Free Public Relations Contract Template

Fully editable with standard terms and clauses. Send and e-sign it online.

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Free Public Relations Contract Template

Fully editable with standard terms and clauses. Send and e-sign it online.

Get template

Public Relations Contract

Publicist

First Name

Last Name

Acme LLC.

Client

First Name

Last Name

Corporation Corp.

This Contract is between Client (the "Client") and Acme LLC (the "Publicist").

1. WORK AND PAYMENT.

1.1 Project. The Client is hiring the Publicist to do the following: [PROJECT SCOPE]

1.2 Schedule. The Publicist will begin work on [START DATE] and will continue until the work is completed. This Contract can be ended by either Client or Publicist at any time, pursuant to the terms of Section 6, Term and Termination.

1.3 Payment. The Client will pay the Publicist an ongoing rate of [PROJECT RATE] per month. Of this, the Client will pay the Publicist a non-refundable deposit of [DEPOSIT AMOUNT] before work begins, to be deducted from the first invoice payment. This deposit is non-refundable due to the Publicist reserving their schedule on behalf of the Client.

1.4 Expenses. The Publicist may request additional payment for any agreed-upon, non-cancellable expenses, which must approved by the Client in advance.

1.5 Invoices. The Publicist will invoice the Client [INVOICE FREQUENCY]. The Client agrees to pay the amount owed within [X DAYS TO PAY] days of receiving an invoice. Payment after that date will incur a late fee of [LATE FEE PERCENTAGE]% per month on the outstanding amount.

1.6 Support. The Publicist will not provide support for any deliverable or once the Client accepts it, unless otherwise agreed in writing.

2. OWNERSHIP AND LICENSES.

2.1 Client Owns All Work Product. As part of this job, the Publicist is creating "work product" for the Client. To avoid confusion, work product is the finished product, as well as drafts, notes, materials, mockups, hardware, designs, inventions, patents, code, emails, email content and anything else that the Publicist creates as part of this project. The Publicist hereby gives the Client this work product once the Client pays for it in full. This means the Publicist is giving the Client all of its rights, titles, and interests in and to the work product (including intellectual property rights), and the Client will be the sole owner of it. The Client can use the work product however it wants or it can decide not to use the work product at all. The Client, for example, can modify, destroy, or sell it, as it sees fit.

2.2 Publicist's Use Of Work Product. Once the Publicist gives the work product to the Client, the Publicist does not have any rights to it, except those that the Client explicitly gives the Publicist here. The Client gives permission to use the work product as part of portfolios and websites, in galleries, and in other media, so long as it is to showcase the work and not for any other purpose. The Client does not give permission to sell or otherwise use the work product to make money or for any other commercial use. The Client is not allowed to take back this license, even after the Contract ends.

2.3 Publicist's Help Securing Ownership. In the future, the Client may need the Publicist's help to show that the Client owns the work product or to complete the transfer. The Publicist agrees to help with that. For example, the Publicist may have to sign a patent application. The Client will pay any required expenses for this. If the Client can't find the Publicist, the Publicist agrees that the Client can act on the Publicist's behalf to accomplish the same thing. The following language gives the Client that right: if the Client can't find the Publicist after spending reasonable effort trying to do so, the Publicist hereby irrevocably designates and appoints the Client as the Publicist's agent and attorney-in-fact, which appointment is coupled with an interest, to act for the Publicist and on the Publicist's behalf to execute, verify, and file the required documents and to take any other legal action to accomplish the purposes of paragraph 2.1 (Client Owns All Work Product).

2.4 Publicist's IP That Is Not Work Product. During the course of this project, the Publicist might use intellectual property that the Publicist owns or has licensed from a third party, but that does not qualify as "work product." This is called "background IP." Possible examples of background IP are pre-existing marketing strategies, code, type fonts, properly-licensed stock photos, proprietary marketing practices and web application tools.

