A graphic design contract sets scope, revisions, payment, and — the clause most disputes come down to — exactly which files the client receives and whether the editable source file transfers. Download the ready-to-fill template below, or read the field-by-field checklist first.
A complete, ready-to-fill PDF — 15 clauses, blanks for every detail, and a signature block for both parties. Free, no email, no account. Read it and adapt it before you use it; the cover page explains what it can and cannot do for you.
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This document is a general-purpose template provided for information only. It is not legal advice, it does not create a lawyer–client relationship, and nobody has reviewed it against your situation.
Laws differ by country, state and province, and they change. A clause that is standard in one place can be unenforceable — or illegal — in another. Terms that are ordinary between two businesses can be void in a consumer or employment context.
Read every clause before you use it, fill in every blank, and delete anything that does not apply. For anything high-value, unusual, or that you could not afford to lose a dispute over, have a qualified lawyer in your jurisdiction review it before it is signed.
These are the fields and clauses a graphic design contract needs. Leaving one out doesn’t necessarily void the contract, but each gap is a spot where you and your client can end up disagreeing about what you actually agreed to.
Client & designer names
Full legal names (or registered business names) for both sides — who the contract actually binds.
Project scope & deliverables
What’s being designed, how many initial concepts are included, and what a finished deliverable looks like.
Timeline & milestones
A start date, key milestones (brief, concepts, selected direction, final approval), and a delivery date.
Payment schedule & rate
The total fee or rate, split across a deposit, an interim payment, and a final payment tied to delivery.
Revisions policy
How many rounds of revisions are included at the concept stage and the final stage, and the rate for extra rounds.
Deliverable file formats
Which formats you actually receive at handover — print-ready PDF, PNG, JPG — and in what colour mode and resolution.
Editable source files
Whether the native working file (AI, PSD, INDD) transfers to the client or stays with the designer. This is the single most contested clause in a graphic design contract.
IP/ownership transfer on final payment
Ownership of the selected design transfers to the client only once final payment clears — not on delivery.
Kill-fee / termination clause
What happens if either side ends the project early — notice period, and a kill fee covering work already done.
Signatures & date
Both the client and the designer sign and date the contract. It isn’t binding until both have signed.
A finished logo, brochure, or packaging design gets handed over as a flattened, delivery-ready file — a print-ready PDF, a PNG, a JPG. Those files are exactly what the client needs to print, publish, or send to a third party for ordinary use. They are not editable: you cannot change the type, swap a colour, or resize the layout in a PDF export the way you can in the native file it was built from.
The native, editable version — an Illustrator, Photoshop, or InDesign file with layers, fonts, and vector paths intact — is a separate deliverable. Whether it transfers to the client, stays with the designer, or transfers for an additional fee is a business decision, not a legal default, and every graphic design contract needs to state it in writing. Without that clause, a client assumes the source file comes with the design fee; a designer often assumes it doesn’t, because the source file is also the toolkit they reuse and build on for other work. Silence on this point is where the dispute starts.
The template above handles this with a dedicated clause: it lists the delivered file formats and colour modes up front, then requires the parties to explicitly select whether source files are included in the fee or available separately — plus how long the designer will keep them on file if the client wants to request them later.
Fill in the template above and send it to your client for signature with a free Evenseal account — 3 documents a month, no card required. Only need your own copy signed? Self-sign for free with no account at /sign-pdf.
Not legal advice — for large projects or unusual terms, have a local attorney review your contract.