Freelance Client Contracts Built for Your Specific Service

Web designers, copywriters, photographers, and consultants get contracts written for their work — not a generic template they have to figure out.

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Freelance client contracts are the single most skipped piece of running a client-based business. Not because freelancers don't know they need them, but because every tool that offers a contract template assumes you already know what the contract should say. LegalZoom gives you a generic service agreement. Rocket Lawyer gives you a slightly different generic service agreement. You download it, open it, and stare at a document that doesn't mention deliverables, revision rounds, file format ownership, kill fees, or anything specific to the work you actually do.

For a web designer, the contract that protects you covers scope creep — what's included and what triggers a new quote. A copywriting contract needs to address how many revision rounds are included before you charge, who owns the draft if the client disappears mid-project, and whether you retain the right to display the work in your portfolio. A photography contract needs location terms, usage rights by platform, and what happens if the client cancels the day before the shoot. None of that is in a generic service agreement.

The advice is always "consult a lawyer." A lawyer drafting a custom freelance contract runs $500 to $1,500 for a first engagement, with revision costs on top. For a freelancer billing $3,000 a month, that math is hard to justify for a document they need immediately, for a service type a general-practice attorney may not be familiar with anyway.

The Hidden Assumption Every Legal Template Tool Makes

Every contract template platform — LegalZoom, Rocket Lawyer, Docracy, even free templates from legal blogs — hands you a blank document and assumes you know which clauses your service type requires. A web design contract without a scope-of-work definition clause is a dispute waiting to happen. A copywriting agreement without revision-round language means every client expects unlimited edits. A photography contract missing usage-rights terms means the client assumes they can use your images for anything, forever, on any platform. These are not obscure edge cases. They are the clauses that define what you agreed to build, how many times, for whom, and who owns it when the project ends. Figuring out which clauses you need, and what they should say, is the actual work — and every template tool skips past it.

Introducing Drafted

Drafted generates a contract written for your specific service type. Select your category — web design, copywriting, photography, brand consulting, or social media management — answer a short questionnaire about how you work (project-based or retainer, revision rounds included, payment schedule, portfolio rights), and Drafted produces a complete contract with the clauses that matter for your work pre-populated. No blank template to figure out. No legal vocabulary to decode.

What You Get — $29 one-time per contract type

Service-specific contract — A complete contract for your category: web design, copywriting, photography, brand consulting, or social media management. Each contract includes the clauses standard for that service type and leaves out the boilerplate that doesn't apply to your work.

Scope and deliverables language — Pre-written scope definitions for common project structures in your category: fixed-scope project, phased delivery, retainer, or ongoing monthly work. You fill in your numbers; the structure is already built.

Revision and change order terms — Specifies how many revision rounds are included, what counts as a revision versus a new request, and how out-of-scope requests get quoted and approved. The language is calibrated for how revision cycles actually work in your service type.

IP and usage rights clauses — Covers who owns the work-in-progress, what transfers to the client on final payment, and what rights you retain (portfolio display, case studies, attribution). Photographers get platform-specific usage terms. Copywriters get first-use and exclusivity options.

Kill fee and cancellation terms — A cancellation clause with a kill fee structure that reflects your work type: percentage of remaining project fees for project-based work, or notice period requirements for retainers.

Payment schedule and late fee terms — Deposit, milestone, and final-payment options with a pre-written late fee clause. Language is set for the payment structure you select in the questionnaire.

Plain-English summary section — Every contract comes with a one-page plain-English summary of what each major section means, so you can explain the key terms to a client in a normal conversation without sounding like you're reading from a legal document.

Editable DOCX and PDF — Delivered as an editable Word document and a formatted PDF. The DOCX has fillable fields for client name, project name, and start date. The PDF is ready to send as-is.

Why $29

A freelance attorney drafting a service-specific contract charges $500 to $1,500. Generic template platforms charge $20 to $40 per month and still hand you a document you have to adapt yourself. Drafted charges $29 once per contract type. A web designer who uses the same contract for every client project pays $29 one time, not per project or per month. You can also buy the full library — five contract types — for $79.

Who This Is For

You do client work in a specific service category and have been using a generic template, a contract you found online, or no contract at all. You need a contract that reflects how your projects actually work — revision rounds, deliverables, payment structure — not a document you have to spend an afternoon editing to make relevant. You have looked at monthly legal subscription platforms and decided a $30/month subscription for documents you need once or twice is the wrong structure. You want a contract written for your service type that you can use immediately, understand fully, and hand to a client without apologizing for the legalese.

The Plain-Language Promise

Every Drafted contract is reviewed against plain-language standards before delivery: no undefined legal terms, no passive constructions that obscure who is responsible for what, no clauses that require a second document to interpret. If you receive a contract with a clause you cannot explain to a client in your own words, contact support and Drafted will rewrite that clause at no charge.

In 30 Days, You'll Have:

• A signed contract on file for every active client, covering the scope, payment terms, and deliverables for your specific service
• A revision-round clause that ends the "one more small change" pattern before it starts
• IP terms that make clear what transfers to the client on payment and what stays with you
• A kill fee structure you can explain calmly when a client cancels partway through a project
• A payment schedule with late fee language that gives you ground to stand on when an invoice goes past due
• A plain-English summary you can use to walk new clients through the agreement before they sign

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Drafted replace a lawyer for complex or high-value contracts?
Drafted is built for the standard freelance client engagement: a defined project, a single client, a service you deliver repeatedly. For contracts covering licensing deals, equity arrangements, work for major brands with custom IP requirements, or any agreement where the stakes are high enough to justify legal review, consulting an attorney is the right call. Drafted covers the 95% of client engagements where a clear, service-specific contract is what you actually need.

Which service categories does Drafted currently cover?
Drafted generates contracts for web design, copywriting and content writing, photography, brand consulting, and social media management. Each category has its own questionnaire and clause set. If your service type isn't listed, you can submit a request — the next category added is determined by the volume of requests received.

Can I use the same contract for every client project?
Yes. The editable DOCX has fillable fields for client name, project name, start date, and project fee. Everything else — scope definitions, revision terms, IP clauses, payment structure — stays the same across projects because it reflects how you work, not how a specific client works. Most freelancers update only the client-specific fields between projects.

What if my state or country has specific requirements for freelance contracts?
Drafted contracts are governed by US law and include a governing law clause you set to your state. They are written to be enforceable across US jurisdictions for the service categories covered. For freelancers outside the US, the contracts provide solid structural protection for the terms they cover, but local legal requirements vary. If you work primarily with clients in a non-US jurisdiction, review the governing law clause with a local advisor.

What it is: Service-specific freelance client contracts for web designers, copywriters, photographers, and consultants — generated from a short questionnaire, not adapted from a generic template.
What you get: A complete contract for your service category with scope, revision, IP, kill fee, payment, and plain-language summary sections included. Delivered as editable DOCX and PDF.
Price: $29 one-time per contract type. Full library (5 contract types) for $79.
Catch: Covers five service categories currently. Not a substitute for legal counsel on high-value or complex engagements.
Guarantee: Any clause you cannot explain to a client in plain language gets rewritten at no charge.
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