The Publicist is not giving the Client this background IP. But, as part of the Contract, the Publicist is giving the Client a right to use and license (with the right to sublicense) the background IP to develop, market, sell, and support the Client's products and services. The Client may use this background IP worldwide and free of charge, but it cannot transfer its rights to the background IP (except as allowed in Section 11.1 (Assignment)). The Client cannot sell or license the background IP separately from its products or services. The Publicist cannot take back this grant, and this grant does not end when the Contract is over.

2.5 Publicist's Right To Use Client IP. The Publicist may need to use the Client's intellectual property to do its job. For example, if the Client is hiring the Publicist to build a website, the Publicist may have to use the Client's logo. The Client agrees to let the Publicist use the Client's intellectual property and other intellectual property that the Client controls to the extent reasonably necessary to do the Publicist's job. Beyond that, the Client is not giving the Publicist any intellectual property rights, unless specifically stated otherwise in this Contract.

3. COMPETITIVE ENGAGEMENTS.

The Publicist won't work for a competitor of the Client until this Contract ends. To avoid confusion, a competitor is any third party that develops, manufactures, promotes, sells, licenses, distributes, or provides products or services that are substantially similar to the Client's products or services. A competitor is also a third party that plans to do any of those things. The one exception to this restriction is if the Publicist asks for permission beforehand and the Client agrees to it in writing. If the Publicist uses employees or subcontractors, the Publicist must make sure they follow the obligations in this paragraph, as well.

4. NON-SOLICITATION.

Until this Contract ends, the Publicist won't: (a) encourage Client employees or service providers to stop working for the Client; (b) encourage Client customers or clients to stop doing business with the Client; or (c) hire anyone who worked for the Client over the 12-month period before the Contract ended.

The one exception is if the Publicist puts out a general ad and someone who happened to work for the Client responds. In that case, the Publicist may hire that candidate.

5. REPRESENTATIONS.

5.1 Overview. This section contains important promises between the parties.

5.2 Authority To Sign. Each party promises to the other party that it has the authority to enter into this Contract and to perform all of its obligations under this Contract.

5.3 Publicist Has Right To Give Client Work Product. The Publicist promises that it owns the work product, that the Publicist is able to give the work product to the Client, and that no other party will claim that it owns the work product. If the Publicist uses employees or subcontractors, the Publicist also promises that these employees and subcontractors have signed contracts with the Publicist giving the Publicist any rights that the employees or subcontractors have related to the Publicist's background IP and work product.

5.4 Publicist Will Comply With Laws. The Publicist promises that the manner it does this job, its work product, and any background IP it uses comply with applicable laws and regulations.

5.5 Work Product Does Not Infringe. The Publicist promises that its work product does not and will not infringe on someone else's intellectual property rights, that the Publicist has the right to let the Client use the background IP, and that this Contract does not and will not violate any contract that the Publicist has entered into or will enter into with someone else.

5.6 Client Will Review Work. The Client promises to review the work product, to be reasonably available to the Publicist if the Publicist has questions regarding this project, and to provide timely feedback and decisions.

5.7 Client-Supplied Material Does Not Infringe. If the Client provides the Publicist with material to incorporate into the work product, the Client promises that this material does not infringe on someone else's intellectual property rights.

6. TERM AND TERMINATION.

This Contract is ongoing, until ended by the Client or the Publicist. Either party may end this Contract for any reason by sending an email or letter to the other party, informing the recipient that the sender is ending the Contract and that the Contract will end in 7 days. The Contract officially ends once that time has passed. The party that is ending the Contract must provide notice by taking the steps explained in Section 11.4. The Publicist must immediately stop working as soon as it receives this notice, unless the notice says otherwise. The Client will pay the Publicist for the work done up until when the Contract ends and will reimburse the Publicist for any agreed-upon, non-cancellable expenses. The following sections don't end even after the Contract ends: 2 (Ownership and Licenses); 3 (Competitive Engagements); 4 (Non-Solicitation); 5 (Representations); 8 (Confidential Information); 9 (Limitation of Liability); 10 (Indemnity); and 11 (General).

7. INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR.

The Client is hiring the Publicist as an independent contractor. The following statements accurately reflect their relationship:

The Publicist will use its own equipment, tools, and material to do the work.
The Client will not control how the job is performed on a day-to-day basis. Rather, the Publicist is responsible for determining when, where, and how it will carry out the work.
The Client will not provide the Publicist with any training.
The Client and the Publicist do not have a partnership or employer-employee relationship.
The Publicist cannot enter into contracts, make promises, or act on behalf of the Client.
The Publicist is not entitled to the Client's benefits (e.g., group insurance, retirement benefits, retirement plans, vacation days).
The Publicist is responsible for its own taxes.
The Client will not withhold taxes or make payments for disability insurance, unemployment insurance, or workers compensation for the Publicist or any of the Publicist's employees or subcontractors.

8. CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.

8.1 Overview. This Contract imposes special restrictions on how the Client and the Publicist must handle confidential information. These obligations are explained in this section.

8.2 The Client's Confidential Information. While working for the Client, the Publicist may come across, or be given, Client information that is confidential. This is information like customer lists, business strategies, research & development notes, statistics about a website, and other information that is private. The Publicist promises to treat this information as if it is the Publicist's own confidential information. The Publicist may use this information to do its job under this Contract, but not for anything else. For example, if the Client lets the Publicist use a customer list to send out a newsletter, the Publicist cannot use those email addresses for any other purpose. The one exception to this is if the Client gives the Publicist written permission to use the information for another purpose, the Publicist may use the information for that purpose, as well. When this Contract ends, the Publicist must give back or destroy all confidential information, and confirm that it has done so. The Publicist promises that it will not share confidential information with a third party, unless the Client gives the Publicist written permission first. The Publicist must continue to follow these obligations, even after the Contract ends. The Publicist's responsibilities only stop if the Publicist can show any of the following: (i) that the information was already public when the Publicist came across it; (ii) the information became public after the Publicist came across it, but not because of anything the Publicist did or didn't do; (iii) the Publicist already knew the information when the Publicist came across it and the Publicist didn't have any obligation to keep it secret; (iv) a third party provided the Publicist with the information without requiring that the Publicist keep it a secret; or (v) the Publicist created the information on its own, without using anything belonging to the Client.

8.3 Third-Party Confidential Information. It's possible the Client and the Publicist each have access to confidential information that belongs to third parties. The Client and the Publicist each promise that it will not share with the other party confidential information that belongs to third parties, unless it is allowed to do so. If the Client or the Publicist is allowed to share confidential information with the other party and does so, the sharing party promises to tell the other party in writing of any special restrictions regarding that information.

9. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.

Neither party is liable for breach-of-contract damages that the breaching party could not reasonably have foreseen when it entered this Contract.

10. INDEMNITY.

10.1 Overview. This section transfers certain risks between the parties if a third party sues or goes after the Client or the Publicist or both. For example, if the Client gets sued for something that the Publicist did, then the Publicist may promise to come to the Client's defense or to reimburse the Client for any losses.

10.2 Client Indemnity. In this Contract, the Publicist agrees to indemnify the Client (and its affiliates and their directors, officers, employees, and agents) from and against all liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) related to a third-party claim or proceeding arising out of: (i) the work the Publicist has done under this Contract; (ii) a breach by the Publicist of its obligations under this Contract; or (iii) a breach by the Publicist of the promises it is making in Section 5 (Representations).

10.3 Publicist Indemnity. In this Contract, the Client agrees to indemnify the Publicist (and its affiliates and their directors, officers, employees, and agents) from and against liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) related to a third-party claim or proceeding arising out of a breach by the Client of its obligations under this Contract.

11. GENERAL.

11.1 Assignment. This Contract applies only to the Client and the Publicist. The Publicist cannot assign its rights or delegate its obligations under this Contract to a third-party (other than by will or intestate), without first receiving the Client's written permission. In contrast, the Client may assign its rights and delegate its obligations under this Contract without the Publicist's permission. This is necessary in case, for example, another Client buys out the Client or if the Client decides to sell the work product that results from this Contract.

