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Freelance services agreement, in French (Switzerland)
Switzerland · in French
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This document is in French
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Made for use in Switzerland
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For clients and freelancers in French-speaking Switzerland, in French: a mandate under Art. 394 ff. CO with the services, duration, fee and VAT choice, expenses, payment terms, the contractor's independence, AHV as a self-employed person, rights in the results, confidentiality and data protection. It names false self-employment: the compensation office decides the status on the facts, not the contract. Either party may end it at any time (Art. 404 CO). Signed by both parties.
- Made for use in Switzerland
- Last updated November 4, 2026
Published byDocMuse
When to use this document
- You work freelance in French-speaking Switzerland and want a contract with your client.
- Your business takes on an independent contractor in Geneva or Lausanne and wants a written agreement.
- You worry that a long assignment for a single client could look like hidden employment.
- You need a freelance services agreement in French for a client in Switzerland.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Client
- Client's address
- Contractor
- Contractor's address
- Contractor's UID or VAT number (optional)
- Services
- Start date
- End date of the contract
- Fee
- VAT: the contractor is registered, or not liable (in French)
- Expenses: included in the fee, or reimbursed on receipts
- Days to pay an invoice
- Contractor's AHV compensation office (Ausgleichskasse) (optional)
- Agreed place of jurisdiction (optional)
- City
- Date
Common questions
- How can a freelance mandate be recharacterised as employment in French-speaking Switzerland?
- The contract's name does not decide: only the way of working counts (Art. 18 para. 1 CO). If the contractor is built into the client's organisation, receives instructions on hours and method, carries no economic risk and works mainly for that client, they may be treated as an employee, in employment law (Art. 319 CO) as well as for AHV, which the compensation office decides on the facts. The client may then owe employer contributions.
- Can a client or contractor end a mandate overnight in Switzerland?
- Yes: a mandate may be revoked or terminated at any time (Art. 404 para. 1 CO), and the Federal Supreme Court does not allow this right to be excluded, so an agreed notice period does not bind. The party that ends it at an inopportune time compensates the other for the damage caused by that very timing (Art. 404 para. 2 CO); work done until then is paid. For a finished piece of work at a fixed price, a contract for work (Art. 363 CO) is often the better fit.
- Does freelance work in Geneva or Lausanne mean charging VAT and joining an AHV compensation office?
- VAT is due only from CHF 100'000.00 of annual turnover from taxable supplies, in Switzerland and abroad (Art. 10 para. 2 let. a VAT Act); below that, no VAT on the invoice unless you registered voluntarily. For AHV, self-employment is registered with the compensation office, cantonal or professional, which decides the status. The contract mentions both but does not replace these steps.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
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