Private lessons contract template for online language teachers

It's not mandatory. Under Brazil's Civil Code, an agreement doesn't depend on a special form unless the law requires one (article 107). An arrangement made over messages counts too.

A written contract does something else: it gives you proof and clarity. It turns what's in your head (what happens with no-shows, expired packages, refund requests) into rules, so each case doesn't become a negotiation.

If you teach from Brazil, it helps to know the framework. Private lessons are a service agreement under articles 593 and following of the Civil Code. When students hire you for themselves, it's also a consumer relationship under the Consumer Defense Code (Law 8.078/1990). In practice: clauses that put the student at an excessive disadvantage are void (article 51), and anyone who buys outside a physical business location, such as online, can withdraw within 7 days and get back what they paid (article 49). Students abroad may also be protected by consumer rules in their own country.

So the best contract is one you could defend looking the student in the eye: clear, balanced and with rules that apply to both sides.

• Parties: who provides the service and who hires it. If the student is a minor, a legal guardian is included.
• Scope: which language, in what format and how long each lesson lasts.
• Schedule: how lessons are booked, how often and in which time zone.
• Price and payment: amount, currency, method, due date and what happens if payment is late.
• Packages and validity: how many lessons, how long they last and what happens to unused ones.
• Cancellations and rescheduling: notice period, no-shows, late arrivals and cancellations by the teacher.
• Recording and personal data: whether lessons are recorded or summarized, with consent, and how the student's data is handled.
• Materials: who owns them and what the student may do with them.
• Termination: how either side can leave and what gets refunded.
• Governing law and jurisdiction: where a dispute would be settled.

Copy it, fill in the fields in brackets and delete what doesn't apply. Clauses marked optional can go without affecting the rest. This English version is adapted for students outside Brazil; the Portuguese version of this page has the template for Brazilian students.

This is a starting point, not legal advice. It was written for the common case, one-on-one online lessons with an individual student, and it doesn't replace a lawyer's review. A lawyer can adapt it to your situation, your country and the way you work.

• Underage students. Under Brazil's Civil Code, people under 16 can't carry out civil acts on their own, and those between 16 and 18 have limited legal capacity (articles 3 and 4); many countries have similar rules. In practice, a parent or legal guardian signs. For children's data, Brazil's LGPD requires specific, highlighted consent from at least one parent or guardian (article 14).
• The employer pays. If lessons are a work benefit, the company is the client and the student is the beneficiary. Add the details needed for invoicing.
• Students abroad. Set the currency, the time zone for lesson times and who pays transfer fees. Time zones are an easy source of mix-ups, especially when daylight saving time starts or ends in one country and not the other.
• Term. Under Brazilian law, a service agreement with a fixed term can't run longer than four years (Civil Code, article 598). An open-ended agreement with notice is the simplest option.
• Paying up front. If nothing is agreed, Brazil's Civil Code says payment comes after the service (article 597). If you sell prepaid packages, clause 3.2 of the template covers it.
• Group classes. Adjust the no-show clause: the class goes ahead even if one student is absent, and individual make-ups become the exception.

Recording a lesson, transcribing it or generating an AI summary involves the student's personal data: voice, image, performance. Brazil's LGPD (Law 13.709/2018) allows processing data when it's needed to perform a contract the student asked for (article 7, V), which covers name, contact details and billing. For recordings and summaries, the safest route is to ask for consent. Written consent also has to sit in a clause that stands out from the rest (article 8, paragraph 1), which is why the template has a separate authorization box. If your student lives in the European Union, the GDPR may apply as well.

Students can ask at any time to access, correct or delete their data (article 18). Keep an email address for that and answer. On Ludi, AI lesson summaries only happen with consent, and the AI works as the teacher's assistant, never in the teacher's place.

• Send it before the first paid lesson, along with your welcome message and the agreed times.
• Collect a signature on paper, through an e-signature tool or, at the very least, with an “I have read and agree” reply by email or message that you keep.
• Keep a copy for each student and number your template versions whenever you change a rule.
• Repeat the three main rules (price, rescheduling and validity) in your sales message and on your profile.

To set the numbers that go into the contract, use the guides on how much to charge for private lessons and how to create lesson packages. If you teach from Brazil and haven't formalized your business yet, see MEI for private teachers. For students outside Brazil, the ways to get paid are in receiving payments from students abroad.