What is a clause in a contract?

Enforceable contracts are detailed documents. Skilled attorneys will advise laying out the terms and conditions explicitly in a formal written document, with the main sections of the contract being laid out in one or more paragraphs known as “clauses.”

Examples of such clauses can be the goods or services to be provided; details about what, when, how, and under circumstances the party providing those things will be paid; who owns the rights to the goods or services; what happens if there is a breach of the contract or a dispute; the term or length of the contract; what law governs (e.g., what country’s law applies, or if in the U.S., what state’s law applies, and other clauses.

Of course, no one expects a non-lawyer to know what to put in a contract, so that’s where our form contracts come in. Generate contracts fast with Jotform’s free PDF contract templates! Add your terms and collect electronic signatures from any device.

Because it can be difficult to write contract clauses from scratch, companies like Jotform include boilerplate language in their contract templates that you can adjust to meet your needs. If you’re unsure of what your contract should contain for a particular use it’s best to consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction.

Of course, no contract is enforceable without a signature. An e-signature tool like Jotform Sign will save you from using multiple programs to create and send contracts. Any signature you collect with Jotform Sign is legally binding and automatically becomes part of a workflow, so you never have to manually track your documents. You also have the flexibility to upload your own PDF contract and add signature fields to it.

For more information, check out our post on how to write a contract.

AS ALWAYS, CONSULT AN ATTORNEY BEFORE RELYING ON ANY FORM CONTRACT OR  CONTRACT TEMPLATE. THE CONTENT ABOVE IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.