Free BDSM contract template
A fill-in D/s contract for two consenting adults, laid out the way Collar & Key structures one: first the ground your dynamic stands on, then the contract itself. It walks you through the conversation most couples skip, from the limits you won't cross to what the Dominant promises in return.
Two parts, in the order you'll want to talk about them
A D/s agreement has two parts. The first is the ground your dynamic stands on: who you are to each other, your safeword, your limits, aftercare and how often you check in. The second is the contract itself: what it's for, the rules and tasks the submissive partner agrees to, the Dominant's commitments in return, and what follows when a rule is kept or broken. Fill in what applies, cross out what doesn't.
This is a communication tool, not a legal document. It isn't enforceable, and nothing in it overrides consent: either of you can pause or leave the dynamic at any time, for any reason, without the other's permission.
Part 1: Your dynamic
1. Who we are
Names or scene names, and the roles you each take. Use your own words: Dominant and submissive, Top and bottom, Owner and pet, Daddy and little.
- Partner names and roles
- How each of us would like to be addressed in private
- How we address each other around other people
2. Safeword and signals
A word that always means stop, and a signal for when talking isn't possible. Many couples add a word for slow down.
- Safeword
- Slow-down word, if you use one
- Non-verbal signal (for example, three taps or dropping a held object)
- What happens after a safeword: stop, check in, aftercare. Never a consequence.
3. Limits
Hard limits will not happen. Soft limits are a maybe, with conditions. Neither is negotiated in the moment, and a limit only loosens if both of you agree outside a scene.
- My hard limits
- My partner's hard limits
- Soft limits, and the conditions on each
4. Aftercare
What each of you needs after a scene, after a hard day, and in the day or two that follow.
- What I need straight after
- What my partner needs straight after
- How we check on each other in the days after
5. Check-ins
A regular, out-of-role conversation about how it's going. It's also where this agreement gets reviewed.
- How often: weekly, fortnightly or monthly
- When and where
- Ground rule: honest answers never earn a consequence
6. Health, privacy and discretion
Anything that affects safety, and what stays between the two of you.
- Health conditions, injuries, medications or triggers to know about
- Who knows about our dynamic, and who doesn't
- Photos and messages: what we keep, where, and when it's deleted
Part 2: The contract
7. What this contract is for
A name and a sentence or two on its purpose. What does each of you want from it?
- Name of this contract
- What I want from it
- What my partner wants from it
8. Rules and protocols
Standing expectations with no due date: how you greet each other, how you ask for things, what's expected in company. Fewer, clearer rules work better than many.
- Rules
- Protocols, and where they apply (at home, in public, around others, online)
- When the dynamic is off (work, family, illness)
9. Tasks and rituals
Things done on a schedule: a morning message, a weekly task, a ritual at the end of the day.
- Task, and how often (once, daily, certain days, or a weekly target)
- How completion is shown: just done, or reviewed by the Dominant
10. The Dominant's commitments
What the Dominant promises in return. An agreement shouldn't be one person's list of obligations.
- I commit to...
- For example: a weekly check-in, aftercare after every scene, guidance when rules change
11. Rewards and consequences
What consistency earns, what happens when a rule is broken, and the limits on consequences themselves.
- Rewards, and how they're earned
- Consequences for broken rules
- Consequences will never be used for: safewording, honesty at a check-in, anything on a limit list
- How a consequence that feels unfair gets corrected
12. Changing or ending this contract
Changes need both of you. Stepping away never does.
- How a change is proposed and accepted
- Either of us can pause the dynamic or leave it at any time
- What happens to photos and records if we end
13. Signatures
We have each read this agreement, we agree to it freely, and we understand either of us can withdraw consent at any time.
- Name, signature and date for each partner
Five steps from blank page to signed
- Fill it in separately first. Each of you takes a copy and answers on your own, so neither of you anchors to the other's answers.
- Compare, starting with the differences. The sections where you disagree are the conversation. The rest is paperwork.
- Write the agreed version together. Keep rules few and specific. If a rule needs a paragraph to explain, it's probably two rules, or none.
- Sign it. Both of you, on the same version. That's the moment it starts.
- Review it at your check-ins. A contract nobody looks at drifts. Our D/s check-in questions include a set on rules and protocol for exactly this.
More detail in How to write a BDSM contract you'll actually keep.
About BDSM contracts
Is a BDSM contract legally binding?
No. A BDSM or D/s contract is not an enforceable legal document, and it can't make consent permanent. Its value is the conversation it forces and the shared record it leaves. Consent can be withdrawn at any time, whatever the contract says.
What should a D/s contract include?
The contract itself sets out what it's for, the rules and protocols, the tasks and rituals, the Dominant's commitments, and how rewards and consequences work. It rests on things every dynamic needs whether or not they're in the contract: roles, a safeword, limits, aftercare and regular check-ins. This template covers both, plus health, privacy and discretion.
How long should the contract last?
As long as it still fits. Rather than an expiry date, review it regularly at your check-ins, and change it through an agreed amendment whenever something stops working. Some couples like to treat the first few weeks as a trial and talk it through properly at the end.
Do we need a contract to have a D/s relationship?
No. Plenty of couples never write one down. A written agreement helps most when expectations are starting to pile up, when you're long-distance, or when you've noticed you remember the same conversation differently.
Can we change it later?
You should expect to. A change is proposed by one of you, seen in full by the other, and takes effect only when they accept it, ideally out of role and at a check-in. Stepping away never needs agreement: either of you can pause or leave at any time.
What each one does
Paper is a good place to have the first conversation. The app is built for what comes after: living with the agreement, day to day, and changing it without anyone changing it alone.
A contract you both sign, and keep.
In Collar & Key a contract takes effect only when both of you sign it. Changing it means proposing an amendment your partner sees in full and accepts. Your safeword and limits sit where you can both see them, and its rules and tasks show up on the day they're due.
Free to start on iPhone, Android and the web. Adults 18+ only.
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Free printable
D/s check-in questions and worksheet
Thirty questions for a weekly or monthly check-in, grouped by topic, with a worksheet you each fill in.
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Guide
How to write a BDSM contract you'll actually keep
The negotiation before it, what belongs in it, and the mistakes that make contracts quietly stop working.
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Guide
How to run a D/s check-in
Why check-ins matter, how often to hold them, and how to turn a talk into decisions that stick.