Architect and Client Agreement Template (Canada)

Updated on August 8, 2026

Architecture is a provincially regulated profession in Canada, and the gate has two parts rather than one. Providing architectural services is restricted to licensed members of the provincial or territorial regulator, and in Ontario a person offering or providing architectural services must both be licensed as an architect by the Ontario Association of Architects and hold — or practise through a holder of — a certificate of practice. A licence alone is not enough to take on the work.

So a Canadian agreement starts by recording the licence and the certificate of practice, which the client can verify with the regulator before signing. From there it has to do the things the widely copied free architect contract this page replaces does not do at all: allocate copyright in the drawings, allow either party to end the agreement, require professional liability insurance, state the sales-tax position, and stop short of promising that the project will comply with the law.

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Fee basisCopyright position

Architect and Client Agreement

This Agreement is made on between of (the Architect) and of (the Client) for architectural services on the project.

Licensed architect:
Regulator and licence:: , licence
Certificate of practice:
Entitled to practise in:
Project:: ,
Governing province:

The Architect confirms that the services under this Agreement are provided by a licensed architect and under the certificate of practice identified above, and that the practice is entitled to provide architectural services in the province or territory in which the project is located. The Client may verify both with the regulator.

1. The Project

The project is: . The indicative schedule is: . Schedule dates depend on the Client's decisions and approvals and on the timelines of authorities having jurisdiction and third parties, and are not guaranteed dates.

2. Services

The Architect will provide services in the following phases: . The following are excluded and are provided as additional services or by others: . Consultants and who engages them: . Engineering and building-code certification services are separately regulated; where they are required they are provided by a person entitled to provide them, as recorded above.

OptionalInclude general review or contract administration during construction

During construction the Architect will provide general review or contract administration as recorded in the phases above, making periodic visits appropriate to the stage of the work to review general conformity with the design, reviewing contractor submittals and responding to requests for information. General review is periodic and is not continuous inspection of the work.

3. Standard of Care

The Architect will exercise the degree of skill, care and diligence reasonably expected of an architect licensed in the relevant province and experienced in projects of similar size, scope and complexity. The Architect gives no guarantee, warranty or assurance of any outcome, and nothing in this Agreement imposes an obligation stricter than that standard.

4. Permits and Approvals

Where in scope, the Architect will prepare and submit applications for planning, zoning, building permit and other approvals and will respond to reviewers' comments. Whether an approval is granted, on what conditions and in what time is the decision of the authority having jurisdiction, and application, review and development fees are the Client's cost.

5. Construction Means, Methods and Site Safety

The Architect does not direct or control construction means, methods, techniques, sequences or procedures, workmanship, or health and safety arrangements on site, all of which are the contractor's responsibility. The Architect is not responsible for the contractor's failure to build in accordance with the contract documents.

6. The Client's Obligations

The Client will provide the program, the budget and available survey, geotechnical, services, title, environmental and existing-building information, give the Architect access to the site, and give decisions and approvals within a reasonable time. The Architect may rely on the accuracy and completeness of information provided by the Client or the Client's consultants and is not liable for delay caused by late decisions or withheld information.

7. Fee and Payment

The fee for the services described above is a lump sum of , invoiced in proportion to the services performed.

. The Architect's registration number, where applicable, is . Invoices are payable within days, and interest on overdue accounts is charged at . The following disbursements and authority fees are charged in addition at cost: .

8. Additional Services

Work outside the agreed scope is an additional service, charged at and confirmed in writing before it is carried out. Additional services include a change to the program, scope, quality or budget; redesign of work the Client has already approved; a resubmission to an authority caused by matters outside the Architect's control; work made necessary by another party's delay or default; and attendance at hearings or proceedings not listed in the scope.

OptionalInclude the cost advice clause

9. Cost Advice

Any estimate of construction cost given by the Architect is a professional opinion based on experience and current information, not a tender or a guaranteed price. The Architect does not control labour or material costs, bidding conditions or the way contractors price work. If bids exceed the Client's budget, the Parties will review the program, scope and specification together, and redesign requested for that purpose is an additional service.

