What are the general terms and conditions for a training or course company?
General terms and conditions for a training or course company are the standard clauses that an educator, training institute, e-learning provider, or independent trainer declares applicable to all agreements with clients and participants. The training sector has its own legal profile: you provide an intangible service where the result—knowledge and skills—depends on the effort of the participant themselves, where you produce course material that represents intellectual value, and where cancellations of open training courses cause direct revenue losses that are difficult to limit without proper contractual protection. Moreover, the training sector features a unique distinction that most generic terms and conditions templates completely miss: the difference between the client —the paying company—and the participant —the employee taking the course. This distinction determines who you can hold liable in the event of non-payment and non-participation, and how your limitation of liability operates.
Our lawyers draft tailor-made general terms and conditions for your training or course company that align with your product range — open training courses, in-company programs, e-learning, or a combination — and that provide maximum protection for your intellectual property, your revenue in the event of cancellation, and your liability in the event of disappointing learning results.
What is the difference between the client and the participant, and why is this legally decisive for your terms and conditions?
This distinction is the most underestimated contractual challenge in the training sector and is ignored in virtually all standard templates. In the case of in-company and corporate training, the client is typically the company that purchases and pays for the training, while the participants are the employees who actually attend the course. You have a contractual relationship with the client, not with the individual participant. This has far-reaching consequences. The payment obligation rests with the client, even if the participant drops out midway or does not attend the training. The duty to provide information regarding health conditions or special needs rests with the client, who is obliged to obtain this information from the participant and pass it on to you. Liability for damage suffered by the participant during the training differs from that in a direct consumer relationship. Your general terms and conditions must explicitly define the distinction between client and participant and clearly regulate, for each legal relationship, who has which obligations. Our lawyers legally and correctly anchor this distinction in your terms and conditions.
How do you draw up a legally sound cancellation scale for open training courses and in-company programs?
the cancellation policy is the most commercially critical part of the general terms and conditions. For open training courses with a fixed date, a late cancellation or no-show results in direct loss of revenue — the spot can no longer be filled, the instructor has already been scheduled, and venue costs have been incurred. For in-company programs, the development and preparation of customized content entail significant costs that you can no longer recover in the event of a late cancellation. Your general terms and conditions must contain a differentiated cancellation scale for both product types. For open training courses, a common structure is: free cancellation up to four weeks before the start, fifty percent for cancellation between four and one week before the start, and one hundred percent within one week. For in-company programs, an earlier and higher scale is preferred given the development costs. The right of substitution — the right of the client to replace an absent participant with a colleague — is a reasonable concession that prevents cancellation disputes. Please note: for consumers, additional restrictions on cancellation costs apply based on the black and grey lists of Articles 6:236 and 6:237 of the Dutch Civil Code. Our lawyers will draw up a cancellation scale for you that is commercially defensible and legally sound.
What is the VAT exemption for education and when does your program qualify for it?
The VAT exemption for education under Article 11, paragraph 1, sub o of the Turnover Tax Act 1968 represents a significant financial benefit for training companies, but it is also a source of uncertainty. The exemption applies to services consisting of the provision of education, provided that the education is provided by institutions or persons recognized for this purpose or who meet the quality requirements of the law. In practice, there are two routes: affiliation with the CRKBO — the Central Register for Short Vocational Education — for institutions offering vocational training for adults, or demonstrable compliance with the quality requirements through an in-house quality system. The VAT exemption does not apply to all training courses: recreational courses, sports lessons, and personality development workshops that are not primarily professional in nature are generally excluded. Your general terms and conditions and your invoicing structure must be consistent with your VAT position. A training provider who applies the VAT exemption without meeting the conditions risks additional assessments and fines. Our lawyers advise you on your VAT position and the consequences thereof for your contract structure.
How do you protect intellectual property on course materials, e-learning, and digital learning environments?
Intellectual property rights to course materials —training manuals, presentations, workbooks, tests, e-learning modules, videos, and digital learning environments—are among the most valuable business assets for training companies. Under the Copyright Act, copyright rests with the creator: the training company that developed the material. As of January 1, 2026, a stricter written requirement applies to the transfer of copyright—an oral or implicit transfer is no longer sufficient. Your general terms and conditions must explicitly state that the copyright to all course content remains with you, that the client and participants acquire a limited right of use for internal use during and after the training, and that reproduction, distribution to third parties, reuse in other training courses, and publication are prohibited without your written permission. A particular point of attention for e-learning providers: access rights to digital learning environments are time-bound and personal—your terms and conditions must regulate what happens to the content after the access right expires and whether the material can be downloaded or saved. Our lawyers draft an IP clause that protects your course content in all forms.
