Translation services agreement template
Languages, word count, delivery, quality and corrections, glossary, confidentiality and liability for errors. A sample contract you can read in full, edit in QuoteBill and sign online with a secure link.
Sample — review with a lawyer · Simple electronic signature with an audit trail
Who it is for
For a translator and a client who orders translation or localisation: which texts and languages, how the volume is counted, when it is delivered, how errors are corrected, what urgent work costs.
What it covers
15 clauses, in this order. Each one is in the sample text below, and you can edit, remove or add clauses before you send.
1. Purpose
What the agreement is for: the Client hires the Translator to translate, and where agreed localise, the texts described below. The content of the source text stays the Client’s responsibility.
2. Languages and scope
Blanks for the source and target languages and the texts to translate. Localisation is included only where the list says so; texts added later are a new order on the same terms.
3. Word count
The fee follows the source word count made with a named tool when the order is confirmed, and that count is final. Numbers and repetitions count in full unless the price schedule discounts them; scans go by target text or hour.
4. Delivery
A delivery date and channel, with partial deliveries for large orders. Late or changed source texts, late answers and late glossaries extend the deadline by the time lost.
5. Quality standard
Complete, accurate, consistent and natural, fit for the stated purpose, and checked against the source before delivery. Ambiguities in the source are raised with the Client, and errors that come from the source are not the Translator’s.
6. Terminology and glossary
The Client supplies glossaries, style guides and reference material by a date and names a contact for questions. Where none exist, the Translator builds a glossary for approval; later changes to terms are a change to the services.
7. Review and corrections
The Client reports specific errors within a set number of days, and the Translator corrects genuine errors free of charge within a set number of business days. Preference changes and late requests are billable; silence means acceptance.
8. File formats
Editable source files come back in the same format with the layout kept as far as possible. PDFs, scans, typesetting, subtitling and work in the Client’s content system are extra services.
9. Confidentiality
Texts and translations stay confidential; machine translation or cloud tools are allowed only as you choose. Files are deleted on request after a set number of months, and the duty lasts a set number of years.
10. Rush surcharge, changes and cancellation
Orders above a set daily volume or with a very short deadline carry a set surcharge. Changed source text counts as new words. Cancelling after work has started pays for the words done and at least a set share of the order.
11. Fees and payment
A rate per source word, an hourly rate where agreed and a minimum charge per order, from the price schedule. A late payment lets the Translator hold further deliveries.
12. Liability for errors
The remedy for an error is first a correction, then a fee reduction for the affected part. Liability per order is limited to that order’s fee, except for intent, gross negligence and personal injury; edited texts are excluded.
13. Credit
Where a publication names contributors, the Translator is credited. The Translator may list the Client as a reference without revealing content. Copyright in the translation passes to the Client when the fee is paid.
14. Independent parties and subcontracting
The Translator is an independent business, does the work personally and passes parts to another translator only with the Client’s agreement, staying responsible for the result.
15. Governing law and disputes
The law you name applies. The sides first try to settle a dispute in good faith, and otherwise the courts you name decide.
A price schedule (items, quantities and prices) is part of this contract. It starts empty, in your currency, and the clauses on fees and payment point to it.
The sample text
The whole sample, as QuoteBill starts it. Text in double square brackets, like [[10]], is a blank to fill in or check, and QuoteBill does not let you send a contract while one is left. The clause text is written in English, Korean, Japanese and German; in other languages a contract starts in English for you to translate.
Read the sample text
Translation Services Agreement
Parties: Translator · Client
1. Purpose
The Client engages the Translator to translate and, where agreed, localise the texts described below, and the Translator accepts the engagement on the terms of this agreement. The Translator renders the meaning of the source text faithfully in the target language; the content of the source text remains the Client’s responsibility.
2. Languages and scope
The Translator translates from [[Source language]] into [[Target language or languages]] the following texts:
[[Describe the services and deliverables]]
Localisation (adapting dates, currencies, units, addresses and cultural references for the target market) is included only where this list says so. Texts the Client adds later are a new order on the same terms.
3. Word count
The fee is based on the number of words in the source text, counted with [[Counting tool, e.g. the word processor’s or a translation tool’s count]] when the order is confirmed; that count is final for the order.
Numbers, proper names and repeated sentences count in full unless the price schedule gives them a reduced rate.
Where the source cannot be counted (scanned pages, images, audio), the parties count the target text or agree an hourly rate in the price schedule. Text the Client adds or changes after confirmation is counted and charged separately.
4. Delivery
The Translator delivers the translation by [[Delivery date or schedule]], by [[email / upload to the agreed folder]], in the agreed file format. For large orders the parties may agree partial deliveries. The Translator tells the Client without delay about any expected delay. Late or changed source texts, late answers to the Translator’s questions and late glossaries extend the deadline by the time lost.
5. Quality standard
The translation is complete, accurate in meaning, consistent in terminology and written in natural target-language usage fit for the purpose the Client has stated: [[Purpose, e.g. publication, internal information, legal review]]
Before delivery the Translator checks the translation against the source text. [[Optional: a review by a second translator is included / is not included]]
The Translator raises ambiguities and apparent errors in the source text with the Client rather than guessing, and is not responsible for errors that originate in the source text.
