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Independent Contractor Agreement (業務委託契約書)

Engages a contractor or freelancer for project work outside the employee headcount. Defines scope, fees, IP, confidentiality, and avoids disguised employment.

Emmanuel Gendre, Founder of SaiyouTeam
By Emmanuel Gendre
Founder, SaiyouTeam · 12 years recruiting in Japan

Last reviewed: · Aligned with the Work relationship workflow in Japanese HR practice

Independent Contractor Agreement generator

業 務 委 託 契 約 書

委託者 株式会社サンプル（以下「甲」という）と受託者 鈴木 一郎（以下「乙」という）は、甲が乙に対して下記の業務を委託することについて、以下のとおり契約（以下「本契約」という）を締結する。

  1. 第1条（業務内容） 甲は乙に対し、次の業務（以下「本業務」という）を委託し、乙はこれを受託する。本業務は 準委任 契約として性質を有するものとする。 (1) 件名: Webサイト制作業務 (2) 業務内容: 甲のコーポレートサイト（全10ページ）のデザイン、HTML/CSS/JavaScriptによる実装、及び納品時動作確認 (3) 成果物: 完成したWebサイト一式（ソースコード、画像素材、運用マニュアルを含む） (4) 検収方法: 納品後10営業日以内に甲が検収。期間内に異議のない場合は検収完了とみなす。
  2. 第2条（契約期間） 本契約の期間は、2026年6月1日 から 2026年9月30日 までとする。期間満了の1ヶ月前までに甲乙双方から書面による異議の申出がない場合、本契約は同一条件で1年間更新されるものとし、以後も同様とする。
  3. 第3条（業務委託料） 甲は乙に対し、本業務の対価として 一括払い: ¥800,000 を支払う。支払期日は 月末締め、翌月末払い（請求書受領後30日以内） とし、乙の指定する銀行口座への振込により行う。振込手数料は甲の負担とする。
  4. 第4条（源泉徴収） 適用なし（受託者が確定申告にて納税） 適用ありの場合の予定源泉徴収額: ¥0 ／ 差引支払額: ¥800,000
  5. 第5条（成果物の権利帰属） 本業務の遂行により乙が作成した成果物（プログラム、ソースコード、図面、文書、画像、デザイン等を含む。以下「本成果物」という）に関する著作権（著作権法第27条及び第28条に定める権利を含む）その他の知的財産権は、甲が乙に対し業務委託料を完済した時点をもって、すべて甲に移転する。乙は本成果物について甲及び甲の指定する第三者に対して著作者人格権を行使しない。
  6. 第6条（秘密保持） 乙は、本契約に関連して甲から開示を受けた情報、本業務の遂行を通じて知り得た甲及び甲の取引先の情報（以下「秘密情報」という）について、甲の事前の書面による同意なく第三者に開示又は漏洩してはならず、本業務の遂行以外の目的に使用してはならない。本義務は、本契約終了後も3年間存続する。
  7. 第8条（独立性の確認） 本契約は業務委託契約であり、甲と乙との間に雇用関係を生じさせるものではない。労働基準法、労働契約法その他の労働関係法令は本契約に適用されない。乙は、本業務の遂行方法、作業時間、作業場所、使用する機材及び道具を自らの裁量で決定する。甲は、本業務の遂行手段について個別具体的な指揮命令を行わない。乙は、本業務以外の業務を他者から受託することができ、甲に対する専属義務を負わない。
  8. 第9条（解除） 甲又は乙は、相手方に対し 30 日前までに書面で通知することにより、本契約を解除することができる。相手方に契約上の重大な違反、支払停止、破産・民事再生等の申立て、又は反社会的勢力への該当が判明した場合は、催告なく直ちに解除することができる。
  9. 第10条（損害賠償） 甲又は乙は、本契約上の義務に違反し相手方に損害を与えた場合、当該相手方に対しその損害を賠償する責を負う。賠償額の上限は本契約に基づき支払われた又は支払われるべき業務委託料の総額を限度とする（故意又は重過失の場合を除く）。
  10. 第11条（協議事項） 本契約に定めのない事項又は本契約の解釈につき疑義が生じた事項については、信義則に従い、甲乙協議の上解決する。
  11. 第12条（合意管轄） 本契約に関して生じた一切の紛争については、日本法 を準拠法とし、東京地方裁判所 を第一審の専属的合意管轄裁判所とする。

以上

本契約の成立を証するため、本書2通を作成し、甲乙署名又は記名押印の上、各1通を保有する。

2026年5月25日

【甲】 委託者

〒100-0005 東京都千代田区丸の内1-1-1

株式会社サンプル

代表者　山田 花子　　印

________________________

【乙】 受託者

〒150-0001 東京都渋谷区神宮前2-3-4

屋号: 鈴木デザインオフィス

鈴木 一郎　　印

________________________

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Official sources

This template is built on the following primary Japanese government sources. Open each link to verify the underlying rule against the issuing authority.

