Every freelancer should have their own contract. Working without one can lead to disagreements, misunderstandings, lost money and even legal action. Yet many freelancers that do have a contract still don’t fully understand what they’re agreeing to, because the contract template they’re using is riddled with tongue-tying legalese and isn’t tailored to their situation.

The Plain Contract was created to solve this problem. It's a crowdsourced, open source standard, written with the help of thousands of freelancers around the world and continually updated and improved.

The most up-to-date version of The Plain Contract is available on Google Docs, and as part of this GitHub repo. To make your own copy of the Contract, view the Google Doc and select File > Make a copy or File > Download as > Microsoft Word.

Follow the instructions in the Google Doc to customize your Contract.

• Sign up for a GitHub account

• Watch and Star this repo to stay up-to-date with the latest product developments

• Bilingual? Help us translate The Plain Contract into multiple languages by emailing [email protected]

• Request and discuss changes using GitHub Issues, or submit a Pull Request

• Support us on Product Hunt. This helps more people discover The Plain Contract

The Plain Contract is licensed under a Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. This means:

• You are free to share and redistribute the material in any medium or format under the following terms:

  • Attribution - You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.

  • ShareAlike - If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.

  • No additional restrictions - You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.

The Plain Contract website and or product(s) exist for general informational purposes only, are not guaranteed to be correct, complete or up-to-date and are not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. The Plain Contract cannot provide legal advice. The Plain Contract is not permitted to engage in the practice of law. The Plain Contract is prohibited from providing any kind of advice, explanation, opinion, or recommendation to a consumer about possible legal rights, remedies, defenses, options, selection of forms or strategies. At no time do we review your information for legal sufficiency, draw legal conclusions, provide legal advice or apply the law to the facts of your particular situation. The Plain Contract and its services are not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. The Plain Contract is not responsible for any loss, injury, claim, liability, or damage related to your use of The Plain Contract or any site linked to The Plain Contract, whether from errors or omissions in the content of our site or any other linked sites. The Plain Contract is available on an "as-is" basis. The Plain Contract gives no warranties regarding its products. The Plain Contract disclaims all liability for damages resulting from their use to the fullest extent possible. Some of the links to products provided by The Plain Contract are affiliate links and at no additional cost to you, we may earn a commission if you click them and make a purchase. Your use of The Plain Contract and www.plainfreelancecontract.com is at your own risk.