Service Contract in France: The Clauses to Check Before You Sign

Julien, a data consultant, gets six pages to sign on a Tuesday evening, due back by Monday. The consulting firm promises six months of work, but the text mentions exclusivity, penalties and a full transfer of his deliverables. Does he sign as is, or push back?

A service contract (contrat de prestation de service) is the written agreement under which an independent provider commits to carry out an assignment for a client, for a price, with no subordination. It sets the scope, price, deadlines and each party's responsibilities.

Are you a consultant or freelancer? Before you sign, compare what you'd take home with the WEEPO wage portage salary simulator: your daily rate is all it needs.

Service Provision: Definition and How It Differs From Subcontracting

A service provision is an assignment carried out for a client at an agreed price, with full freedom of organisation for the provider. The client buys a result or expertise, not supervised working time. IT consultants, trainers, designers and developers can all invoice under this regime.

The definition fits in two lines: two parties, a price, an assignment. It gets complicated when an intermediary joins the chain. If your end client signed with a consulting firm that hires you in turn, you're in a subcontracting chain with its own rules (our article on the subcontracting contract covers them). The Service-Public Entreprendre page on subcontracting sets out the general framework.

Service Contract vs Employment Contract: Where Is the Line?

The line is subordination: under an employment contract the employer gives orders, sets hours and monitors execution; under a service contract you choose your method and hours, and the client judges the result. If a client treats you as an employee without taking on the obligations, a judge can reclassify the relationship.

The Risk of Reclassification as Employment

The warning signs are well known: imposed hours, an internal manager, a single client, the company's badge and tools. One alone isn't enough, it's the combination that counts. Our articles on legal subordination and disguised employment for freelancers detail the criteria courts use.

Which Clauses Belong in a Service Contract?

Nine points should appear at a minimum: scope, price, deadlines, payment, intellectual property, confidentiality, liability, duration with termination terms, and governing law. Every gap becomes a source of dispute, especially over deliverables and money.

1. Scope and deliverables: describe what you deliver, not a field of activity. "Migrate three databases to PostgreSQL" beats "IT services".
2. Price: fixed fee, daily rate or time-and-materials, with revision terms. To set an IT consultant's day rate, lean on our article daily rate to net salary.
3. Deadlines: milestones, delivery dates, and what happens when the client is late with access or approvals.
4. Payment: term, penalties, recovery fee (see the next section).
5. Intellectual property: who owns what, and when the transfer takes effect.
6. Confidentiality: duration and scope, including for your personal tools.
7. Liability and insurance: liability cap, professional indemnity insurance certificate.
8. Duration and termination: fixed or open-ended assignment, notice, fate of work in progress.
9. Governing law and competent court in case of disagreement.

For the basic commercial clauses on the freelancer's side, our freelance contract guide completes this list. Your client may also ask for administrative papers, such as a vigilance certificate, before you start: build them into your schedule.

Duty of Means or Duty of Result: A Choice That Binds You

In time-and-materials work, you generally commit to means: skill, availability, diligence. On a fixed fee, you commit to a precise result, and the client can blame you for missing it. Pick the right wording at drafting stage, because it decides your exposure in a dispute.

Non-Compete Clause: Negotiate It

It bars you from working for the client's competitors, sometimes for months after the assignment ends. Between professionals it's freely negotiable. But a clause that's too broad hurts an independent whose job is to multiply clients. Limit it in time, in territory and to named competitors. And if it comes with no financial compensation, discuss it before signing.

Intellectual Property of Deliverables

Without a written assignment clause, the client doesn't automatically acquire your copyright in code or documents. Conversely, a total and immediate assignment stops you from reusing your own tools. The sound compromise: assign the mission-specific deliverables after full payment, and keep your generic building blocks.

Payment Terms Between Businesses and Late Payment Penalties

Without a contract term, payment is due 30 days after the service is performed. The parties can agree another term, for example 45 days end of month or 60 days from the invoice date, as long as it's in writing.

For late payment, penalties can't be lower than three times the legal interest rate, which is 8.25% according to Service-Public Entreprendre (page checked on 7 August 2026). A flat recovery fee of 40 euros is added, due once per unpaid invoice. These rules must appear in your terms of sale and on your invoices.

A worked example. A consultant bills 20 days at a €526 daily rate (the median rate in the WEEPO 2026 Barometer), so €10,520. The client pays 45 days late. At the floor rate of 8.25%, the penalty is about €107 (€10,520 x 8.25% x 45 / 365), plus the 40 euros. It's not a fortune, but it's enough to make a client watch the due date, provided the clause exists.