Reference

What the Independent Contractor Agreement (業務委託契約書) is

An Independent Contractor Agreement (業務委託契約書) is the contract between a company and a non-employee provider for the supply of specific services. Unlike an employment contract, the contractor controls their own work methods, schedule, and equipment, and receives a fee rather than wages. The relationship is governed by the Civil Code (民法) under either the 請負 (work-result) or 準委任 (work-process) framework, not the Labor Standards Act. In Japanese SMB practice, 業務委託 is most commonly used for designers, software developers, consultants, translators, and other specialists who would otherwise be hired as employees.

When to use

When to use this document

  • Engaging a freelancer or individual professional for project-based work that has a defined scope and end date
  • Outsourcing a function (accounting, legal, IT support) to an individual rather than a firm
  • Hiring a specialist (designer, developer, translator) who maintains other clients and works with their own equipment
  • Setting up a relationship with a sole proprietor (個人事業主) where the worker invoices the company
  • Building a flexible workforce that can scale up or down without employee-status commitments

Mandatory items

What to include

  • Identity of the contracting parties (company and individual or sole proprietor)
  • Scope of work: deliverable, milestones, acceptance criteria, and any service-level expectations
  • Term and renewal / termination conditions, including notice period
  • Fee structure (lump sum, hourly, milestone-based) and payment timing (e.g., end-of-month invoicing, 30-day terms)
  • Withholding tax treatment per NTA rules: 10.21% on the first 1 million yen for designated services, 20.42% above, with reconciliation through the contractor's annual filing
  • Ownership of work product (intellectual property assignment)
  • Confidentiality and non-disclosure obligations (or reference to a separate NDA)
  • Indemnity, liability cap, and dispute resolution
  • Anti-disguised-employment language confirming the contractor's independence in working method, hours, and tools

Legal basis

Independent contractor relationships are governed by Civil Code Articles 632-642 (請負) and 643-656 (準委任), not by the Labor Standards Act. However, if the actual relationship has employment indicia, working hours dictated by the company, on-site supervision, exclusive engagement, company-supplied tools, the courts and labor inspectors will reclassify the relationship as employment retroactively. The worker can then claim Labor Standards Act protections, social-insurance back-enrollment, and overtime pay. This is called disguised employment (偽装請負) and is one of the most common compliance failures in Japanese SMB hiring. Tax treatment also differs: contractor fees are subject to NTA's 業務委託 withholding regime, not the source-deduction tax on wages, so payroll setup is meaningfully different.

Frequently asked

Common questions about the Independent Contractor Agreement

Can I hire someone as 業務委託 to avoid social insurance and severance obligations?

No. If the actual relationship has employment indicia (working hours set by you, on-site supervision, exclusive engagement, company-provided tools), it will be reclassified as employment retroactively. The worker can then claim back social insurance enrollment, paid leave, and overtime pay. The cost of getting this wrong typically exceeds the savings. Use 業務委託 only when the relationship is genuinely independent.

What's the withholding tax rate on contractor fees?

Under NTA rules, designated services (writing, design, lectures, certain consulting) are subject to 10.21% withholding on the first 1 million yen and 20.42% on amounts above. Many other services have no withholding requirement at all (the contractor handles their own tax via annual filing). The category depends on the nature of the service, not how the contract is labelled.

Should NDA and IP assignment be in the same contract or separate?

For most SMB engagements, folding NDA and IP assignment into the 業務委託契約書 itself is cleaner and easier to manage. For long-term or high-stakes engagements, having separate NDA and IP assignment agreements gives more flexibility (e.g., NDA survives the engagement, IP scope can be adjusted independently). Either approach works as long as all three areas are clearly addressed.

Can I terminate a 業務委託 contract anytime, like at-will employment?

No, and this is a frequent misunderstanding. 業務委託 termination is governed by the contract itself, not by the Labor Standards Act. If the contract specifies a notice period or fixed term, those control. The Civil Code also imposes good-faith obligations and may require compensation for early termination. Drafting clear termination provisions in the contract is the only way to make termination predictable.

What's the difference between 業務委託 and 派遣?

Both move work to a non-employee, but the legal mechanism differs. 業務委託 (independent contractor) is direct between your company and the individual; you do not supervise their day-to-day work. 派遣 (worker dispatch) requires a licensed dispatch agency that employs the worker and sends them to work under your supervision. If you supervise a 業務委託 worker as if they were an employee, that is illegal disguised dispatch (偽装請負).

About the author

Emmanuel Gendre, Founder of SaiyouTeam
Emmanuel Gendre
Founder, SaiyouTeam · TechieCV K.K.

Emmanuel advises small and mid-sized companies (SMBs) on HR and recruiting in Japan. He brings 12 years recruiting in Japan as a Recruitment Consultant placing IT professionals, plus prior experience hiring engineers across EMEA as a Google recruiter. Work relationship-related paperwork is something he handles regularly with his SMB clients in Japan, so he built this template as part of that advisory work and uses it himself when those conversations come up.

For case-specific contract matters, Emmanuel works with licensed Japanese professionals (社会保険労務士 and 弁護士). This template is a planning tool used in those conversations, not a substitute for professional advice on an individual case.

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Important. This template is provided for general planning purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. Japanese contract law is complex and case-specific. Before issuing this document in any non-routine situation, consult a qualified labor lawyer (弁護士) or Certified Social Insurance and Labor Consultant (社会保険労務士).