Internship Agreement Template

An internship agreement sets out a fixed-term, educational training programme between an organization and an intern — including whether it's paid or unpaid, who supervises the intern, and when the programme ends. It's a different document from an employment contract: the whole point is a defined training period with no promise of a job once it's over. Download the ready-to-fill template below, or read the full clause checklist first.

Download the Internship Agreement

A complete, ready-to-fill PDF — 12 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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Need the other party to sign it too? Send it for signature with a full audit trail and a tamper-evident seal on the finished file — they never need an account. See pricing.

This is a template, not legal advice

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.

What an internship agreement needs

Organization & intern names
Full legal name of the organization and the intern taking part in the programme.
Educational purpose statement
A statement that the programme exists for the intern's training and development, not to fill a regular employee's role. This is the recital regulators and courts look for first.
Fixed start and end date
A defined programme term with a real end date — not an open-ended arrangement that quietly behaves like ongoing employment.
Paid or unpaid classification
State explicitly whether the internship is paid. If unpaid, the agreement should record the factors (the "primary beneficiary" test) that support treating it as a bona fide training programme rather than uncompensated labor.
Supervision and mentorship
Who supervises the intern day-to-day, and how progress is reviewed. An internship without real supervision looks like an unpaid job.
Academic credit accommodation
If the intern is earning school credit, what paperwork or cooperation the organization will provide — and a note that credit isn't guaranteed.
No guarantee of employment
A clear statement that the programme doesn't promise a job afterward, so neither side is surprised when it ends on schedule.
Confidentiality & work product
What the intern must keep confidential, and who owns anything they create during the programme.
Signatures & date
Both the organization and the intern sign and date the agreement.

Common mistakes to avoid

Calling an internship "unpaid" without the substance to back it up — if the intern does the work of a regular employee with no training component, mislabeling it doesn't avoid minimum-wage obligations.
Leaving the end date open-ended, so the "internship" quietly turns into ongoing, informal employment with none of the protections either side expects.
Skipping the no-guarantee-of-employment clause, which sets up an awkward or disputed conversation when the programme ends and no offer follows.
Forgetting supervision entirely — a named supervisor and a review point are what make the training purpose real, not just a line in the agreement.
Treating the confidentiality and work-product clauses as optional because the intern is temporary — interns routinely see the same sensitive material as staff.

Turn this into a signed document

Fill in the template above — in any PDF editor — then send it to the intern for signature. They sign online and never need an account, and the finished file comes back sealed with an audit certificate showing who signed, when, and from where.

Only need your own signature on a copy? Use the free self-sign tool instead — no account needed.

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Frequently asked questions

Can an internship legally be unpaid?

In many places, yes — but only if the arrangement genuinely functions as training for the intern's benefit, not as free labor performing a regular employee's job. Regulators typically look at who is the "primary beneficiary" of the relationship: whether the work resembles educational training, whether the intern displaces paid staff, and whether the intern understands they aren't entitled to wages. Rules vary by country and by whether the intern is a student earning credit, so check the requirements that apply where the internship takes place.

Does an intern need an employment contract instead?

No — an internship agreement and an employment contract serve different relationships. An internship is a fixed-term, educational arrangement with no expectation of continued work afterward; an employment contract is an ongoing role. Using an employment contract for a training programme can blur that line and make the internship look like disguised employment.

Is an e-signed internship agreement legally binding?

Yes, in most countries. A typed or drawn electronic signature is legally recognized for ordinary agreements under laws like the US ESIGN Act and UETA, the EU and UK's eIDAS rules, and equivalents elsewhere. An internship agreement is a standard contract, not one requiring notarization. Are electronic signatures legally binding?.

Can I send this to an intern to sign online?

Yes. Download the template above, fill in the programme details, then send it for signature — the intern doesn't need an account to sign it. Evenseal's free plan covers up to 5 documents a month with no card required. Create a free account.