Before legal drafting starts, settle who is buying what, the delivery schedule, payment triggers, permitted content uses, exclusivity, approval responsibilities and the response to delays or cancellation. Give the drafter a record of agreed business terms and an issue log with named owners. Mark each item as agreed, proposed or unresolved so a request does not become an apparent commitment.
This influencer contract checklist prepares that discussion. It is operational guidance, not legal advice or a contract to sign. Ask qualified advisers in the relevant jurisdictions to decide legal wording, enforceability and the status of any preliminary correspondence.
Bring a deal record to the discussion
Start with the campaign brief, the creator's quote and the latest negotiation messages. Record their dates and versions. If the quote includes organic posting but a later email asks for advertising rights, keep that difference visible.
Modash's practitioner guide to influencer contracts covers practical subjects including review rounds, payments and usage. Treat those as questions to answer with the creator. A list of clause names cannot tell a lawyer which uses the brand needs or which expenses the creator priced.
For each intake row below, record the answer, its status, who confirmed it and the message or document containing that confirmation. Assign unresolved rows to a person with a decision deadline.
| Intake item | Decisions to collect |
|---|---|
| Parties and authority | Legal entities, creator or agency role, contracting contact, payment recipient and who can approve changes. Flag any uncertainty about representation. |
| Output | Platform, publishing account, format, quantity, length, language, required links, captions and whether source files are included. |
| Timing | Product arrival, draft delivery, feedback deadline, publication window, time zone and minimum live period. |
| Price and payment | Currency, production fee, rights fee, deposit, invoice trigger, payment due date, expenses and responsibility for transfer charges. Route tax treatment to finance or an adviser. |
| Variable compensation | Commission basis, eligible orders, attribution rules, returns, reporting and payout timing, if applicable. |
| Approval and changes | Named reviewer, included revision rounds, what counts as a reshoot, response deadlines and how extra work gets priced. |
| Reuse | Assets, channels, organic or paid use, territory, duration, editing, agency access and renewal process. |
| Exclusivity | Named competitors or defined category, restricted activity, platforms, dates and existing commitments that need exceptions. |
| Evidence and reporting | Metrics, reporting dates, screenshots or exports, who supplies them and any proposed account permission. |
| Disruption and exit | Late products, missed approvals, illness, platform removal, cancellation, work already completed and unused expenses. |
Keep campaign goals separate from promises about results. If a performance guarantee is proposed, record the metric, measurement window and proposed consequence for adviser review. Do not quietly convert a forecast into an obligation.
For review routing, use one accountable reviewer to resolve conflicting feedback. For category restrictions, define exclusivity without blocking unrelated work.
Describe each intended use before discussing ownership
Write down what the brand wants to do with each asset. A repost on the brand's account, a paid advertisement and a product-page video need separate answers in the intake. Include any proposed cropping, translation, voice replacement, synthetic likeness or other alteration for explicit discussion.
The UK Intellectual Property Office's copyright licensing guidance explains that a licence specifies what a user may do and can have time or other limits. It distinguishes licensing from transferring copyright, which requires a written, signed contract under that UK guidance. It also points readers toward specialist copyright and contract advice.
That distinction supports a practical drafting handoff: describe the intended use, then ask the adviser how to document it. Do not enter "full rights" because the team has not decided its media plan. Record whether a transfer of ownership is being requested and why. The applicable law and other contributors' rights still need review.
Use a separate row for third-party material, such as music, stock footage or another person's appearance. Ask who will identify the necessary permissions and verify that they cover the planned use. A creator's ability to publish an asset is not evidence that every proposed brand use has been cleared.
For pricing, budget usage rights separately from production. Keep advertising access, the content-use agreement and any requested reporting access distinct in the intake. Name the platform action and responsible person; never put passwords in this document.
Assign disclosure and claims review
For campaigns affecting US consumers, the FTC's influencer disclosure guidance covers material connections such as payment and free products. It says disclosures belong with the endorsement. For video, the disclosure should appear in the video, and a platform's disclosure tool should not be assumed sufficient by itself. The FTC also explains that US law can apply to posts from abroad when an effect on US consumers is reasonably foreseeable.
Collect the intended audience countries, content language, proposed disclosure, placement and the person who will check the finished post. Ask advisers about other applicable rules and regulated product claims. Flag any requested endorsement that the creator cannot truthfully make from their experience.
Platform duties need their own owner. For example, YouTube requires creators to notify it of branded content and relevant commercial relationships through the paid promotion option. Record who will complete that step and verify it before publication. A disclosure plan should cover both the applicable platform policy and the legal review.
Keep an issue log beside the intake
Use an issue log when the parties want different things or need an answer from someone outside the discussion. Avoid "legal to confirm" for a choice that belongs to the budget owner.
The following is a hypothetical example. Its quantities, windows and deadlines illustrate the format; they are not market standards or suggested legal terms.
| Issue | Current positions | Decision owner | Needed before |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paid use | Creator priced 1 organic video. Brand also wants 60 days of advertising. No rights fee agreed. | Brand media lead and creator | Final fee approval |
| Revisions | Creator includes 1 edit round. Brand wants a reshoot after any product-message change. | Brand reviewer and creator | Scope sent for drafting |
| Exclusivity | Brand requests 90 days across skincare. Creator has an existing cleanser sponsor. | Brand lead and creator | Category restriction drafted |
| Cancellation | Product may miss the shoot. Payment for completed preparation remains undecided. | Budget owner, then adviser | Production is authorized |
A useful resolution records the decision and what it changes. If paid use is removed, update both the fee scope and the proposed permissions. If it remains optional, record who may approve it later and send the proposed process to the drafter.
Decide whether the packet is ready
Use this handoff rule as a working recommendation:
- Resolve choices that determine the price, required work or planned uses before asking for a final draft.
- Send legal questions to the adviser early, with the business facts needed to answer them. These may include governing law, worker status, liability, confidentiality, minors or a disputed rights chain.
- Keep unresolved terms visible. Do not describe the deal as approved while they remain open.
- Reconcile the intake, quote and brief after each material decision. Preserve the earlier versions as negotiation records.
The handoff packet should contain the current brief, the dated intake, the quote and the issue log. Ask the creator or their authorized representative to confirm the commercial summary, using a process your adviser has reviewed. Then send the drafter the packet with a named contact for every open question.
