- An agency contract decides three things: how much you give up, for how long, and who owns the account. Everything else follows from that.
- A commission of 20 to 50% of net income is common; what matters is what basis it is calculated on and what it pays for.
- The account, the content and access to the fans must stay yours, with access handed back on exit.
- Exclusivity with no time limit, an exit clause that cannot be used, disproportionate penalties, no statements: four reasons to refuse.
- A contract is negotiable: serious agencies accept adjustments, and the ones that refuse any change are already telling you how the rest will go.
Texts and figures checked on June 15, 2026. Sources are listed at the end of the article.
An agency contract is often signed in an evening, between two Telegram messages, with a promise that income will triple. It gets read again months later, when the income is there and the questions start: why this commission on sales I make on my own, why can I not leave, who owns this account I no longer control. Twelve clauses decide everything. For each one: what is normal, what should make you refuse, and what is negotiable.
Before the clauses: check the agency
A contract is never better than the company that signs it. Before reading the first line, check that the agency exists: a recent registration extract, an address, an identified director, a company that is not six months old. Search for the agency's name and its director's name on social media and in creators' groups: bad experiences travel fast. An agency registered in Dubai or Malta is not a problem in itself; an agency with no company and no address is.
1. The purpose: what the agency actually does
The purpose clause describes the services: account management, subscriber acquisition, conversations with fans, content scheduling, bookkeeping. It must be precise. "Full support" means nothing and lets the agency invoice without owing anything. What is normal: a list of services with, for conversations, a statement that chatters answer in your name. What should worry you: any mention of content you would have to produce, in quantity or in kind. You decide what you produce, never the contract.
2. The commission: how much, on what, until when
The usual rate runs from 20 to 50% of net income, after the platform's commission. Three questions matter more than the rate. On what basis: net platform income, or a gross amount that includes fees? On which income: that of the managed account, or also your other platforms and your earlier income? Until when: during the contract only, or on subscribers "acquired by the agency" for months after termination?
What is normal: a percentage of the net income of the managed account, for the duration of the contract. What should make you refuse: a commission on income the agency does not generate, or one that survives the end of the contract with no limit.
3. Term and renewal
Six to twelve months is a reasonable term for a first contract, long enough to see whether the agency delivers. Be wary of 24 or 36-month contracts, and above all of automatic renewal for equal periods, which turns one year into four if you miss the cancellation window. Negotiate a short first period, express renewal (you re-sign, or nothing happens) and one month's notice.
4. Exclusivity
The agency often asks for exclusivity: you work with no other agency during the contract. That is acceptable if it is limited to the service provided and in time. It becomes a problem when it covers all your platforms, including those the agency does not manage, or when it continues after the contract through a non-compete clause. Exclusivity with no time limit is a reason to refuse, not to negotiate.
5. Ownership of the account
This is the clause that decides everything, and the one most often missing. The OnlyFans or MYM account is tied to the identity the platform verified; it belongs to you. But if the agency created the account and holds the email address, the logins, two-factor authentication and the payout bank account, it controls it in practice, and all you have left is your word. Insist on a clear clause: the account, the associated email address and the access credentials are your property; the agency uses them during the contract and hands them back at the end, within a few days, with an obligation not to change the payment settings.
6. Content and image rights
You produce the content: you own the copyright in it and you hold the rights to your own image and likeness. The agency needs authorisation to publish and promote it in your name. That authorisation must be limited: to the agreed platforms, during the contract, for promoting the account. Insist that the grant be a licence, not an assignment, and that it specify each right granted, its purpose, its territory and its duration. A licence that names nothing grants everything. What should make you refuse: an unlimited assignment of rights, the agency being able to reuse your content after the contract, or to sell it on other accounts. Also provide for the deletion of content held by the agency on exit.
7. Chatters and what they say in your name
If the agency has chatters answering in your place, the contract must say so, and set out what they may promise: never a physical meeting, never content you have not approved, no personal information. It is your image and your safety at stake, and it is also what protects the agency on the criminal side. A serious agency has a written chatting policy and will agree to attach it to the contract.
8. Statements and access to the figures
You must be able to check what the platform paid, what the agency took and what you received. Insist on a detailed monthly statement and, better, read access to the platform's statistics. A contract with no obligation to produce statements is a contract where all you have is the agency's word. It is also the first document a judge will ask for in an income dispute.
9. Payment: who collects, who passes on, when
Two arrangements exist. Either the platform pays your income directly to you and you pay the agency's commission against an invoice: that is the healthier one. Or the agency collects everything and passes on your share: that is the riskier one, for you and for it. If you accept the second, set a payment deadline (within ten days of the payout), a statement with each payment and late payment penalties. Income never paid out is the leading cause of dispute we see.
10. Costs and penalties
Some contracts provide for costs borne by you: tools, advertising, content produced by the agency. They must be listed, capped and backed by invoices. Penalties must be proportionate: compensation of tens of thousands for a missed post or an early exit is a warning sign. Courts in both the US and the UK will refuse to enforce a clause that operates as a penalty rather than as a genuine estimate of loss, but relying on that after the fact is far more expensive than striking the clause before signing. Refuse any clause that makes you owe a fixed sum if you leave.
11. Exit: notice, handover, after the contract
A good contract organises its own ending: reasonable notice (one month), the handover of access within a set period, deletion of content held by the agency, settlement of the final statements, and no commission after the end date. Also provide for the failures that let you terminate immediately: income not passed on, content published without approval, chatters promising what they should not.
12. Governing law and court
An agency established abroad may subject the contract to a foreign law and a distant court. That is not unlawful, but it makes any claim expensive. Negotiate the law and the courts of your country of residence, or at least a prior mediation clause. Failing that, know before you sign what a dispute would cost you.
How to negotiate without losing the agency
A serious agency expects you to negotiate. List your requests in order of importance: ownership of the account and the exit first, exclusivity and post-termination commission next, the rate last. Put them in writing, calmly, proposing wording. An agency that accepts reasonable adjustments is an agency you can work with; an agency that refuses to change a comma is showing you how it will handle the first difficulty.
Already signed?
A signed contract is not a life sentence. Many agency contracts contain clauses a court would not enforce — unconscionable terms, restraints of trade wider than any legitimate interest requires, penalty clauses dressed up as liquidated damages — and an agency that does not meet its own obligations gives you a right to terminate for breach. The method is the same as for negotiating: have the contract reviewed, identify what holds and what does not, send the agency a letter setting out its failures, and negotiate a clean exit with the account handed back. Court proceedings, handled by our partner lawyers, remain the exception.
Frequently asked questions
What commission is normal for an OnlyFans agency?
Can the agency keep my OnlyFans account if I leave?
Can I terminate an OnlyFans agency contract early?
Should you have your contract reviewed by a professional?
Sources and legal texts
- 17 U.S.C. § 204 — Execution of transfers of copyright ownership (a transfer must be in writing and signed) Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
- 17 U.S.C. § 106 — Exclusive rights in copyrighted works Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School
- Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, section 90 (assignment and licensing) legislation.gov.uk
- Unfair commercial practices guidance (CMA207) Competition and Markets Authority, Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024
- Employment status GOV.UK
- Independent contractor (self-employed) or employee? Internal Revenue Service
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.