What are your obligations regarding the right of withdrawal for online consumer registrations?
If consumers—private individuals not acting on behalf of a company—register online or by telephone for a training program or course, a statutory right of withdrawal of fourteen daysCivil Code. The consumer may cancel the registration within that period without giving reasons and is entitled to a refund of the full registration fee. If you have already started the training within the withdrawal period—at the express request of the consumer—the consumer is entitled to a proportional refund for the uncompleted portion upon withdrawal. If you have fully completed the training within the withdrawal period, the right of withdrawal lapses. Your general terms and conditions must inform the consumer of this right—if you fail to do so, the withdrawal period is extended to a maximum of twelve months. The right of withdrawal does not apply to business clients. Your terms and conditions must clearly distinguish which rules apply to consumers and which apply to business clients. Our lawyers ensure that your terms and conditions are fully GDPR and consumer law compliant in this regard.
How do you handle liability for disappointing learning results and damage during the training?
of liability in the training sector has two dimensions. The first is liability for disappointing learning outcomes: a participant who fails an exam, does not obtain a certificate, or does not make the expected career step after completing your training. Your general terms and conditions must explicitly state that you have an obligation of effort—you provide high-quality education—but no obligation of result regarding learning outcomes. The learning outcome depends on the effort, capabilities, and circumstances of the participant, for which factors you are not liable. The second dimension is liability for damage suffered by the participant during the training —injury during practical exercises, psychological damage caused by confrontational training methods, damage to property. In the case of consumer participants, liability for injury cannot be fully excluded pursuant to Article 6:236 sub f of the Dutch Civil Code. Your general terms and conditions must limit liability to the amount of insurance coverage and explicitly exclude consequential and indirect damages. Our lawyers formulate a limitation of liability that holds up even in the event of complaints regarding learning outcomes.
How do you regulate the processing of participants' personal data in the general terms and conditions?
Training companies systematically process participants' personal data: name and contact details, attendance records, test results, progress reports, and—in the case of accredited courses—certificate data that is transmitted to external registers. Under the GDPR , as a controller, you must be transparent about which data you process, for what purpose, how long you retain it, and to whom you provide it. In the case of in-company training, the question also arises as to whether the client acts as a controller or a processor regarding the data of their employees—and whether you need to enter into a data processing agreement. Your general terms and conditions must contain a privacy section or refer to a privacy statement that complies with GDPR requirements. A particular point of attention: if you share test results and certificate data back with the client, you require the participants' consent or another legal basis to do so under the GDPR. Our lawyers ensure that your terms and conditions and your data processing practices are aligned.
What are the most common mistakes in the terms and conditions of training and course companies?
In practice, our lawyers consistently observe the same shortcomings at training and course companies. The first is the absence of a distinction between client and participant, making it unclear who to hold liable in the event of non-payment or non-participation. The second is a cancellation scale that is unreasonably burdensome for consumers because it fails to take into account mandatory consumer protection laws. The third is an IP clause that does not cover e-learning modules and digital learning environments , thereby offering no protection when forwarding login credentials or storing course content. The fourth is the failure to inform consumers about the right of withdrawal for online registrations, resulting in the withdrawal period automatically being twelve months. The fifth is a result-based obligation that is implicitly apparent from marketing texts but is not contractually excluded. And the sixth is the lack of a GDPR-compliant arrangement for providing test results to the client without the participant's consent.
How does it work at MKBjuristen?
After a brief intake, our lawyers map out your product range—open training courses, in-company programs, e-learning, certified courses, or a combination—your client base, and your VAT position. Based on this, we draft general terms and conditions for your training or course company that are tailored to your situation—featuring a legally clear distinction between client and participant, a sustainable cancellation scale for open and in-company programs, a comprehensive IP clause for all your course content and digital learning environments, a correct right of withdrawal paragraph for consumer registrations, and a GDPR-compliant data processing arrangement. We also advise you on your VAT position and the implications thereof for your invoicing structure and contract drafting. Do you have existing general terms and conditions that you would like to have checked for legal validity, completeness, and currency? We will then assess them on all critical points and draft the necessary adjustments.
