

PartnershipsInfluencer agreementAn influencer agreement sets the posts, platforms, dates, usage rights and payment for a brand campaign with a creator.Read →NDAs & IPPhotography licenceA photography licence lets a client use your photos for set uses, places and time, while you keep the copyright.Read →Client workFreelancer agreementA freelancer agreement sets the brief, deliverables, rate, rights and payment terms between a freelancer and a client.Read →Client workServices agreement (MSA)A services agreement sets the standing terms for every project with a client, so each new job needs only a short statement of work.Read →Client workVideography contractA videography contract covers the shoot day, deliverables, usage rights and payment, plus cancellation, rescheduling and releases.Read →HiringIndependent contractor agreementAn independent contractor agreement hires someone to do work as a business of their own, setting the work, pay, ownership and how the arrangement ends.Read →NDAs & IPMutual NDAA mutual NDA lets two businesses share confidential information both ways before a deal, and says what each side can do with it.Read →Client workStatement of workA statement of work sets the scope, deliverables, milestones and fees for one project under a wider services agreement.Read →

Which clauses decide a model contract?

Five lines decide most model bookings: the days and deliverables, how the images may be used, the fee plus unused booked days, any category exclusivity, and whether the paper is a or a buyout. Write them in an influencer agreement or a photo licence before the shoot. Lex puts them on one paper the client signs from a link.

The clauses that usually decide a UK commercial, fashion or e-commerce model booking. Copyright in the photographs sits with the photographer unless assigned in writing, signed — CDPA 1988 ss.11 and 90. The model's grant is a licence of their image, not ownership of the files.
ClauseWhat it doesTypical talent line
Scope and deliverablesWhat “done” looks like, on which days.One e-commerce day, 8 hours, fittings included; lookbook extra.
Usage and buyoutMedia, territory, term; licence or .UK web and social, 12 months; paid ads extra.
Fees and unused daysWhen money is due, and what unused booked days cost.Named day rate; unused booked days charged as the line.
ExclusivityWhich category, which names, and for how long.No competing fashion bookings during the campaign plus 30 days.
Kill feeWhat a cancelled or unused booked day costs.Booking cancelled inside 48 hours is charged.

What contract does a model need?

Contracts.io has no model-only template. Start from an influencer agreement for usage, exclusivity and fees, or a photo licence for stills reuse. A wider freelance job can sit next to a freelancer agreement or a services agreement. A filmed day can sit next to a videography contract. Repeat bookings can hang a statement of work under standing terms. Company-to-company contractor work can start from an independent contractor agreement. If you are sharing an unreleased campaign before the deal is signed, a mutual NDA sits next to it. What should a UK model contract include? is the England and Wales deep-dive. Lex drafts from one sentence; the client signs from one link.

How should bookings, days and deliverables be written?

Name the job, the days, the hours, fittings, travel, and who supplies wardrobe, hair and makeup. “A shoot” is not a list. “One e-commerce day, 8 hours, two fittings included, London studio, no overnight, no runway” is a list. Extra days, a lookbook recut, a social content day and overtime are a change of scope, quoted first. See What should a UK model contract include?.

Who owns the photographs, and what does the model licence?

The photographer owns freelance copyright in the photographs — CDPA 1988 s.11 — unless they assign it in writing, signed (s.90). Paying the model's fee does not move that. The model grants a licence of their image for named media, territory and term. There is no standalone UK image-rights statute we cite. A filmed commercial with directed acting can also sit on performers' rights (s.180). See usage rights and credit and What should a UK photographer contract include?.

How should fees, usage, unused days and exclusivity work?

Write the day rate, whether VAT is extra, the usage window that rate buys, and what unused booked days cost. A day rate is not a buyout. There is no default UK right to keep a or charge a kill fee; both sides have to agree it. For a UK business client, late commercial payment carries statutory interest under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. An exclusivity clause names a category, named rivals and a window. See payment terms and Client cancelled: can you keep the deposit?.

How should exclusivity and agency bookings be written?

Name the category, the rival brands if you can, and the window. Price it. A clause that bans every booking in every category forever is the shape that fails in practice. Agency commission sits on a separate paper between talent and agent — we do not invent a rate. Write who invoices whom, and that a booking confirmation is not the contract until both sides sign. See Contracts for agencies and What should a UK model contract include?.

How should personal data, contractor status and liability work?

Your own invoices and composite are typically data you control. UK GDPR Article 28 applies when a booking collects casting details, measurements or identity documents for the client. Write that in data protection. Typical brand, studio and agency bookings are B2B; do not paste consumer cooling-off onto a company brief. Cap liability at the fees. You cannot exclude death or personal injury caused by negligence — Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 s.2. If you book through a personal company into a brand, agency or studio, no IR35 label decides the tax. See limitation of liability and IR35 contract clauses checklist.

Frequently asked questions

What contract does a model need?

An agreement covering the booking and deliverables, usage or buyout, exclusivity, fees and unused booked days, who owns the photographs and what the model licences, , and a . There is no model-only template; start from the influencer agreement or the photo licence. The longer England and Wales page is What should a UK model contract include?

Do I own the photographs of me until I am paid?

No. Copyright in freelance photographs sits with the photographer — CDPA 1988 s.11 — unless they assigned it in writing, signed (s.90). Paying your fee does not move that. What you grant is a licence of your image for named media, territory and term, usually on full payment.

Should a model booking be a licence or a buyout?

Licence named uses unless they must own a wider grant. A buyout is a wider licence or, for a filmed performance, an assignment of performers' property rights: writing, signed, on full payment, for named media, territory and term. A day rate is not a buyout. Paid ads, a second territory and a new term are extra uses.

How should exclusivity be written in a model booking?

Name the category, the rival brands if you can, the media, and the window — during the campaign and a named period after. Price it. A clause that bans every booking in every category forever is the shape that fails in practice. Exclusivity is not an assignment of copyright in the photographs.

Can I keep the fee if the client cancels a booked day?

Only if both sides agreed unused booked days and what is kept. There is no default UK kill-fee rule and no default right to keep a deposit. For a business client the charge must not be a penalty. Typical brand and studio bookings are B2B, so the consumer 14-day cooling-off does not apply.

Can the client sign without creating an account?

Yes. You share one link, the client reads the agreement in Plain English, agrees and signs. It is free for them.

Sources

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The legal wording governsLast reviewed 6 November 2026Pending lawyer review