Two free templates for work governed by the laws of England and Wales: a non-disclosure agreement and a freelance service agreement. The outline below explains what each clause does before you commit to anything. Create a free account to download the editable Word, Markdown or PDF.
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The first Ookulli template collection covers two documents that commonly appear before a project begins. Each template can be read in full before you choose a download format.
Protect confidential information before sharing pitches, project plans, pricing or other sensitive material. Options include one-way and mutual NDAs, including versions for creative freelance work.
Put the project terms in writing before work starts. Use the template to describe the services, payment arrangements and the rights each party keeps or receives.
Non-disclosure agreement
Seven clauses do the work in a UK freelancer NDA, and the template covers each of them. Below is what each clause does and what to set or check before the document goes to anyone. For the longer version, including the drafting traps that make a clause hard to enforce, read our guide to what a freelancer NDA should include.
This names what is actually being protected: pricing, creative proposals, client lists, process documentation, whatever carries the value in your situation. It is the clause that decides whether the rest of the document has any force. Check that it carves out information already in the public domain, information the recipient already knew and anything they develop independently, because a definition written to capture every conversation is the one a court is most likely to read down. Our plain-English guide to confidentiality clauses sets a fair version next to an aggressive one.
Three commitments sit here: not to pass the information to a third party without written consent, to use it only for the engagement being discussed, and to protect it with at least the care the recipient gives its own confidential material. Keep this clause short. An obligation loaded with conditions and exceptions is harder to enforce than a plain one.
Some disclosures have to stay possible whatever the agreement says, and this clause is where they are named: disclosure required by law, a court order or a regulator, and disclosure to solicitors and accountants who are themselves bound by confidentiality. Add a carve-out for the police too. Since the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 took effect on 1 October 2025, an NDA clause is void to the extent it would stop someone who is the victim of criminal conduct from reporting it to the police, a regulator, a lawyer or a few other named recipients. It is a narrow carve-out, since most freelance NDAs never touch criminal conduct, but it overrides the contract regardless, and most templates written before October 2025 do not include it.
Two to three years is the normal term for pitch and proposal material, and UK commercial NDAs more broadly run to three to five. Your 2026 pricing is unlikely to still be commercially sensitive in 2031, and a proposal for a single project ages faster than that. Perpetual terms are an aggressive position for freelance work and harder to defend, so set an end date rather than leaving it open. We cover the reasoning in how long an NDA lasts in the UK.
A one-way NDA binds only the recipient. A mutual one binds both sides, which is usually the honest description of a pitch: the client shares a brief and commercial context while you share pricing, method and creative direction. If you choose mutual, check the obligation clause names both parties. A single obligation naming one recipient is a one-way NDA with a mutual label on it, and the difference between the two is worth being deliberate about.
Sets out what the disclosing party can ask a court for if the agreement is broken: an injunction to stop further disclosure, damages, or both. The wording is largely standard, but stating it gives a court a clearer route to interim measures. If your NDA is mutual, consider a liability cap as well, since it limits your own exposure as much as the other side's.
Names the law that governs the agreement and the courts that would hear a dispute. This collection specifies the laws of England and Wales. If you work from Scotland, that is the line to change: a Scottish freelancer's NDA should specify Scots law and the Scottish courts. Templates that default to England and Wales regardless of where the freelancer actually trades are a common and avoidable problem.
Service agreement
The service agreement template is built from six sections, and this is what each one does. If you are reading a contract a client sent you rather than sending your own, our guide to reviewing a UK freelance contract covers the wider set of clauses you are likely to meet.
Describes the work in enough detail that both sides can tell when it is finished. Vague scope is behind most freelance disputes, because a deliverable nobody defined is one the client can keep asking you to improve. Replace the template's general wording with the actual deliverables, formats and dates you agreed.
Covers what happens when the client asks for something outside the agreed scope: how a change is raised, agreed and priced. Without it, extra work arrives as a favour and stays unpaid. Make sure a change to the fee is written down and agreed before the extra work starts rather than argued about on the invoice.