10. Copyright and Moral Rights

The Architect owns the copyright in all drawings, models, specifications, reports and other documents prepared under this Agreement. On payment of all fees and disbursements then due, the Architect grants the Client an irrevocable, non-exclusive licence to copy and use those documents to construct, complete, occupy, maintain, repair and later alter the project on the site named above. The licence does not extend to any other site or project, and the Client may allow its contractor, consultants and lenders to use the documents for this project only.

Moral rights in the documents may be waived but may not be assigned, and an assignment of copyright does not of itself constitute a waiver. The Parties have addressed the moral-rights position as follows: . Where fees remain unpaid, or this Agreement is terminated for the Client's material breach, no licence or assignment takes effect until those amounts are paid.

11. Insurance and Liability

The Architect maintains professional liability insurance of not less than per claim while providing the services and will produce evidence of cover on written request. Cover of this kind is normally written on a claims-made basis, so the Architect will use reasonable efforts to maintain it after completion for as long as it remains available on commercially reasonable terms. So far as the law permits, the Architect's total liability under this Agreement is limited to , and neither Party is liable to the other for loss of profit, loss of revenue, loss of opportunity or other indirect or consequential loss.

12. Suspension and Termination

If an invoice remains unpaid thirty days after its due date, the Architect may suspend the services on seven days' written notice and is not liable for delay or cost caused by that suspension. Either Party may terminate this Agreement on written notice, or immediately if the other commits a material breach and fails to remedy it within of written notice. On termination the Client pays for services properly performed and disbursements incurred to the termination date, and the Architect delivers the documents produced to that point, subject to the copyright terms above.

13. Confidentiality, Publication and Disputes

Each Party will keep the other's confidential information confidential, except where disclosure is required by law or an authority or is needed by consultants, contractors, insurers or professional advisers bound to confidentiality.

OptionalArchitect may publish the completed project

The Architect may photograph the completed project and publish it in its portfolio, website, media and award submissions, excluding anything the Client has identified in writing as confidential.

OptionalRequire a meeting and mediation before escalation

If a dispute arises, the Parties will first meet promptly to try to resolve it and, failing that, will attempt mediation with a mediator they agree on, sharing the mediator's fee equally and each bearing its own costs. This does not prevent either Party from seeking urgent interim relief.

14. General

This Agreement is governed by the laws of and the federal laws of Canada applicable there, and the courts of that province or territory have jurisdiction. It may be amended only in writing signed by both Parties, may be signed in counterparts and by electronic signature, and if any provision is unenforceable the remainder continues in effect. Nothing in this Agreement limits any right the Client has under applicable provincial consumer protection legislation, or prevents the Client from raising a concern about the Architect with the regulator.

For the Architect

Date:

Client

Date:

Licence, certificate of practice and title

In Ontario the Ontario Association of Architects is empowered under the Architects Act to regulate the profession, the title architect is protected, and the regulator takes enforcement action against people who hold themselves out as architects or provide architectural services without being entitled to. The other provinces and territories each have their own Architects Act and regulator, with reciprocal recognition arrangements between them.

That has two practical consequences for the agreement. First, it names the individual architect, the licence, and the certificate of practice under which the services are provided, so the client can check the register rather than take it on trust. Second, where a project crosses a provincial boundary, the agreement has to say who is licensed where — being licensed in one province does not by itself entitle a practice to provide services in another, even though reciprocal arrangements exist.

The template also keeps a line clear that clients often blur: architectural services and engineering services are separately regulated, and so is building-code certification in several provinces. Who is providing what, and under which registration, belongs in the scope section rather than in a conversation.

Copyright in the drawings

Architectural drawings and plans are protected works, and the author is the first owner of copyright unless the work was made in the course of employment or copyright is assigned. Engaging and paying an architect does not transfer that copyright — the client acquires the rights the agreement grants and nothing more.

This template offers two positions. Under the default the architect keeps copyright and grants the client a licence, conditional on payment of the fees due, to use the documents to construct, occupy, maintain, repair and later alter this project on this site. The alternative is an assignment, which some public and institutional clients require and which should be priced as a different thing.

There is a Canadian wrinkle worth stating in the document: moral rights in the drawings may be waived but may not be assigned, and an assignment of copyright does not by itself waive them. So an agreement that assigns copyright and stops there leaves the architect's integrity and attribution rights intact — which matters when the client later alters the building. The template asks the parties to address that expressly rather than leaving it to be discovered.

