Affiliate marketing runs on a simple trade: promotion now, commission later. Every dispute in that trade, missing attribution, clawed-back commissions, brand bidding, undisclosed sponsorships, comes from terms nobody wrote down. The affiliate agreement writes them down.
This template defines qualified transactions, the attribution window, the commission base, the payout schedule, advertising and disclosure rules, and termination mechanics, producing a program agreement both a solo creator and a media company can sign.
Attribution: define it or litigate it
The heart of the agreement is the definition of a qualified transaction: a tracked referral, inside the attribution window, that survives refunds and fraud screening. Each element does work. The tracking requirement makes the merchant's system the measuring stick, so "my follower told me she bought one" is not a claim. The attribution window, commonly 30 days, decides how long a click keeps earning. And the refund carve-out, paired with a delayed payout schedule, prevents the classic scam of commissioned purchases refunded after payout. Merchants should pick a payout delay at least as long as their refund window.
Prohibit brand bidding explicitly
An affiliate who runs search ads on your own brand name buys traffic that was already yours and charges you commission on it. Nothing prohibits the practice by default: only the contract does. The template makes it a selectable rule, and most programs should select no.
FTC disclosures: the merchant's problem too
Under the FTC's Endorsement Guides, an affiliate's commission is a material connection that must be disclosed clearly and conspicuously, and the FTC has pursued advertisers, not just influencers, for their affiliates' missing disclosures. A merchant is expected to instruct its affiliates and monitor compliance. The agreement does the instructing: disclosure in every promotion, before the consumer acts, on every format. Pair the clause with light monitoring, spot-checking top affiliates' content quarterly, and enforcement, since the termination clause makes disclosure failures an immediate-termination event.
Affiliate, referral, or reseller?
Three structures get confused. An affiliate promotes publicly at scale with tracked links, and this agreement fits. A referral agreement compensates individual, named introductions, typically B2B, without public promotion. A reseller buys and resells the product, taking title and setting its own prices. Pick the structure by the behavior you want, not the label: the disclosure duties, tax treatment, and brand risks differ. Affiliates operating as businesses often layer this agreement over their own terms and conditions and privacy policy for their sites.
Affiliate nexus can create sales tax duties
In some states, in-state affiliates can create sales tax nexus for the merchant (so-called click-through nexus). Merchants approaching state thresholds should track where their affiliates operate and review their collection obligations with a tax professional.
Frequently asked questions
Do affiliates really have to disclose their links?
Yes. The FTC treats affiliate commissions as a material connection that must be disclosed clearly, conspicuously, and near the recommendation itself. Vague hashtags or a disclosure buried on an about page do not qualify. The agreement makes proper disclosure a contractual duty enforceable by termination.
What is an attribution window and what should it be?
The number of days after a click during which a purchase still credits the affiliate. Thirty days is the common default; short-consideration products use less, high-consideration products more. Whatever you choose, the agreement should state it, because it is the single most disputed number in affiliate marketing.
When should commissions be paid out?
After your refund window closes. Paying monthly with a 30-day delay lets refunds and chargebacks reverse before money moves, and the minimum payout threshold keeps micro-balances from generating payment fees. The template supports monthly, net-30, and net-60 schedules.
Do I need tax forms from affiliates?
Yes. US affiliates should provide a Form W-9, and the merchant generally files Form 1099-NEC for affiliates paid $600 or more in a year. Foreign affiliates provide the applicable W-8 form instead. The agreement conditions the first payout on receiving the form.
Can I change commission rates later?
Under this template, yes: the company may amend the program on the stated notice period, and an affiliate who keeps promoting after notice accepts the change. Accrued commissions under the old rate remain payable. One-off deals with major affiliates belong in a signed addendum instead.
What stops an affiliate from spamming or making false claims?
The advertising rules clause: no unsolicited bulk messaging, no claims beyond published materials, no fabricated attribution, backed by immediate termination, forfeiture of fraud-derived commissions, and indemnification for claims the affiliate's conduct causes. Those four remedies together are the merchant's protection.