Sets the fee, when you invoice and when payment is due. Under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, 30 days from invoice is the statutory default for business-to-business contracts, and the Act gives you interest at 8% above the Bank of England base rate plus £40 to £100 of fixed compensation per invoice whether or not the contract mentions it. Watch the trigger more closely than the period: 30 days from invoice is clean, while 30 days from satisfactory completion hands the client control of when the clock starts. Our payment terms clause guide shows what a fair version looks like.
Under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 you own what you create, and this clause is what moves that ownership to the client. The timing is the part that matters. Ownership passing on receipt of full payment keeps your leverage if an invoice goes unpaid, while ownership passing on delivery or on creation means the client owns the work whether they pay or not. Check the reach as well, since a clause covering all work created during the term can stretch beyond the project. More detail in who owns freelance work in the UK.
Says how either side can end the agreement, how much notice is required and what you are paid for work already done. Mutual notice with payment for work in progress is the fair shape. A clause that lets the client walk away with no notice and nothing owed for partial work is not, and termination clauses are one of the easier things to negotiate before signing.
Caps what you can be held financially responsible for if something goes wrong. A cap set at the value of the contract is the standard freelance position: a £3,000 project should not carry £50,000 of exposure. No cap at all leaves your exposure theoretically unlimited, which is the most common gap in freelance contracts. The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 can strike down an unreasonable exclusion between businesses, but its reach is narrower than people assume: it bites mainly on written standard terms of business and applies a reasonableness test rather than a blanket rule, and proving it applies at all takes litigation, so it is far cheaper to get the liability cap right before anyone signs.
How it works
Register for free or log in, then open Templates from the Ookulli app header.
Compare the available agreements and read the full template before deciding which one fits.
Choose Word, Markdown or PDF. Edit the marked details and tailor the agreement to your work.
A starting point, not the finish
A template can give you a sound structure. It cannot know the value of the project, the information being shared, the commercial deal you reached or the risks you are comfortable accepting.
Ookulli templates provide general information and do not constitute legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. You need a free Ookulli account to preview and download the templates, but downloading them does not use any credits.
The first collection covers non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and service agreements, including options designed for freelance and creative work.
Seven clauses: a definition of confidential information with a public domain carve-out, the confidentiality obligation, permitted disclosures, a defined duration, a one-way or mutual structure, remedies for breach, and governing law and jurisdiction. The definition is the one that decides whether the rest of the document has any force.
Scope and deliverables, how changes to the project are agreed and priced, fees and payment timing, intellectual property, termination and notice, and liability. Payment and intellectual property are the two that freelancers most often get wrong, usually by accepting a vague payment trigger or an assignment that transfers ownership before they have been paid.
Yes. Once both parties sign it, a free template forms a binding contract. Whether every clause is enforceable is a separate question. Generic templates often carry an over-broad definition of confidential information or miss the disclosures UK law requires to stay possible, and a court can read down or strike out a clause that reaches too far.
Two to three years is normal for pitch and proposal material, and UK commercial NDAs more broadly run to three to five years. Perpetual terms are an aggressive position for freelance work and harder to defend, so set an end date rather than leaving the term open.
Not as they stand. The current collection is prepared for agreements governed by the laws of England and Wales. A freelancer working from Scotland needs a governing law and jurisdiction clause specifying Scots law and the Scottish courts, and the remaining terms should be checked against Scots law before the document is used.
Templates are available as editable Word and Markdown files. You can also download a PDF for reading, sharing or printing.
Yes. Download the Word or Markdown version, replace the marked fields and adapt the clauses to the work, parties and commercial terms you have agreed.
No. A standard NDA is a simple contract. It needs an offer, acceptance, consideration and an intention to create legal relations. Signatures from both parties are enough and no witness is required.
No. They are general starting points, not legal advice. The current templates are prepared for agreements governed by the laws of England and Wales. Consider a qualified solicitor for another jurisdiction, valuable intellectual property, complex work or unusual risk.
Create an Ookulli account, open Templates in the app header and download the agreement that fits your work. Registration is free and no credits are charged.