Drafting a Service Contract: A 5-Step Method

To draft a solid service contract, start from the client's written need, lean on a reliable template, adapt scope and price, have a third party read it, then sign before the assignment starts. Starting work without a signature is the most common mistake, and the costliest.

1. Frame the need in writing: a recap email is enough to freeze the scope.
2. Start from a reliable template or a lawyer, never from a text copied without reading.
3. Adapt the scope, deliverables, price and deadlines to your assignment.
4. Have a third party review it: accountant, lawyer or portage company.
5. Sign before day one, with dates and initials on each page.

Service Contract Template: The Blocks to Reuse

A good template is built from blocks: parties, scope, price, deadlines, payment, intellectual property, confidentiality, liability, termination. Free online templates work as a skeleton, but none knows your assignment. Rewrite the scope and price, then read the rest line by line.

Example of a Service Contract for a DevOps Consultant

Here's a realistic scope clause, given as an illustration: "The provider migrates three databases to PostgreSQL and delivers operating documentation before 15 December. The client provides access within five working days of signature." Deliverables, date and the client's obligation are in black and white. If access comes late, the deadline moves: it's all in the sentence.

Early Termination: How to Exit an Assignment

Early termination is possible if the contract provides for it: notice, accepted grounds and the fate of work in progress must be written in. Without that clause, the exit goes through a friendly agreement or the other party's serious breach, and the risk of damages shows up fast.

Plan for short notice proportionate to the length of the assignment, and billing pro rata for work done. Think about client cancellations too: a non-refundable deposit protects your cash flow.

For a Consultant or Freelancer, What Does Wage Portage Change?

In wage portage, you no longer sign the service contract with the client: the portage company signs it for you, then employs you. You negotiate your assignment and day rate like an independent, but you receive a salary, with an employee's social protection.

The WEEPO 2026 Barometer gives an order of magnitude. Across 20,000 payslips of portage consultants, the median day rate is €526, median monthly revenue €10,260 and median monthly net salary €4,200. On fees, WEEPO charges 3% management fees, capped at €550 per assignment, plus 2% additional fees (professional liability insurance, occupational health, factoring and financial guarantee, CVAE). The minimum accepted day rate is €300 excl. VAT.

Invoicing and client chasing go through the portage company, and you keep control over which assignment you take. To compare two statuses with numbers, read wage portage or SASU at a €500 day rate, then test your own case with the wage portage net salary calculation, or discover the WEEPO wage portage company.

An assignment to sign this week? See how wage portage for independent consultants works: one commercial contract on the client side, one salary on yours.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a service contract have to be in writing?

The law doesn't always require a specific form between professionals, but a written contract is essential in practice. Without one, proving the price, scope or rights transfer becomes very hard in a disagreement, and some large clients require it before any start.

How long can a service assignment last?

It's open: a few days, six months or a renewed assignment. The longer the relationship runs with a single client under the same conditions, the higher the reclassification risk. Plan an end date or a review point.

Can an auto-entrepreneur sign a service contract?

Yes. An auto-entrepreneur can sign this type of contract as long as the declared activity matches the assignment and the turnover ceiling isn't exceeded. They invoice with or without VAT depending on their regime, and stay free to organise their work.

What if the client doesn't pay?

Chase in writing, then send a formal notice that cites the penalties and the 40 euro fee. Keep your evidence: contract, delivery records, emails. If the delay drags on, court recovery remains possible.

Does wage portage replace the service contract?

It moves it. The portage company concludes the commercial contract with the client, and you keep your consultant autonomy with employee status. You no longer draft, negotiate and follow that contract alone.

Key Takeaways

• A service contract with no subordination leaves you free on method and hours.
• Nine clauses to check: scope, price, deadlines, payment, intellectual property, confidentiality, liability, termination, governing law.
• Without a term, payment is due at 30 days, with a floor penalty of 8.25% and a 40 euro fee for late payment.
• Non-compete and rights assignment are negotiable, not something to put up with.
• Wage portage moves the commercial contract to the portage company, with a salary in return.

Related Articles

• Subcontracting Contract in France: Clauses and Rules
• Freelance Contract: Definition, Key Clauses and Rules
• Wage Portage or SASU: Which Fits a €500 Day Rate in 2026?