- You can read the contract yourself against a checklist, for nothing. For a two-page agreement with a named company and a short term, that is often enough.
- OFM Legal reviews agency contracts as its daily work: every clause sorted into refuse, negotiate or accept, the missing clauses named, written counter-proposals you can send as they are, and the questions to put to the agency. First exchange 15 minutes, free, answer within 24 hours.
- A lawyer is required, not optional, once the contract is signed and disputed, once a foreign court or governing law is named, or once the matter goes before a judge. Our partner lawyers in the relevant country take over and we prepare the file.
- Cost: the review is quoted in writing before anything starts, as a fixed fee or by the hour. OFM Legal takes no commission on your earnings, ever.
- The clauses that cause the most damage are the commission base, account and email ownership, the term with automatic renewal, exit penalties, image-rights assignment and the governing-law clause.
Texts and figures checked on November 11, 2026. Sources are listed at the end of the article.
A fan of yours signs with an agency on a Friday and asks us to look at the contract on the Monday. By then the commission is set, the term runs for two years, the agency holds the email address on the account, and nothing in the draft says when any of it comes back. Everything that could have been negotiated was negotiable for about four days, and those four days are gone.
This page answers the question people actually ask: who reads the thing before you sign it, and what does that cost. The clause-by-clause explanation of each trap lives in our guide to the twelve clauses of an agency contract; this one is about the review itself.
Who reviews it, and what each one is for
There are three levels and they are not interchangeable. Picking the wrong one wastes either your money or your contract.
You can read it yourself, against a checklist, for nothing. For a two-page agreement from a named company with a short term and a plain commission, that is often enough, and this page is written so you can do it without us. What you are looking for is listed below.
OFM Legal reviews agency contracts as its daily work. We return every clause sorted into three columns — refuse, negotiate, accept — plus the clauses that are missing, because agency contracts fail by omission more often than by excess: no monthly statement, no handback of credentials, no rule about who chats in your name. You also get written counter-proposals you can send to the agency as they are, and the questions to put to it. We do not promise the agency will accept. We give you the material to decide and the wording to discuss it calmly. OFM Legal is a consulting firm specialised in the OFM industry; it is not a law firm and takes no commission on your earnings.
A lawyer is required, not optional, in five situations, and we say so rather than stretching what we do. The contract is signed and the agency will not pay you or will not return your access. A penalty or an imbalanced clause has to be challenged. The agency is abroad and the contract names a foreign governing law or court. The matter is heading for a judge. Or content has leaked, a deepfake is circulating, or a fake account is impersonating you. In those cases our partner lawyers in the relevant country take over, and we prepare the file with you: contract, statements, messages, timeline.
What it costs
Reading it yourself costs nothing, and we would rather you did that than sign unread.
A review by OFM Legal is quoted in writing before any work starts, as a fixed fee or by the hour. The amount depends on the length of the contract, the number of annexes, and whether an opinion from a partner lawyer is needed. The first exchange lasts fifteen minutes, it is free, and the answer comes within 24 hours. We never take a percentage of what you earn — an agency already takes one, and a second one on top of it would make our advice worth exactly nothing.
What the review finds, nine times out of ten
| Clause | What goes wrong | What to ask for |
|---|---|---|
| Commission and its base | The rate applies to gross, to your other platforms, or after the contract ends | A percentage of net earnings on the managed account, during the term only |
| Account and email ownership | The agency holds the email, the 2FA and the payout details | Account, email and credentials yours, handed back within days |
| Term and renewal | 24 or 36 months, renewing automatically | A short initial term, express renewal, one month's notice |
| Exclusivity | Covers every platform you have, with no end date | Limited to the managed account, limited in time |
| Exit penalty | A large fixed sum if you leave early | Proportionate and justified, or none |
| Image and content rights | Assignment with no limit of time, medium or territory, reuse after the end | Permission limited to the agreed platforms, deleted on exit |
| Chatters and subcontracting | Strangers write in your name with no framework | Who they are, a written charter, explicit prohibitions |
| Non-compete | You cannot work or open an account after the end | Short, precisely scoped, or removed |
| Governing law and court | A foreign law and a distant court | The law and courts where you live, or mediation first |
Three of those lines are worth a sentence more.
The commission base is where the money actually is. Thirty per cent of net platform earnings and thirty per cent of a gross figure that still includes fees are not the same number, and the difference is usually larger than anything else you will negotiate. Ask which statements the commission is calculated on and require that they are sent to you every month.
Account ownership is where the leverage is. Your account is tied to your verified identity, so it is yours, and the platforms' own terms do not settle a private dispute between you and an agency. Whoever holds the email, the two-factor authentication and the payout details controls it in practice. The handback clause has to say what is returned, within what deadline, and that payment settings may not be touched.
The governing-law clause decides whether any of the rest is enforceable. A contract governed by the law of a country you have never been to, with a court in that country, is a contract you will not realistically litigate. In the United Kingdom, the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and, where the relationship qualifies, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 limit what a one-sided clause can do; in the United States, an arbitration clause is generally enforced under 9 U.S. Code § 2 and will decide where and how you can bring a claim. Which of these applies to you is exactly the kind of question a partner lawyer in that country answers, and it is why the clause matters more than it looks.
What to send for a review
The full draft including every annex, in Word or PDF. The annexes are not optional reading: the real commission is often in one of them.
Your current earnings and the platforms concerned. Screenshots of whatever was promised by message or on a call, because what the agency said and what the contract says are frequently different documents. The identity of the company signing: legal name, registration number, director. Your three non-negotiable points, ranked. And if you are already with an agency, the contract in force and your latest statements.
The more complete the file, the more precise the review. A contract without its annexes does not say who does what.
If you have already signed
You can still ask, but you have lost the leverage. Before signature the agency wants you, and a clause is a line in a draft. After signature you are asking it to give up something it already holds, and it has no reason to agree.
That does not mean nothing can be done. A signed contract can be ended for non-performance, an excessive penalty can be challenged, and an agency that will not hand your account back has a problem of its own. Our guides on leaving an OnlyFans agency and on checking an agency before you sign cover both. But all of it costs more, takes months, and is decided by someone other than you.
The cheapest moment to fix an agency contract is the week before you sign it. The first exchange with us is free, fifteen minutes, with an answer within 24 hours, through the creators page.
Frequently asked questions
Who can review my OnlyFans agency contract before I sign?
How much does it cost to have an OnlyFans agency contract reviewed?
Do I need a lawyer to review an OnlyFans management contract?
What do I send for a contract review?
Can I still negotiate after signing?
Is an agency allowed to hold my OnlyFans account?
Sources and legal texts
- OnlyFans Terms of Service OnlyFans
- Fansly Terms of Service Fansly
- Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 legislation.gov.uk, United Kingdom
- Consumer Rights Act 2015 legislation.gov.uk, United Kingdom
- Unfair commercial practices guidance (CMA207) Competition and Markets Authority, in force 6 April 2025
- 9 U.S. Code § 2, Validity, irrevocability, and enforcement of agreements to arbitrate Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
- Circular 1: Copyright Basics United States Copyright Office
- Data Protection Act 2018 legislation.gov.uk, United Kingdom
This article is general information and does not replace advice tailored to your situation. OFM Legal is not a law firm: court proceedings are handled by our partner lawyers.
