Free Referral Agreement Template, Fill & Sign Online
A referral agreement sets out what someone is paid for sending business your way. The dispute is almost always about attribution: the referrer says they introduced the client, you say the client had already found you, and nobody wrote anything down.
The fix is a definition of what counts as a qualifying referral, and a window after which an introduction stops earning.
Self-signing is free, local & private, never uploaded. Sending for signature needs a free account (just your email).
What a referral agreement must define
- Qualifying referral: a named prospect, introduced in writing, not previously in your pipeline. That last condition prevents most disputes.
- Fee: a flat amount or a percentage, and of what: first invoice, first year, or lifetime revenue.
- Payment trigger: when the client signs, or when the client pays. Paying on cash received protects you from bad debt.
- Attribution window: an introduction earns a fee only if the deal closes within, say, 6 or 12 months.
- Exclusivity: whether the referrer may refer to competitors as well.
- Disclosure: whether the referrer must tell the prospect they are being paid. Some industries and jurisdictions require this, and regulated sectors always do.
- Term and termination: how long the arrangement runs, and what happens to referrals already in progress.
Mistakes that end referral relationships badly
- No definition of a qualifying referral. "I told him about you at a party" and "I made a written introduction" then look the same.
- No attribution window. A referrer claiming a fee on a deal that closed three years later has no rule saying otherwise.
- Ignoring disclosure requirements. In financial services, legal and healthcare, undisclosed referral fees can be a regulatory offence rather than a contract issue.
- Not saying whether the fee recurs. On a subscription product, "a percentage of revenue" without a time limit may mean forever.
Common questions
How much is a typical referral fee?
It varies widely by industry, commonly 5–20% of first-year revenue, or a flat fee per closed deal. What matters more than the number is that the base and the duration are defined.
Do referral fees have to be disclosed?
In regulated sectors, yes, and often as a legal requirement rather than a courtesy. Even where it is optional, disclosure protects the relationship: a prospect who discovers an undisclosed fee usually distrusts both parties.
When should the referral fee be paid?
Most agreements pay after the client's own payment clears. Paying on signature is more generous but leaves you paying a fee on revenue you never collected.
This page is general information for small businesses, not legal advice. For your specific situation, talk to a licensed attorney in your state.