Model release form
Written permission to use somebody's likeness — signed on the day, before the shoot, on paper or on a phone.
Free. No account, no email address — the PDF downloads straight away.
The model release form, as an online form
This is the real thing, not a picture of it. Nothing you type here is recorded.
When you need a model release
A model release is written permission from a recognisable person to use their image. As a rule of thumb it is needed whenever the photograph will be used commercially — advertising, packaging, promotional material, or sold through a stock library — and not needed for editorial or news use, though the line between the two is less clean than photographers would like.
Get one whether or not the model is paid. An unpaid portfolio shoot with a friend is exactly the situation that produces a problem two years later, when the image turns out to be the best one you have and a client wants it.
The four things a release has to be specific about
Who. The model's full legal name, and a parent or guardian's signature as well if they are under 18. A minor cannot give this permission themselves.
What use. "Any purpose" is easy to write and easy to challenge. Listing the actual uses — portfolio, social media, print advertising, stock — is more work and considerably more durable.
How long, and where. A release for one campaign is a different thing from one in perpetuity, worldwide. Say which.
What was exchanged. Even "unpaid, in exchange for images for the model's portfolio" is consideration, and writing it down makes the agreement look like an agreement.
Sign it on the day
The release should be signed before or on the day of the shoot, not chased afterwards. Chasing a signature after the fact is how photographers end up with an unusable set of images and an awkward message thread.
This is the practical argument for a phone rather than paper: the model signs on the screen while they are standing in front of you, and the signed copy is in your account before they have left.
Keep the release with the images, not in a drawer
A release you cannot find is a release you do not have. The usual failure is not that nobody signed — it is that somebody signed on paper two years ago, the shoot is now being licensed to a client who wants proof, and the paper is in a box.
Whatever you use to store the photographs is where the release belongs: the same folder, named so it matches the shoot. If you collect releases as a link rather than on paper, they arrive already dated and already searchable, and the ones you are missing are visible as gaps in a list rather than absences you have to notice.
This is a template, not legal advice
Image rights vary by country and by state, and the difference between editorial and commercial use is genuinely contested. Use this as a starting point and have a lawyer look at it if the work is high-value or the usage is unusual.
Questions people ask
When do I need a model release form?
Generally whenever a recognisable person's image will be used commercially — advertising, packaging, promotional material or stock. Editorial and news use usually does not require one, though the boundary is less clear than it sounds. Get one for unpaid portfolio shoots too.
Does a model release need to be signed before the shoot?
Before or on the day. Chasing a signature afterwards is how photographers end up with images they cannot use. Signing on a phone at the shoot removes the problem entirely.
What if the model is under 18?
A minor cannot give this permission themselves. A parent or legal guardian must sign, and the form should record their name and relationship to the model.
Does a model release have to be notarised?
Not usually. A signature and a date are normally sufficient. Some stock libraries and some higher-value commercial uses ask for a witness — check the requirements of whoever will license the images.
Is this model release form free?
Yes. Download the PDF with no account or email address, or use the online version so models can sign on a phone at the shoot.
Already have your own version of this form?
You do not have to rebuild it. Upload the PDF — or photograph the printed copy — and the questions are read off the document automatically. The wording your organisation already approved stays exactly as it is, and you get a link that collects the answers back as a spreadsheet.
Free to try, no account needed to convert your first document.
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