Partnership Agreement Template
A partnership agreement is the contract between two or more people carrying on a business together — what each partner is putting in, how profits and losses are split, who can make decisions, and what happens if a partner leaves or the business winds down. Download the ready-to-fill template below, or read the full clause checklist first.
Download the Partnership Agreement
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.
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 to include in a partnership agreement
Partner names and business details
Full legal names of each partner, the partnership name, its principal place of business, and the date it begins operating.
Capital contributions
What each partner is putting in — cash, property, or services — and the value assigned to it. Uneven contributions are common and fine, as long as the value is written down.
Profit and loss allocation
The percentage split of profits and losses. It can mirror the contribution split or be set on its own terms — either way, say so explicitly rather than leaving it implied.
Management and decision-making
Who can bind the partnership in day-to-day matters, and which decisions — taking on debt, selling major assets, admitting a partner — need unanimous rather than majority agreement.
Partner duties and time commitment
How much time each partner is expected to put in, and whether a partner is barred from competing with the business or taking an opportunity that belongs to it.
Admission of new partners
The approval required to bring someone new in, and the terms — contribution, profit share — they come in on.
Withdrawal of a partner
Notice period, what happens on death or incapacity, and a buyout mechanic so the remaining partners can keep the business running instead of being forced to dissolve it.
Dissolution and winding up
What triggers dissolution, and the order remaining assets get distributed in once debts are paid — this is where an unwritten partnership causes the most damage.
Signatures & date
Every partner signs and dates it. Until then, you may already be operating as a partnership by default — see below — just without any of the terms above written down.
Why a written partnership agreement matters
In most places, you don't need to file anything to become a general partnership — two or more people carrying on a business together for profit are usually treated as one automatically. The catch is that without a written agreement, the terms of that partnership default to whatever the state's general partnership statute says: often an equal split of profits and losses regardless of who contributed what, equal say in every decision regardless of role, and a partner's exit or death potentially forcing dissolution of the whole business.
Those defaults exist to fill a gap, not to reflect what any particular set of partners actually intended. A written agreement replaces them with terms the partners actually chose — an uneven contribution reflected in an uneven profit share, a tiebreaker for the decisions that matter, and an exit process that lets the business keep running instead of dissolving the moment one partner leaves.
The template above puts those terms in writing: capital contributions and how each is valued, a profit-and-loss split you set explicitly rather than assume, a management clause distinguishing ordinary decisions from the ones that need everyone to agree, and clauses for admitting a new partner, a partner withdrawing, and winding the business down — including the order remaining assets get paid out in. Requirements can still vary depending on where the partnership operates, so review it against your own situation, and get it in front of a local lawyer before you rely on it for anything high-stakes.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Assuming a verbal understanding or a handshake is enough. In most places, two or more people carrying on a business together for profit are already a general partnership by default, whether or not anyone signed anything — and that default comes with the state's standard rules, not the split you actually agreed to.
- Splitting profits evenly by default without deciding whether that's actually fair. An even split feels like the neutral choice, but if contributions, time commitment, or risk aren't even, an even profit split just bakes the imbalance in from day one.
- Leaving management deadlocked with no tiebreaker. Two 50/50 partners who disagree on a major decision can freeze the business entirely if the agreement doesn't say what happens next — a designated tiebreaker, a buyout option, or a defined dispute process.
- No exit plan for a partner who wants out, dies, or becomes incapacitated. Without a withdrawal and buyout clause, one partner's departure can force the sale or dissolution of a business the others wanted to keep running.
- Not addressing personal liability. In a general partnership, each partner is typically personally liable for the partnership's debts — including debts another partner ran up — a risk worth confirming you actually intend to accept before you sign.
Get your partnership agreement signed
Fill in the template above and send it to your partners for signature with a free Evenseal account — 5 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 — partnership rules vary by state and situation; review this template against your own facts and have a lawyer check anything high-stakes before you rely on it.