11.2 Arbitration. As the exclusive means of initiating adversarial proceedings to resolve any dispute arising under this Contract, a party may demand that the dispute be resolved by arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association in accordance with its commercial arbitration rules.

11.3 Modification; Waiver. To change anything in this Contract, the Client and the Publicist must agree to that change in writing and sign a document showing their contract. Neither party can waive its rights under this Contract or release the other party from its obligations under this Contract, unless the waiving party acknowledges it is doing so in writing and signs a document that says so.

11.4 Notices.

(a) Over the course of this Contract, one party may need to send a notice to the other party. For the notice to be valid, it must be in writing and delivered in one of the following ways: personal delivery, email, or certified or registered mail (postage prepaid, return receipt requested). The notice must be delivered to the party's address listed at the end of this Contract or to another address that the party has provided in writing as an appropriate address to receive notice.

(b) The timing of when a notice is received can be very important. To avoid confusion, a valid notice is considered received as follows: (i) if delivered personally, it is considered received immediately; (ii) if delivered by email, it is considered received upon acknowledgement of receipt; (iii) if delivered by registered or certified mail (postage prepaid, return receipt requested), it is considered received upon receipt as indicated by the date on the signed receipt. If a party refuses to accept notice or if notice cannot be delivered because of a change in address for which no notice was given, then it is considered received when the notice is rejected or unable to be delivered. If the notice is received after 5:00pm on a business day at the location specified in the address for that party, or on a day that is not a business day, then the notice is considered received at 9:00am on the next business day.

11.5 Severability. This section deals with what happens if a portion of the Contract is found to be unenforceable. If that's the case, the unenforceable portion will be changed to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, unless that change is not permitted by law, in which case the portion will be disregarded. If any portion of the Contract is changed or disregarded because it is unenforceable, the rest of the Contract is still enforceable.

11.6 Signatures. The Client and the Publicist may sign this document using online e-signature software such as Bonsai. These electronic signatures count as originals for all intents and purposes.

11.7 Governing Law. The validity, interpretation, construction and performance of this document shall be governed by the laws of the United States of America.

11.8 Entire Contract. This Contract represents the parties' final and complete understanding of this job and the subject matter discussed in this Contract. This Contract supersedes all other contracts (both written and oral) between the parties.

THE PARTIES HERETO AGREE TO THE FOREGOING AS EVIDENCED BY THEIR SIGNATURES BELOW.

Publicist

First Name

Last Name

Acme LLC.

Client

First Name

Last Name

Corporation Corp.

What is a public relations contract?

A public relations contract is the formal written agreement between a PR freelancer/ agency and their client. A PR contract governs the business relationship and outlines expectations for all involved parties, as well as important deadlines and guidelines for the working relationship.

The contract is both an opportunity for those in the business relationship to get on the same page about the scope of the public relations work, but it also serves as an important reference if either party were to breach the agreement.

When a public relations contract is breached, the harmed party has legal recourse to terminate the contract or to try to enforce it in a court of law. Since freelancers or PR agency owners are not employees of the businesses they partner with to provide public relations services, a contract is essential for clarifying each party’s role in the relationship and the rights available to all stakeholders.

Note: We’ve reviewed thousands of public relations contract templates, and we know what needs to be included to make it watertight! Start editing your PR contract template here for free.

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What to include in the public relations contract

A public relations agreement should always specify the terms of the working arrangement, the fees to be paid, and how disputes or other such problems will be handled. Specificity is important in the event that you need to refer back to the contract in the future. The biggest pitfall in many contract disputes are unclear terms that are construed differently by each party.

Scope of work

The scope of work portion of the agreement includes the basis of the relationship, whether it’s a one-time project or an ongoing retainer situation with potential customers. The scope of the work covers:

The name of the freelancer or PR agency and the names of the clients/their company
The volume of work, whether that’s hours per week/month or milestones
The costs for services, including how any additional work not scoped in the contract will be requested and/or paid for by the client
What the freelancer is responsible for
Explanations of key terms like “awareness”, “visibility”, or “media coverage”
Explanations of anything that is limited, like the amount of time the consultant will spend on calls with the client each month

Clients seek out help with public relations to improve the visibility of their business and domain authority in their area of expertise. The scope of work section of the PR agreement, though, clearly explains what this looks like in the day to day.

