A Tutoring Contract Template for Private Tutors (Copy, Fill In, Send)
A one-page tutoring agreement you can copy today: parties, schedule, rates, packages, cancellations, materials, recording and ending the arrangement.
By Classentra Editorial
A tutoring contract is not for suing anyone. Nobody sues over a missed Tuesday. It exists so that the awkward first conversation with a parent happens once, in writing, on a page they can say yes to, instead of three times by text when something has already gone wrong. Most private tutors run the whole relationship on a message thread, and the thread always ends up holding a question the tutor never answered in advance: what happens when the student does not show, when the package runs out, when the parent wants a refund in week six.
Here is a one-page agreement that answers those questions, with notes on why each clause is there and what to leave out. It is written for an independent tutor working online with school-age or adult students. It is a template, not legal advice; the rules on consumer contracts and on working with minors vary by place, so have a local professional read it once before you rely on it.
The template
Copy this into a document, fill in the brackets, and send it as a PDF or paste it into the welcome email. Where a line references the cancellation policy, use the one from our no-show and late-cancellation template, or your own.
Tutoring Agreement
1. Who this is between. This agreement is between [tutor name], the tutor, and [parent or student name], the client. Where the student is under 18, the client is the parent or guardian, who is responsible for payment and for communication with the tutor.
2. What the tutor provides. One-to-one tutoring in [subject and level], online over [Zoom, Google Meet or the platform used], in sessions of [55] minutes. The tutor prepares each session, provides practice work between sessions and gives a short written summary of progress every [four] weeks.
3. Schedule. The standing session is [day and time, with the time zone]. Changes to the standing slot are agreed by message at least [48] hours ahead. A session starts at the scheduled time whether or not the student has joined.
4. Rates and payment. The rate is [$60] per session. Sessions are sold in packages of [8] and paid before the first session of the package by [card through the booking link, e-transfer, or bank transfer]. A package is valid for [90] days from purchase; unused sessions after that date expire. Rates are reviewed once a year and any change is announced [30] days ahead.
5. Cancellations and no-shows. Sessions can be moved or cancelled without charge with at least [24] hours' notice. A session cancelled with less notice is charged in full. The tutor waits [15] minutes past the start time, after which the session is recorded as a no-show and charged in full. Each client has [one] late cancellation per package without charge. If the tutor cancels with less than [24] hours' notice, the session is rescheduled at no charge within [14] days.
6. Materials and homework. Materials the tutor prepares remain the tutor's and are for the student's personal use. Practice work set between sessions is part of the tutoring; sessions where it has not been attempted will be used to do it together.
7. Communication. All scheduling and payment messages go through [email or the booking platform]. The tutor replies within [one business day]. For a student under 16, the tutor does not message the student directly; messages go through the client.
8. Recording and privacy. Sessions may be recorded for the student's review only if both sides agree in advance. Recordings are kept for [30] days and then deleted. The tutor keeps the client's contact details and session notes for the purpose of the tutoring and does not share them.
9. Expectations. The tutor will prepare, show up on time and teach to the best of their ability. The tutor does not guarantee a grade, a test score or an admission result, which depend on the student's work and on factors outside the sessions.
10. Ending the arrangement. Either side can end this agreement with [7] days' notice by message. Sessions already paid for and not yet used are [refunded in full / refunded minus one session / credited to a sibling]. Sessions already delivered are not refunded.
11. Agreement. Replying "I agree" to the email that carries this document, or signing below, accepts these terms from [date].
Tutor: ______________________ Date: __________
Client: ______________________ Date: __________
Eleven short clauses, one page. Everything else is optional.
Why each clause is there
Who this is between. The point is the second sentence. When the student is a minor, the parent is the client, which settles who pays, who gets the progress notes and who the tutor messages. Spelling it out saves you from a sixteen-year-old negotiating their own cancellations.
What the tutor provides. Session length matters more than people expect. "An hour" is 60 minutes to the parent and 50 minutes plus a buffer to the tutor; write the number down. The progress summary is a promise you want to make, because it is the thing families remember when they decide whether to renew.
Schedule. A standing slot is what makes the business predictable. The last sentence is the one you will quote: the session starts at the scheduled time, so a student who joins at 7:20 for a 7:00 session gets 35 minutes, not 55.
Rates and payment. Packages paid up front are the single biggest change you can make. When the money arrives before the first session, a no-show is a session marked as used rather than an invoice you have to send, and the conversation about payment happened once, when everyone was calm. The expiry date keeps packages from becoming a year-long liability in your calendar. If you are unsure what number to put in the rate line, our rate guide by level and subject is a starting point.
Cancellations and no-shows. The clause does more work than any other, and the free pass is what makes it enforceable: the first real emergency is covered without a negotiation, and the policy survives. We explain each number in the no-show policy post.
Materials and homework. The second sentence is a kindness disguised as a rule. It tells the family that skipping the homework costs them the session they paid for, which gets the homework done without a lecture.
Communication. One channel. A tutor who answers scheduling questions on text, email, WhatsApp and the platform's chat loses one of them every week. For younger students, routing messages through the parent protects the student and protects you.
Recording and privacy. Recording is useful and it is a consent question, especially with minors. Say when you record, what you keep and for how long. If you are in Quebec, Law 25 adds obligations on what you store and how you tell families about it.
Expectations. Write down what you do not promise. A parent who paid for twelve sessions and did not see the grade move will remember whatever you said in the first conversation, so let this clause be the thing you said.
Ending the arrangement. Decide the refund rule now, while nobody wants a refund. Any of the three options in the brackets is defensible. Having no rule is not.
What to leave out
A non-compete or exclusivity clause. Families will not sign it, and you do not want the client who would.
Liquidated damages, indemnities, governing law. This is a one-page agreement between a tutor and a family. The longer it gets, the fewer people read it, and an unread contract protects nobody.
A guarantee. "Grade improvement guaranteed or your money back" is a refund policy wearing a marketing hat. Put the refund rule in clause 10 and leave the guarantee out of the headline.
Anything you will not enforce. Every clause you waive the first time it comes up teaches the family that the document is decorative. Fewer clauses, all of them real.
Three lines for online tutoring specifically
Add these to clause 3 or 7 if every session is online.
- Technology. Each side is responsible for their own connection and device. If the tutor's connection fails, the session is rescheduled at no charge. If the student's fails, the time counts as delivered unless the tutor can make it up within the week.
- Camera. The student's camera stays on during the session unless agreed otherwise. For a minor, a parent may sit in at any time.
- The link. Session links are sent [24 hours and 1 hour] before each session and are for the enrolled student only.
Getting it signed without a ceremony
For most independent tutors a reply of "I agree" to the email carrying the PDF is enough, and it is what clause 11 is written for. If a family wants a signature, any e-signature tool works, and a printed page scanned back works too. Keep the reply or the signed copy with the family's notes.
The quieter route is to let the booking do the signing. When the family buys the package through a checkout that shows these terms, the purchase is the acceptance, the schedule is on the calendar, the reminders go out on their own and the attendance log is visible to both sides. That is the setup where the cancellation clause enforces itself, which is the difference between a contract you wrote and a contract you use. We have written about what that stack costs a tutor on Zoom, Calendly and a payment link versus one place.
If you want the packages, the reminders and the attendance log in the same place as your sessions, so the agreement above runs on its own, that is what Classentra is built for. Start free below, no card required.