Having terms of use drafted: costs and process

Having terms of use drafted by a lawyer typically costs a fixed amount between a few hundred and approximately one thousand euros for an average SME platform, depending on the complexity of your website or app and the degree of customization. Not every platform requires this: you can often draft terms of use for a simple informational website yourself. However, as soon as users post content themselves, create an account, or personal data is processed, professional help is recommended. Below, you can read when you can do it yourself, what the process with a lawyer entails, and approximately what the costs will be.

The short answer

• Do it yourself: for a simple informative website, you can often draft a basic document yourself.
• Engaging a legal expert: advisable as soon as users post content, create an account, or you process personal data.
• Process: intake regarding your platform, a custom concept, a review round, and delivery.
• Costs: usually a fixed amount, depending on the complexity of your platform.
• Turnaround time: a custom-made document is usually ready within a week.

When do you not need to have terms of use drawn up?

For a simple, informative website without user interaction, you do not always need to have terms of use drafted. You can often compile a short document yourself containing a copyright notice, a limited liability disclaimer, and possibly a reference to your privacy policy, especially if you use a reliable example as a starting point and adapt it to your own situation. The risk associated with an informative site without accounts or user content is generally limited.

As soon as your platform does more than display information, that picture changes. Users who post content, create an account, pay for access, or leave behind personal data pose risks that are often insufficiently covered by a generic template. In such cases, it is wise to have terms of use drafted by someone who tailors the provisions to your specific platform and revenue model.

Having terms of use drafted: the process with a lawyer

The process begins with an intake during which you explain what your website, app, or platform does, what functionality users have, and whether personal data is processed. Based on this, the legal expert prepares a draft tailored to your platform, paying attention to permitted and prohibited use, intellectual property, liability, and the right of modification. You will have the opportunity to review the draft and ask questions, after which the document is refined and finalized.

Upon delivery, you will receive a document that you can immediately place on your website or in your app, with a clear reference so that users can take timely notice of it pursuant to Article 6:234 of the Dutch Civil Code. In the event of changes to your platform or regulations, you can have the document updated to align with current practices.

How much does it cost to have terms of use drafted?

The cost of having terms of use drafted depends on the complexity of your platform. A simple document for a website with limited interaction is cheaper than a comprehensive arrangement for a platform where users post content themselves, pay for access, or exchange data with other users. Another factor is whether you only need terms of use or also a suitable privacy statement and possibly a cookie statement.

When requesting a quote, always ask for a fixed price for the entire process, including a review round. This way, you know exactly what to expect beforehand and avoid a rising bill due to additional questions. A fixed rate is appropriate for a document whose scope and purpose can be reasonably estimated during the intake.

A practical example

A practical example. An entrepreneur who launched a platform for booking sports lessons initially used a free template from the internet. That template did not adequately exclude liability and did not refer to his own privacy statement. After having terms of use drafted by a lawyer, he received a custom-made document within a week in which liability, user rights, and applicable law were correctly regulated.

Honest recommendation

For a simple, informative website without accounts or user content, you do not need a lawyer. A short, self-drafted document with a copyright notice and a limited liability disclaimer usually suffices.

Do engage a lawyer as soon as users post content, create an account, pay for access, or when you process personal data. The cost of a custom-drafted document is then disproportionate to the risk of an incomplete or incorrectly formulated provision that will not hold up in a dispute.

Want to know more or need help? View our page on terms of use, first read what terms of use are , and see which components you need when drafting terms of use.

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