Standard of care, approvals and site responsibility

The source template has the architect assist with permits and ensure compliance with the requirements of law. That is a guarantee of an approval outcome and of code compliance, and professional liability insurance responds to negligence rather than to obligations assumed by contract beyond reasonable skill and care. A clause like that can leave an architect uninsured for precisely the risk they bought cover against.

This template uses the ordinary professional standard — the degree of skill, care and diligence reasonably expected of an architect licensed in the relevant province and experienced in similar projects. Permits and approvals are allocated honestly: the architect prepares and submits applications and responds to reviewers, while the decision, its conditions and its timing belong to the authority having jurisdiction and the fees are the client's.

Construction is allocated the same way. Where the architect provides general review or contract administration during construction, the agreement says that the contractor remains responsible for construction means, methods, sequences, workmanship and site safety, and that periodic review is not continuous inspection. In several provinces general review during construction is itself a regulated obligation on specified projects, so the template makes it an express scope item rather than an assumption.

Fees, taxes, insurance and ending the agreement

The template supports a lump sum, an hourly rate against a not-to-exceed figure, or a percentage of construction cost, and requires the sales-tax position to be stated — GST, HST, or GST plus provincial sales tax, depending on the province and the architect's registration. Payment terms, an interest rate for overdue accounts, disbursements and authority fees are all express rather than implied.

Cost advice gets its own clause: an estimate of construction cost is a professional opinion, not a tender, because the architect does not control labour rates, material prices or bidding conditions. If tenders exceed the budget the parties review brief, scope and specification together, and redesign for that purpose is an additional service.

Finally, the structural gap. The source template cannot be ended — there is no termination clause for either party for any reason. This version gives both sides termination on notice and for material breach after a cure period, and lets the architect suspend services for non-payment after written warning, saying in each case what is owed and what happens to the drawing licence. Around that sit professional liability insurance at a stated amount with evidence on request, a liability cap, exclusion of consequential loss, confidentiality, and a dispute route that begins with a meeting and mediation before either party escalates.

Clause-by-clause guide

Architect, licence and certificate of practice: Names the practice, the licensed architect, the regulator and the certificate of practice, so the client can verify entitlement to provide the services.
Provinces covered: States where the practice is licensed, which matters when a project crosses a provincial boundary.
Scope by phase: Which phases are included through to general review or contract administration, and what is excluded or provided by others.
Standard of care: The skill, care and diligence reasonably expected of a licensed architect on a similar project — not a guarantee of approval or code compliance.
Permits and approvals: The architect prepares and submits applications and answers reviewers; the decision and its timing belong to the authority having jurisdiction.
General review and site responsibility: Periodic review rather than continuous inspection, with means, methods, sequences, workmanship and site safety remaining the contractor's.
Fee, taxes and payment: Lump sum, hourly with a cap, or percentage of construction cost, with the GST, HST or PST position, payment days, interest and disbursements.
Additional services: Written instruction and a stated rate for changes of program, redesign after approval, resubmissions, delay by others and hearings.
Cost advice: Estimates are professional opinions rather than tenders, with an agreed route if bids exceed the budget.
Copyright and moral rights: Architect keeps copyright and licenses this project on payment, or assigns it — and the moral-rights position is addressed expressly, because they cannot be assigned.
Insurance and liability: Professional liability cover at a stated amount with evidence on request, a monetary cap, and exclusion of indirect and consequential loss.
Suspension, termination and disputes: Suspension for non-payment, mutual termination rights, what is owed on termination, and a meeting-then-mediation route before escalation.

Canadian compliance checklist

Architecture is regulated province by province. Confirm the position where the project is located.