Common PR services include event coverage, general social media PR needs, and pitching and media placements. Most templates will cover this, but it’s always important to confirm whether the freelance public relations contract template you’ve chosen contains this part before you settle for it. In case your pre agreement template doesn’t have this, you can opt for another template or simply fix it in the one you have.

Spoiler alert: Bonsai’s public relations contract template does include this.

How the client will assist with the business relationship

If the client is responsible for providing the consultant with requested details, such as contact for previous agents, branding guidelines, pitches, or access to third parties, make sure this is specified in the contract.

The reason to include this is to avoid situations in which the client perceives you to have failed to comply with the arrangement over the course of working together. If this is because you were not provided the information needed to execute on your responsibilities, you can call the client’s attention to these issues as outlined in the contract. A PR consultant needs this in writing signed by the client so that the client understands the role they play in the overall success.

Specific deadlines and dates

If the working arrangement is for a limited time or requires completion of milestones by set-in-stone dates, that information should be listed in your public relations contract template. For example, if a PR freelancer provides a book launch service, the date of the book launch should be explained in the contract, as well as any other key dates in accordance with a publisher’s own deadlines or the client’s wishes.

If a client is signing a contract in advance to hold their spot, the PR contract should list the date on which the contract will be active.

As a freelancer, you must analyze the tasks you’re required to carry out and let the client know how long it will take you to complete them. Don’t be too ambitious when filling out this section in your freelance public relations contract template. Remember, to maintain a good relationship with your client you must be able to deliver on time. Therefore, only set milestones that both you and your team can achieve. If it helps, include bands of time such as “within the first month” or “in 1-2 months” to allow some room for unforeseen issues.

Payment terms

Payment terms are some of the most important aspects of any contracts signed with a company or other party. It’s in good business form to capture these details upfront. Without clearly explaining your own payment terms and getting the client to agree in writing, some clients will default to their existing company payment terms, such as paying at the conclusion of a project or paying by check within 90 days.

When it comes to payment terms, consider including verbiage such as:

If you require payment through ACH or credit
If payment is required upfront, through a series of milestones, or spread throughout the project
The deadline the client has from receiving your invoice to submitting payment, such as 14 days

Responsibility for third party obligations

If certain aspects of the public relations campaign will be handled by the client or another third party, the freelancer should call this out in the public relations contract template. For example, a graphic designer working for the firm might have final authority on the creation of a media kit the PR consultant will use to pitch the company’s founder.

The PR consultant might include a contract statement about expected turnaround time for review of these materials. The primary purpose of doing this is to get all parties on the same page about the working arrangement and to give the freelancer some freedom from worry about being held up by any third parties who have not fulfilled their responsibilities.

Other protective clauses for public relations services contracts

Protecting yourself in a PR contract is important for any PR consultant. Your public relations contract, therefore, should include elements such as:

A termination clause allowing you to end the contract and working relationship with reasonable notice
A late payment clause that gives you the right to withhold services or charge a late fee if the client does not pay within a clearly specified period
A clause giving you approval to share examples of your work or the client’s name in your marketing and publicity for your own pr business
A clause waiving a guarantee or specific outcomes such as stating that the freelancer does not promise a certain amount of website traffic or placement in specific publications

How to write a public relations contract

A winning proposal for a PR project is the baseline for the contract all customers will sign if the proposal is accepted. It’s key to have an existing public relations contract template that covers all of the basics while also allowing some room for customization based on the needs of each client.

Writing a public relations contract from scratch is overwhelming and leaves a lot of room for error, but starting with a template speeds up the process.

Find out exactly what the client wants

Use your discovery call with the client to determine what is most important to them. This includes if they seek specific outcomes like a certain number of media interviews, coverage or a specific timeframe for public relations services.

