Putting the agreement together
Identify the deliverables and their value. Specify when the client receives the invoice, how payment is sent and the date it falls due. Choose who owns the finished work and what rights the parties retain. Make any deposit, limits on revisions, notice periods or cancellation charges explicit before work begins.
Preview the forms
Each example uses fictional parties. Choose the type of work to open its builder or read a completed example.
Freelance work in New York
For contracts entered into on or after August 28, 2024, New York General Business Law article 44-A covers qualifying independent service providers operating alone, including many one-person businesses. The threshold is $800 or more under one contract or when combined with the same parties’ service contracts during the preceding 120 days. The Act excludes specified sales representatives, practicing lawyers, licensed medical professionals and construction contractors. Government hiring parties are also excluded.
A covered agreement must include both mailing addresses, itemized services and values, the payment rate and method, the due date or its calculation, and the date for submitting the service list to meet the client’s internal processing deadlines. The client must furnish a written copy and retain the contract for at least six years. Payment follows the agreed date. The 30-day default applies when the agreement omits a date and a method for determining it. After work begins, the client cannot demand a discount as a condition of timely payment.
New York City has separate protections for contracts entered into on or after May 15, 2017. The city’s $800 threshold applies to its writing requirement. Timely-payment and anti-retaliation rights can apply below $800. The city has its own definition and exclusions. Work performed in the city, where the worker was retained and the hiring party’s city operations can matter. For engagements spanning several places, review each actual connection.
The New York option in the builder records the parties’ agreed payment details. It preserves applicable rights without deciding that a particular client or worker falls within a statute.
Illinois freelance payment deadlines
Illinois’s Freelance Worker Protection Act applies to qualifying contracts that take effect after July 1, 2024. It covers an individual independent contractor hired to provide products or services in Illinois or for a contracting entity located in Illinois. The threshold is $500 in one contract or across contracts between the same parties within the preceding 120 days. Construction work, employees and the governmental contracting entities listed in the Act are excluded.
The agreement must give the payment date or explain how to calculate it. Under section 15, that date must fall within 30 days after the products or services are provided. A late invoice cannot restart the 30 days. Section 10 requires payment on the agreed date and supplies a 30-day default when the contract omits a date and a calculation method. For work spanning Illinois and New York, check both states’ requirements.
Identify both parties and their contact details, including the client’s mailing address. Itemize the work, value, rate and payment method. If the client needs a service list for internal processing, agree on its submission deadline. The client must give the worker a copy, keep it for at least two years and make it available to the Department of Labor upon request.
California and Los Angeles freelance agreements
California’s Freelance Worker Protection Act applies to qualifying contracts entered into or renewed on or after January 1, 2025. A California hiring party must retain a bona fide independent contractor composed of one person for qualifying professional services. The threshold is $250 in one agreement or across agreements between the same parties in the preceding 120 days. The statute excludes specified government entities and individuals hiring for personal, family or homestead benefit.
Give the freelancer a signed copy with both mailing addresses, an itemized list of services and values, the rate and method of compensation, payment date or calculation, and the deadline to submit a service list. The hiring party must retain the agreement at least four years. The agreed payment date controls. If the agreement omits a payment time, pay within 30 days after completion. After performance begins, timely payment cannot depend on a discount, extra services or additional intellectual property rights.
Los Angeles uses the City of Los Angeles work location. Delivery to a client based there does not necessarily put the freelancer’s work in the city. The city threshold is $600 for the same hiring entity in a calendar year. The city covers eligible agreements from July 1, 2023. For agreements from January 1, 2025, the city enforces its ordinance for eligible work outside the state Act. The city requires telephone numbers for both parties and both must keep related records for four years.
Worker classification is a separate question. Labor Code section 2778 lists specified professional services. For the classification exception, the hiring entity must also establish the conditions in subdivision (a) before the Borello test applies. Scheduling a client’s calendar differs from qualifying intellectual human resources administration. The photography and writing provisions have specific written contract and working-condition requirements. A freelance title or a signature cannot establish that the person has multiple clients or exercises independent judgment.
Questions about freelance agreements
What belongs in the agreement?
Identify the parties and their mailing addresses. Itemize the services, prices, payment method and due date. Agree on delivery, revisions, cancellation, confidentiality and ownership or licensing of the work.
When must a covered New York client pay?
Use the agreed payment date or the agreed method for determining it. Under New York General Business Law §1411, the fallback when both are missing is 30 days after services are completed. A different applicable law may impose an earlier deadline.
Does signing make someone an independent contractor?
Worker status depends on the facts of the relationship under each applicable law. A written contract records the parties’ agreement. It cannot convert an employee into an independent contractor.