6. Terminology and glossary
The Client provides any glossary, style guide, earlier translations and reference material by [[Date]], and names a contact who answers the Translator’s questions within [[2]] business days. The Translator follows them; where none exist, the Translator builds a glossary of the key terms during the first part of the work and sends it to the Client for approval. Terminology the Client changes after approval is applied as a change to the services.
7. Review and corrections
The Client reviews the translation within [[14]] days of delivery and reports specific errors in writing or in electronic form, quoting the passage. The Translator corrects genuine errors (mistranslation, omission, inconsistency with the approved glossary, spelling or grammar) free of charge within [[5]] business days.
Changes of preference, changes to the source text and corrections requested after the review period are charged at the rate in the price schedule. If the Client reports nothing within the review period, the translation is accepted.
8. File formats
The Client supplies the source text in an editable format ([[e.g. .docx, .xlsx, .pptx, .xliff]]). The Translator returns the translation in the same format, keeping the layout as far as the format allows. Translating from non-editable sources (PDF, scans, images), typesetting, desktop publishing, subtitling and work inside the Client’s content system are extra services charged as the price schedule says. The Client keeps its own copies of the files it sends.
9. Confidentiality
The Translator keeps the source texts, the translations and everything learned from them confidential, uses them only for the services and shares them only with people bound by the same duty.
Machine translation or cloud tools may be used [[only if they neither store the text nor use it for training / not at all]].
On request, the Translator deletes the files [[12]] months after delivery, except copies the law requires to be kept. The duty lasts for [[5]] years after this agreement ends.
10. Rush surcharge, changes and cancellation
An order is urgent if it requires more than [[2,500]] words per working day or delivery within [[24]] hours; urgent orders carry the surcharge of [[30]]% stated in the price schedule.
Changes to the source text after confirmation are counted as new words and may move the deadline.
If the Client cancels an order after work has started, it pays for the words translated until then and at least [[25]]% of the order value; the Translator delivers what has been translated.
11. Fees and payment
The Client pays the fees shown in the price schedule of this contract: a rate per source word, an hourly rate where agreed, and a minimum charge of [[Minimum charge]] per order, on the payment terms stated in this contract. Invoices are issued [[on delivery / monthly]]. If a payment is more than [[7]] days late, the Translator may hold further deliveries after notifying the Client.
12. Liability for errors
If the translation has an error, the Client first asks for a correction within the time stated above; if the Translator does not correct it, the Client may reduce the fee for the affected part.
Except for intent, gross negligence, personal injury or where the law does not allow a limitation, the Translator’s total liability for an order is limited to the fee for that order.
The Translator is not liable for translations the Client has edited, used for a purpose other than the one stated, or published without the review the Client was asked to make.
13. Credit
Where the translation is published and the publication names contributors, the Client names the Translator as translator [[in the form: Translated by …]]. The Translator may list the Client and the kind of text as a reference, without disclosing confidential content, unless the Client objects in writing or in electronic form.
When the fee is paid, the copyright in the translation passes to the Client or, where the applicable law does not allow a transfer, the Client receives an exclusive, perpetual licence to use it.
14. Independent parties and subcontracting
The Translator is an independent business, not an employee of the Client, and is responsible for their own taxes, insurance and tools. The Translator does the work personally and passes parts of it to another translator only with the Client’s agreement, bound by the same confidentiality, and remains responsible for the result. This agreement creates no employment, partnership or agency relationship.
15. Governing law and disputes
This agreement is governed by the law stated under Governing law. The parties will first try to settle any dispute in good faith. Otherwise the courts stated under Jurisdiction decide, unless mandatory law provides otherwise.
Payment terms
Payment within [[14]] days of receiving an invoice, by bank transfer to the account stated on the invoice.
Governing law
[[Country or state whose law applies]]
Jurisdiction
[[Courts that decide disputes, e.g. the courts of your city]]
How to use it
Choose the template
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Start a draft
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Send it for signature
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Next steps
Your client opens the link on any device and needs no account. See what the signing looks like on the E-Contracts page, and read which kind of electronic signature is enough for which document.
Already signed? Make the invoice from the signed contract: the parties and the price lines carry over, in full or for a deposit. The guide on turning a quotation into an invoice shows how to review the new draft, its dates and the PDF.
What it is, and what it is not
QuoteBill creates a simple electronic signature with an audit trail. In the EU, the UK, the US and Korea a signature is not denied legal effect only because it is electronic, and in Japan most contracts need no particular form at all. What a simple electronic signature proves in a dispute depends on the evidence behind it, and some documents need another form.
It is not a qualified or advanced electronic signature, and QuoteBill does not verify who the signers are. It records the use of the link and access code you delivered, so anyone who has both can sign. The signature certificate lists every link issued and, for each action by the sender or a signer, its IP address and browser where they could be read.
Some documents need another form. Wills, many real-estate transfers, guarantees and some employment documents must, in some countries, be handwritten, notarised or signed with a qualified signature. The templates are samples, not legal advice: review them with a lawyer.
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