Hiring a freelancer or contractor? Put the deal in writing.

This builder prepares an Independent Contractor Agreement for Ontario: a written agreement between a business (the client) and a self-employed contractor — a freelancer, consultant, tradesperson, driver, designer, or other independent worker who is not an employee. It covers the services, the pay, expenses, confidentiality, who owns the work produced, and how either side can end the agreement.

One honest warning before you start: writing “independent contractor” at the top of a page does not make it true. The Canada Revenue Agency and Ontario’s employment standards decision-makers look at the real working relationship — how much control the client has, who provides the tools, whether the worker can profit or risks a loss, and how tied into the business the worker is. If the reality looks like employment, the worker can be treated as an employee no matter what a document says. This builder helps you write down a genuine contractor arrangement clearly; it cannot turn an employment relationship into something else.

Ontario-specificServices, pay & expensesConfidentiality & ownership of workLawyer-review draft

$39 CADone-time to unlock your agreement

STEP 1 OF 5

The two parties

The client hires and pays. The contractor does the work as their own business. Use full legal names — if a side is a corporation, write the corporation’s legal name.

The client (the business or person hiring)

Client’s full legal name

Client’s business / trade name optional, if different from the legal name

Client’s address

Client’s email

The contractor (the independent worker)

Contractor’s full legal name

Contractor’s business / trade name optional, if they work under one

Contractor’s address

Contractor’s email optional

STEP 2 OF 5

The work

What the contractor will do, where, with whose tools, and for how long.

Services the contractor will provide

Deliverables or milestones optional

Where the work is done

Tools and equipment

Start date

How long the agreement lasts

Ongoing — continues until either side ends it with the notice chosen in Step 4

Until the work described above is finished

Fixed end date

The contractor may do work for other clients at the same time (normal for a genuine contractor)

Helpers and subcontractors

Signs of a genuine contractor: the contractor controls how the work is done, provides their own tools, can work for others, invoices for the work, and can make a profit or bear a loss. The more the client controls the worker’s hours and methods the way an employer does, the more the arrangement looks like employment — whatever this agreement says.

STEP 3 OF 5

Pay & expenses

How much the contractor is paid, when, and what happens with expenses and taxes.

How the contractor is paid

Amount (CAD $)

When the client pays

Invoices are due

The contractor charges HST on top of the fees (the contractor is an HST registrant)

Expenses

Taxes are the contractor’s own job. A genuine independent contractor handles their own income tax, Canada Pension Plan contributions, and HST registration and remittance. The client does not make payroll deductions from a contractor’s invoices. If the relationship is really employment, those duties can land on the client instead — one more reason the reality has to match the paper.

STEP 4 OF 5

Status & protection

The contractor-status wording, confidentiality, ownership of the work, liability, how the agreement can end, and the signing setup.

Independent contractor status

We understand: this agreement records a contractor relationship, but the real working relationship is what decides status with the Canada Revenue Agency and under Ontario employment standards law. Calling someone a contractor does not decide it.

Confidentiality

Yes — each side keeps the other side’s private business information confidential

Confidentiality lasts after the agreement ends for

No confidentiality clause

Who owns the work produced

The client owns the work produced, once the contractor has been paid in full for it

The contractor keeps ownership of their own pre-existing tools, templates and know-how either way.

The contractor keeps ownership, and the client gets a full licence to use the work for its business

Non-solicitation optional

Add a clause: after this agreement ends, the contractor will not approach the client’s customers or staff to pull them away

Liability limit

Cap on either side’s liability under this agreement

Ending the agreement

Notice either side must give, in writing, to end the agreement early The agreement will also let either side end it at once for a serious breach, dishonesty, insolvency, or an invoice left unpaid well past its due date.

If there is a dispute

Signing setup

Signing date

City or town where it is signed optional

Witnesses A witness is not legally required for most services agreements in Ontario, but a witness helps prove the signatures are real.

STEP 5 OF 5

Review & generate

Check the key facts, then generate your agreement.

Key details

Status reminder: the Canada Revenue Agency and Ontario employment standards decision-makers judge the real working relationship — control, tools, chance of profit and risk of loss, and how integrated the worker is in the business. If the reality is employment, this document will not make it contracting.

Draft status: This builder prepares a draft agreement for straightforward situations only. It is not legal advice. Whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor depends on the real working relationship, and getting it wrong can mean unpaid payroll deductions and remittances, employment standards claims, and penalties. If the arrangement is long-term, high-value, or the worker will work only for you under your direction, have the draft reviewed by an Ontario employment lawyer before signing. The seller accepts no responsibility for decisions, losses, or outcomes arising from use of this draft.

Your draft agreement is ready

Unlock the complete Independent Contractor Agreement — Ontario — with the services, pay, confidentiality, ownership and ending terms you chose: copy it, download a Word-compatible file, and sign it by pen or electronically right here.

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