Architect Appointment Agreement Template (UK)
Updated on 8 August 2026
In the UK the document is an appointment, not a generic contract, and the word architect is not a description anyone can use. Section 20 of the Architects Act 1997 provides that a person shall not practise or carry on business under any name, style or title containing the word architect unless registered under that Act, and the Architects Registration Board enforces it. So a UK appointment starts by identifying a registered architect and their registration, and the client can check the register before signing.
Written terms are not optional either. The ARB's Architects Code expects clear, understandable written terms of engagement to be given to the client before work starts, covering scope, responsibilities, fees, dispute resolution, liability and insurance — and the ARB's own guidance notes that inadequate or missing terms are among the most common causes of complaints. This template is built to that list, and it fixes the gaps in the free architect contract it replaces: no copyright or licence clause at all, no termination clause of any kind, no insurance requirement, and a promise by the architect to ensure the project complies with the law.
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Architect Appointment
This Appointment is made on between of (the Architect) and of (the Client) for architectural services on the project.
- Registered architect:
- ARB registration number:
- Project:
- Site:
- Client status:
1. The Project and the Brief
The project is: . The indicative programme agreed at the date of this Appointment is: . Programme dates depend on the Client's decisions and approvals and on the timescales of statutory authorities and third parties, and are not guaranteed dates.
2. Services
The Architect will provide services at the following work stages: . The following are excluded from this Appointment and are provided as additional services or by others: . Other consultants and who appoints them: .
During construction the Architect will make periodic inspections appropriate to the stage of the works to review general conformity with the design, administer the building contract where the Architect is named as contract administrator, review contractor submissions and respond to queries.
3. Standard of Care
The Architect will exercise the reasonable skill, care and diligence to be expected of an architect of ordinary competence experienced in projects of a similar size, scope and complexity. The Architect gives no guarantee, warranty or assurance of any outcome, and nothing in this Appointment imposes an obligation stricter than that standard.
4. Planning and Building Control
Where in scope, the Architect will prepare and submit applications for planning permission, listed building consent, building regulations approval and similar consents, and will respond to officers' queries. Whether a consent is granted, subject to what conditions and in what time is the decision of the authority concerned. Application, inspection and other statutory fees are the Client's cost.
5. Construction Methods and Site Safety
The Architect does not direct or control construction means, methods, sequences, procedures, or the contractor's health and safety arrangements on site, all of which are the contractor's responsibility. Inspections by the Architect are periodic and are not an exhaustive or continuous check of the works, and the Architect is not responsible for the contractor's failure to build in accordance with the contract documents.
6. The Client's Duties
The Client will provide the brief, the budget and available site, survey, ground, services, title, asbestos and existing-building information, give the Architect access to the site, and give decisions and approvals in reasonable time. The Architect may rely on the accuracy and completeness of information supplied by the Client or the Client's other 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.
. Invoices are payable within days of the invoice date. Interest on late payment is charged at , without prejudice to any statutory entitlement to interest and compensation on late commercial payments. The following expenses 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 brief, scope, quality or budget; redesign of work the Client has already approved; a resubmission to a statutory authority caused by matters outside the Architect's control; work made necessary by another party's delay or default; and attendance at appeals, hearings or proceedings not listed in the scope.
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 prices, tender conditions or the way contractors price work. If tenders exceed the Client's budget, the Parties will review the brief, scope and specification together, and redesign requested for that purpose is an additional service.
10. Copyright and Use of the Drawings
The Architect owns the copyright in all drawings, models, specifications, reports and other documents prepared under this Appointment. On payment of all fees and expenses then due, the Architect grants the Client an irrevocable, non-exclusive licence to copy and use those documents to construct, complete, occupy, maintain, repair, extend 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, other consultants and funders to use the documents for this project only.
Where fees remain unpaid, or this Appointment is terminated for the Client's material breach, no licence or assignment takes effect until those amounts are paid. The Client uses the documents at its own risk for any purpose other than that for which they were prepared.
11. Insurance and Liability
The Architect maintains professional indemnity insurance of not less than for each 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 endeavours to maintain it after completion for as long as is reasonably available on commercially reasonable terms. So far as the law permits, the Architect's total liability under this Appointment 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. Nothing limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence or for fraud.
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 Appointment 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 expenses 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 a public authority or is needed by consultants, contractors, insurers or professional advisers bound to confidentiality.
The Architect may photograph the completed project and publish it in its portfolio, website, press and award entries, excluding anything the Client has identified in writing as confidential.
If a dispute arises, the Parties will first meet promptly to try to resolve it, and if that fails 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
Nothing in this Appointment prevents or discourages the Client from making a complaint about the Architect to the Architects Registration Board. This Appointment is governed by the law of England and Wales and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction. It may be varied 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.
The Client contracts as a business and not as a consumer. The statutory pre-contract information and cancellation rights that apply to consumer contracts concluded off-premises or at a distance therefore do not apply to this Appointment.
