Hiring · Template
An independent contractor agreement hires someone to do work as a business of their own, setting the work, pay, ownership and how the arrangement ends. Describe your deal in a sentence and Lex drafts it, with Plain English beside every clause.
Lex drafts it in Plain English beside the legal wording. Share one link; both sides agree and sign.
An independent contractor agreement sets out work that a self-employed person or company does for you: the services, the rate, who owns what they make, confidentiality and notice. It describes a business-to-business relationship, not employment. The paper alone does not decide someone's status; how the work is actually done matters, so the document usually describes the real arrangement (own tools, own hours, the right to send a substitute) rather than just labelling it.
Also called: contractor agreement, consultancy agreement, contract for services, independent contractor agreement, 1099 contractor agreement.
Example wording Lex starts from, with what each clause means. Your draft is written around your deal, so the wording changes with it.
Legal wording · example
The Contractor is an independent contractor. Nothing in this agreement creates an employment relationship, partnership or agency.
In Plain English
The contractor runs their own business; this is not a job. The label helps, but how the work really happens matters more.
Legal wording · example
The Contractor assigns to the Company all intellectual property rights in the Work Product on creation, in consideration of the Fees.
In Plain English
What the contractor makes for you belongs to you once it is created and paid for under the agreement.
How this clause works →Legal wording · example
The Contractor shall keep the Company's confidential information confidential during and after the engagement.
In Plain English
The contractor keeps your business information private, during the work and after.
How this clause works →Legal wording · example
The Company shall pay the Contractor [rate] per [day/hour] against monthly invoices, payable within [30] days.
In Plain English
The contractor invoices monthly at the agreed rate, and you pay within the days agreed.
How this clause works →The governing-law clause decides which legal system reads the contract. Some rules, such as how documents are signed, time limits for claims and terms that cannot be excluded, differ by place. These pages cite the legislation:
No, there is no blank Word or PDF file. You describe the deal in a sentence, Lex drafts the independent contractor agreement with your details already in it, and you share one link. The other side reads it in Plain English, suggests changes and signs in the browser, free.
Not on its own. In most places the label in the contract is one factor; tax authorities and courts look at how the work is actually done, such as control, who supplies equipment, and whether the person can send someone else.
Very little legally. 'Freelancer agreement' is usually written from the freelancer's side for client work; 'independent contractor agreement' is usually written by the business hiring them.
It depends on the contract and local law. Without a written assignment, a contractor commonly keeps the copyright in what they create, which is why the agreement usually includes an IP assignment.
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