Software License Agreement

An order form and terms for licensing software to a business: hosted subscription or installed copy, a scope table with the fees worked out, support and availability, ownership, an open source note, warranty and liability.

Free. Fill in, print, save as PDF or download as Word without an account. Saving to your account needs a free account.

Software License Agreement: infographic with a sketch of the document, when to use it, common mistakes and the country versions.
17 clauses, 1 table, 2 parties, 2 signatures.

Country versions

  • International
  • United States *
  • United Kingdom *
  • Korea *
  • Japan *
  • Germany *

* check with local advice

A template, not advice.

Read more

What it is

A software license agreement says what a customer may do with a piece of software, what it pays, and what the vendor promises in return. The vendor keeps ownership; the customer receives a right to use the software within limits. Those limits are the heart of the document: how many users, devices, servers or sites, where the software may be used, whether it is hosted by the vendor or installed on the customer's own systems, and for how long.

This template is built like an order form followed by terms. The order form names the software and lists the licensed items in a scope table: you enter a quantity and a fee per unit, and each line total, the overall total and the first-year cost are worked out for you in the currency you pick. The terms then cover the grant of rights and its restrictions, payment, support or service levels, ownership, a note for open source components, personal data, warranty, infringement claims, the limit of liability, and what happens when the agreement ends.

It is written for business customers. A contract with a consumer is subject to mandatory consumer law that a general template cannot cover, and rules on standard terms, liability limits and data protection differ by country. The country selector changes the governing law and, where the law is particular, the liability and data wording. It is a starting point to be reviewed, not a finished legal document.

When to use it
  • You sell or provide software or a hosted service to business customers and want a written order form and terms.
  • A customer asks for a contract before it will pay or install the software.
  • You are the customer and want to see the scope, the fees and the vendor's promises on one page.
  • You are moving from an informal arrangement to written terms with a clear user count and price.
How to fill it in
  1. Choose the country, then enter the vendor and customer; your own company details come from your saved details.
  2. Name the software, say whether it is hosted or installed, and pick the currency.
  3. Fill the scope table with each item, what it is counted in, the quantity and the fee per unit.
  4. Choose how fees are charged, how support is handled and, for hosted software, the availability level.
  5. Set the term, renewal, notice and cure periods; tick the boxes for open source and personal data if they apply.
  6. Check the liability cap, the governing law and the courts, print the agreement and have both sides sign.
Common mistakes
  • Leaving the scope vague, for example "company-wide use", so that nobody can tell later what was paid for.
  • Agreeing a liability cap far below the damage the software could cause, or no cap at all.
  • Forgetting that open source components in the product come with their own terms.
  • Processing personal data without a data processing agreement where the law asks for one.
  • Using the business template for a consumer sale.
  • Copying a US-style capital-letter disclaimer into a contract governed by a law that treats it differently.
Steps at a glance
  1. Fill in
  2. Check the preview
  3. Save as PDF, Word or Excel
Country versions

Pick the country you need. Each version uses the wording and layout commonly found there; a version marked “check with local advice” should be read by someone who knows the local rules before it is used.

  • International (XX): Written in English, Korean, Japanese, German
  • United States (US): Written in English – check with local advice
  • United Kingdom (GB): Written in English – check with local advice
  • Korea (KR): Written in Korean, English – check with local advice
  • Japan (JP): Written in Japanese, English – check with local advice
  • Germany (DE): Written in German, English – check with local advice

Designs

The same form in several designs. The fields and the wording stay the same; only the look changes.

  • Formal
  • Executive
  • Classic
  • Plain (black and white)
  • Minimal
  • Ledger
  • Modern
  • Compact
  • Side band
  • Warm
  • Boxed form
  • Banner

Your details fill it in

Fields that ask for your name, address or company details are filled from My details, so you do not type them again; you can still change any field for one form. Signed in, your details stay in your account; otherwise they stay in this browser only. A passport, identity or social security number is never saved.

Questions

Is this software license agreement legal advice?
No. It is a general template. Liability limits, standard-term rules, data protection and tax treatment of software fees differ by country and by product, so have an adviser review it before an important deal.
What is the difference between a hosted and an installed license?
With a hosted service the vendor runs the software and the customer reaches it online, so availability, data export and security matter most. With an installed copy the customer runs it on its own systems, so copies, updates and what happens to the copies at the end matter most. The form changes the clauses to match.
How are the totals worked out?
Each line is quantity times fee per unit, and the table total adds the lines. The first-year total is the table total once for yearly or one-off fees, twelve times for monthly fees, plus the yearly support fee if you chose a separate one. Taxes are not included.
What should I do about open source components?
Tick the box and say where the components are listed. Their own licenses apply to them, and the agreement does not take away rights those licenses give. Check that the way you ship the product meets their conditions; the template cannot do that for you.
Can I use it with a consumer?
It is not designed for that. Consumer contracts are subject to mandatory rules on information, withdrawal, fair terms and digital content that differ by country. Use terms prepared for consumers instead.
Is this form legal, tax or accounting advice?
No. It is a template: it gives you the usual structure and wording, not advice. Rules differ by country and case, so have someone qualified read anything that matters before you sign, send or file it.
Which countries and designs does it come in?
It comes in 6 country versions: International, United States, United Kingdom, Korea, Japan, and Germany. 12 designs.

Forms Top 100

A form is a template, not legal, tax or accounting advice. Rules differ by country and case.