For the Architect
Date:
Client
Date:
Copyright in the drawings, and the licence to build
Architectural drawings are artistic works under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, and the building itself can be protected as a work of architecture. Ownership follows the ordinary rule: the author is first owner, and commissioning the work does not transfer copyright. A client who pays for a design therefore owns nothing of the copyright unless the appointment says so.
What the client actually needs is a licence, and the useful question is its scope and its trigger. This template offers two positions. Under the default the architect retains copyright and grants the client a licence, conditional on payment of the fees due, to use the drawings to construct, occupy, maintain, extend and later alter this project on this site. The alternative is an assignment of copyright, which some institutional and public clients require and which should be priced as the different thing it is.
Making the licence conditional on payment is the whole point. An architect who has already granted an unconditional licence and has not been paid has given away their main commercial lever, and the source template — which has no copyright clause at all — leaves that question to be argued about after the relationship has broken down.
Standard of care, and the warranty not to give
The source template has the architect assist with permissions and ensure compliance with the requirements of law. That is a guarantee of outcome across planning and building control, and professional indemnity insurance responds to negligence, not to obligations assumed by contract that go beyond reasonable skill and care. A clause like that can leave an architect facing the one risk their policy exists to cover, uninsured.
This template uses the conventional standard: reasonable skill, care and diligence to be expected of an architect of ordinary competence experienced in projects of similar size, scope and complexity. Planning and building control are then allocated honestly — the architect prepares and submits applications and responds to officers, while the decision belongs to the authority, and application fees are the client's.
The construction stage is allocated the same way. Where the appointment includes contract administration, the architect inspects periodically and administers the building contract; it does not take on the contractor's responsibility for construction methods, sequencing or site safety. Where the client also needs a principal designer under the construction health and safety regime, that is a separate statutory role which the template makes an explicit yes-or-no appointment rather than something absorbed silently into the design scope.
Fees, extras and cost advice
The template supports a lump sum, a time charge against a not-to-exceed figure, or a percentage of construction cost, and asks for VAT treatment, invoicing frequency, payment days and an interest rate for late payment rather than leaving a blank percentage floating. Where the client is a business, statutory interest on late commercial payments may also apply, and the template says so instead of implying the contractual rate is the only remedy.
Additional services are handled with a written instruction and a stated rate, triggered by the things that actually cause them: a change of brief or budget, redesign after an approved stage, a resubmission caused by matters outside the architect's control, delay by others, and attendance at appeals or hearings not in the scope.
Cost advice gets its own clause because clients routinely treat an architect's figure as a price. Any estimate of construction cost is an opinion informed by experience, not a tender, and the architect does not control the market, the tender list or material prices. The remedy the template gives is collaborative: if tenders exceed the budget, the parties review the brief, scope and specification together, and redesign for that purpose is an additional service.
Suspension, termination, insurance and disputes
The single largest structural gap in the source template is that it cannot be ended. There is no termination clause for either party for any reason, which leaves an architect unable to walk away from a client who has stopped paying and a client unable to disengage without a fight. This template gives both parties termination on notice, termination for material breach after a cure period, and suspension of services for non-payment after written warning — and it states what is owed and what happens to the drawing licence in each case.
Around that sit the risk terms the ARB Code expects the appointment to address. Professional indemnity insurance is recorded as an amount to be maintained, with evidence available on request, and the template notes that cover is normally written on a claims-made basis so it matters that the policy continues after practical completion. Liability is capped at a stated figure and indirect and consequential losses are excluded. Disputes start with a meeting and then mediation before either party escalates, which is both cheaper and what the Code's dispute-resolution expectation points towards.
One clause is deliberately absent in a different way. Nothing in the appointment restricts the client's right to complain to the ARB — the regulator is clear that no provision should ever prevent that — and the template says so expressly rather than staying silent.
Clause-by-clause guide
- The architect and ARB registration
- Names the practice and the registered architect with their ARB registration number, so the client can verify the register before signing.
- Scope by work stage
- Which stages are included, from feasibility through to construction-stage administration, and what is expressly excluded or provided by others.
- Standard of care
- Reasonable skill, care and diligence expected of an architect of ordinary competence on a similar project — not a guarantee of planning consent or legal compliance.
- Planning and building control
- The architect prepares and submits applications and answers officers; the decision belongs to the authority and fees are the client's.
- Principal designer
- An explicit yes or no on whether the architect is also appointed to the statutory principal designer role, rather than absorbing it into the design scope.
- Client duties and information
- Brief, budget, surveys, access, timely decisions and approvals, with the architect entitled to rely on the information provided.
- Fee, VAT and payment
- Lump sum, time charge with a cap, or percentage of construction cost, plus VAT treatment, invoicing frequency, payment days and a stated interest rate.
- Additional services
- Written instruction and a stated rate for changes of brief, redesign after approval, resubmissions, delay by others and attendance at hearings.