Check both the licence and the certificate of practice
Providing architectural services is restricted to licensed members of the provincial or territorial regulator. In Ontario, a person offering or providing architectural services must be licensed by the Ontario Association of Architects and the person or entity must hold a certificate of practice.
Architects Act (Ontario)
Confirm entitlement in the province where the project is
Each province and territory has its own Architects Act and regulator. Reciprocal arrangements exist, but being licensed in one province does not by itself entitle a practice to provide services in another.
Deal with copyright and the licence expressly
The author is first owner of copyright in the drawings unless they were made in the course of employment or copyright is assigned. State what the client may do with the documents, for which site, and that the licence takes effect on payment.
Copyright Act (Canada) - full text
Address moral rights separately from copyright
Moral rights may be waived but may not be assigned, and an assignment of copyright does not of itself constitute a waiver. An assignment clause alone therefore leaves the architect's attribution and integrity rights intact.
Copyright Act (Canada), section 14.1
Keep the standard of care insurable
Use the ordinary professional standard of skill, care and diligence. Guarantees of permit approval, code compliance or a fixed construction cost typically fall outside professional liability cover.
Make general review an express scope item
General review during construction is a regulated obligation on specified projects in several provinces. Say whether it is included, by whom it is performed, and that it is periodic review rather than continuous inspection.
State the sales tax position
GST, HST or GST plus provincial sales tax may apply depending on the province and the practice's registration. Say which applies, give the registration number, and treat disbursements and authority fees separately.
Check consumer and language rules for residential work
Provincial consumer protection legislation can apply to agreements with homeowners, including written-contract requirements and cancellation rights for agreements made away from the practice's place of business. Quebec language-of-contract requirements apply to consumer and adhesion contracts.
Consumer Protection Act, 2002 (Ontario)

How to complete this architect and client agreement

Record the licence and certificate of practice. Enter the practice, the licensed architect, the regulator, the licence number and the certificate of practice, and the provinces where the practice is entitled to work.
Set the scope by phase. Choose the phases included and whether general review or contract administration during construction is in scope.
Set the fee and tax position. Pick a lump sum, hourly with a cap, or percentage of construction cost, then set the GST, HST or PST position, payment days, interest and disbursements.
Choose the copyright and moral-rights position. Decide whether the architect keeps copyright and licenses the project on payment or assigns it, and address moral rights expressly.
Set insurance, cap and termination, then issue. Enter the professional liability amount, the liability cap and the notice periods, then download the DOCX or PDF and send it before work starts.

Frequently asked questions

Is a licence enough to provide architectural services in Canada?

Not in every province. In Ontario, a person offering or providing architectural services must be licensed by the Ontario Association of Architects and the person or entity must hold a certificate of practice — two separate requirements. The agreement records both so the client can verify them with the regulator.

Can an architect licensed in one province work in another?

Not automatically. Each province and territory has its own Architects Act and regulator, and although reciprocal recognition arrangements exist, entitlement has to be confirmed where the project is located. The template asks which provinces the practice is licensed in for exactly that reason.

Who owns the drawings once the client has paid?

The architect, unless the agreement assigns copyright. The author is first owner unless the work was made in the course of employment or copyright is assigned, so the client gets whatever licence the agreement grants — which is why the licence clause matters more than the ownership label.

Does assigning copyright deal with moral rights too?

No, and that is a distinctly Canadian trap. Moral rights may be waived but may not be assigned, and an assignment of copyright does not of itself constitute a waiver. An assignment clause on its own leaves the architect's attribution and integrity rights fully intact.

Does the architect guarantee the building permit?

No, and no architect should agree to. The architect prepares and submits the applications and responds to reviewers with reasonable skill, care and diligence. Whether an approval is granted, on what conditions and when belongs to the authority having jurisdiction, and application fees are the client's cost.

What is general review, and is it included?

It is periodic review of the work during construction for conformity with the design, and in several provinces it is a regulated obligation on specified projects. The template makes it an express scope item and states that it is periodic review rather than continuous inspection, with the contractor remaining responsible for means, methods, workmanship and site safety.

Which sales tax applies to architectural fees?

It depends on the province and the practice's registration — GST alone, a harmonized rate, or GST plus provincial sales tax. The agreement requires the position and the registration number to be stated rather than leaving it to be discovered on the first invoice.

Can either party end the agreement?

Yes — and this is the largest gap in the template this one replaces, which has no termination clause at all. Here either party may terminate on notice or for material breach after a cure period, and the architect may suspend for non-payment after written warning, with fees, work in progress and the drawing licence dealt with in each case.

Related templates

Disclaimer

This template and guide are for general information only and are not legal, insurance or professional-practice advice, and neither a Canadian lawyer nor any architects regulator has reviewed them. Architectural regulation, building legislation and consumer rules differ by province and territory.