Most companies seek the same broad goals when outsourcing to a public relations services freelancer like a positive image in the press and media interviews. However, the more you can discuss potential outcomes and goals with the client, the better the chances of a happy client. To get the specifics, ask questions like:

What is the size of the market and who are your competitors?
Who is the audience you want to reach?
What does success look like to you?

Ask questions relating to project scope during the call so that you can document them in your notes and reference them again in account proposals and contracts. These include:

What have you achieved so far with public relations?
What would be the most important 1-2 communication priorities for your business in terms of visibility in the next few months?
What would be your dream media placement?
How do you measure success with PR efforts?

Your conversation during the discovery call might alert you to the importance of setting expectations with a business client.

If the client seeks to obtain media interviews with national television programs but currently has little to no visibility at your contract effective date, you might not want to guarantee you can achieve that milestone immediately. If you do provide guarantees, your contract should specify the terms of the guarantee as explicitly as possible.

For example, you might include in your statement of work a section like this:

“Freelancer will write two press releases per month for the client, guaranteeing that at least one of them is picked up by a national newswire. If the newswire does not pick up the press release, Client will be refunded 10% of their retainer expense.”

You can outline this in your PR contract as well.

Highlight what sets you apart

Once you know what the client wants, explain the ‘how’ of the working relationship in the contract to showcase what sets you apart. This might be a proprietary process or access to your personal database of contacts or simply the systems and software you use behind the scenes to help accomplish the goals laid out in the scope of work.

As a freelancer or agency owner in the trade of public relations, there are many ways to set yourself apart from the competition. This is known as your unique value proposition. If you’re stuck on what makes you stand out, look back at past testimonials from other businesses you have worked with or ask previous clients for testimonials.

Here are a few other ways you can make a real impact on your potential clients in your public relations contract and proposals:

Excellent communication abilities, such as guaranteed fast response times
Willingness to think outside the box
Familiarity with emerging new media trends
Sliding scale fees based on results
Monthly or weekly reports shared with the client
Particular expertise in an industry

Ideally, you will already have told the client about these unique differentiators in your proposal, but it helps to highlight them again in your contract. Seeing all the benefits or ease of working with you can increase the chances they will sign the contract.

Creating a public relations contract is simple with Bonsai

If your client requests any chances to your public relations contract template, read through the entire agreement carefully if they inserted the text themselves. You need to understand what you’re signing and agreeing to at the start of the relationship so that everyone knows what is expected of everyone else.

Creating your own public relations contract template with Bonsai is easy and has multiple benefits:

Our tool guides you through the creation process, providing you with editable inputs to build your PR contract template with ease
A contract template created by you is much more likely to favor your interests than one a client’s legal team has drafted for you to sign
You immediately claim credibility and professionalism with your public relations services by having a branded contract ready to go after your proposal is accepted
You can remove elements not relevant to your services from a template public relations agreement and customize others
You don’t need to hire an attorney to draft the entire agreement since a contract template will include all the most important written elements pre-loaded for you

Note: If you’re ready to start editing your PR contract template for free, just sign up here and you’ll have your watertight document ready in minutes.

Public relations contract FAQs

Should I put a deadline on my contract proposal?

Creating a public relations contract template after going through a sales call is a lot of work, especially when the agency or freelancer hasn’t gotten paid yet. As a way to give yourself freedom to change your pricing in the future and to encourage the client to take action, you might add a deadline.

A contract or proposal statement such as “All pricing and guaranteed availability for pr services expires 14 calendar days from the date the contract is sent.” This makes it easier for freelancers to follow up when the deadline is approaching, too.

What if the client wants adjustments to my PR contract template?

In the best case scenario, a client signs the PR contract as is. However, it’s not uncommon for a client to ask questions about certain elements of the contract or to request changes. Review any amendments carefully before inserting them into your PR consultant contract. Remember that all things are up for negotiation, but you can also decide when a client’s ask is too big.

What about liabilities incurred?

In most contracts involving public relations, the freelancer or agency providing services will waive liability for legal liability issues that emerge as a result of the relationship. As an extra precaution for those instances where the client wants some sort of liability protection, the agency or freelancer could obtain errors and omissions insurance coverage.