- Cost advice
- Estimates are professional opinions, not tenders, with an agreed route if tenders exceed the budget.
- Copyright and licence
- Architect retains copyright and licenses this project on payment, or assigns copyright. The clause the source template omits entirely.
- Insurance, liability cap and consequential loss
- Professional indemnity at a stated amount with evidence on request, a monetary cap, and exclusion of indirect and consequential loss.
- Suspension, termination and complaints
- Suspension for non-payment, termination on notice or for breach, what is owed on termination, and an express statement that nothing restricts a complaint to the ARB.
UK compliance checklist
Regulatory points to settle before the appointment is signed.
Check the architect is on the ARB register
Section 20 of the Architects Act 1997 provides that a person shall not practise or carry on business under any name, style or title containing the word architect unless registered under the Act, and ARB maintains a public register clients can search.
ARB - the Architects Act 1997Give written terms of engagement before starting work
The ARB Architects Code expects clear, understandable written terms of engagement provided to the client before work commences, covering scope of services, responsibilities, fees, dispute resolution, liability and insurance.
ARB - Architects Code: standards of conduct and practiceDeal with copyright and the licence expressly
Under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 the author is first owner of copyright and commissioning does not transfer it. Say what the client may do with the drawings, for which site, and that the licence takes effect on payment.
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988Keep the standard of care insurable
Use reasonable skill and care. Guarantees of planning consent, statutory compliance or a fixed construction cost typically fall outside professional indemnity cover and can leave the architect personally exposed.
Record professional indemnity cover
State the level of cover maintained and that a certificate is available on request. Cover is usually written on a claims-made basis, so it matters that the policy is maintained after the project completes, not only while work is in progress.
Confirm whether a principal designer is being appointed
Duties for the design phase of construction work under the construction health and safety regime are a separate statutory appointment. Say clearly whether the architect takes that role, and do not let it be assumed.
HSE - Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015Check consumer rules on residential work
Where the client is a consumer and the appointment is agreed away from the practice's premises or at a distance, pre-contract information and a 14-day cancellation right can apply. Deal with it before work starts rather than afterwards.
Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013Never restrict the right to complain to the regulator
No term of an appointment should prevent or discourage a client from raising a complaint with the ARB. This template states expressly that it does not.
Do not copy a published standard form
Standard professional services contracts published by professional bodies are copyrighted works licensed by their publishers. Use them under licence if you want them; this template is independent and is not derived from any of them.
How to complete this architect appointment
- Identify the architect and the project. Enter the practice, the registered architect and ARB registration number, the client, and the project address and description.
- Set the scope by work stage. Choose the stages included, whether contract administration is in scope, and whether the architect is appointed as principal designer.
- Set the fee and VAT position. Pick a lump sum, time charge with a cap, or percentage of construction cost, then set VAT treatment, invoicing, payment days and the interest rate.
- Choose the copyright position. Decide whether the architect retains copyright and licenses the project on payment, or assigns copyright to the client.
- Set insurance, cap and termination, then issue. Enter the professional indemnity level, liability cap and notice periods, then download the DOCX or PDF and send it to the client before work starts.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns the drawings once the client has paid?
The architect, unless the appointment assigns copyright. Under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 the author is first owner and commissioning does not transfer copyright. What the client gets is the licence the appointment grants, which is why the licence clause matters more than the ownership label.
Can the client build from the drawings if fees are unpaid?
Not under this template. The licence is conditional on payment of the fees due, so it does not take effect while an invoice is outstanding. That is the standard commercial position and the main reason the copyright clause exists at all.
Can the client use the design on a second site?
Not under the default licence, which is limited to this project at this site. Reuse elsewhere is a separate commercial deal and should be priced as one, or handled by choosing the assignment option instead.
Does the architect guarantee planning permission?
No, and no architect should agree to. The architect prepares and submits the application and responds to officers with reasonable skill and care. The decision, its conditions and its timing belong to the local planning authority, and the fees are the client's cost.
Is the architect responsible for the builder's work?
No. Where contract administration is in scope the architect inspects periodically and administers the building contract, but the contractor remains responsible for construction methods, sequencing, workmanship and site safety. The template says so expressly so the client knows who to look to.
Do written terms of engagement have to be in place before starting?
The ARB Architects Code expects clear, understandable written terms to be provided before work commences, covering scope, responsibilities, fees, dispute resolution, liability and insurance — and the ARB's guidance identifies inadequate or missing terms as one of the most common causes of complaints.
What level of professional indemnity insurance is needed?
The appointment should state the level maintained and make a certificate available on request; the appropriate figure depends on the project value and risk, and clients and lenders often specify a minimum. Remember that cover is usually claims-made, so the policy needs to continue after the project finishes.
Can either party end the appointment?
Yes — and this is the biggest 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 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 solicitor nor the ARB has reviewed them. Nothing in this document restricts a client's right to complain to the Architects Registration Board.
